Phantoms in the Brain Quotes

“The purpose of all of this (left hemisphere's way of choosing denial or repression over considering an anomaly) is to impose stability on behavior and to prevent vacillation because indecisiveness doesn't serve any purpose. Any decision, so long as it is probably correct, is better than no decision at all. A perpetually fickle general will never win a war.”
― V.S. Ramachandran, Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

“So here is the greatest irony of all: that the self that almost by definition is entirely private is to significant extent a social construct.”
― V.S. Ramachandran, Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

“It's a good idea to begin with experiments on single cases and then to confirm the findings through studies of additional patients. By way of analogy, imagine that I cart a pig into your living room and tell you that it can talk. You might say, "Oh, really? Show me." I then wave my wand and the pig starts talking. You might respond, "My God! That's amazing!" You are not likely to say, "Ah, but that's just one pig. Show me a few more and then I might believe you." Yet this is precisely the attitude of many people in my field.”
― V.S. Ramachandran, Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

“The experiments I've discussed so far have helped us understand what is going on in the brains of patients with phantoms and given us hints as to how we might help alleviate their pain. But there is a deeper message here: Your own body is a phantom, one that your brain has temporarily constructed purely for convenience.”
― V.S. Ramachandran, Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind