« Life's Little Embarassing Moments | HomePage | Lunchtime »

10/30/2005

Having a thought

There was a TV character - I don't remember the show - that used to say "Oh! Oh! I'm having a thought!" Then there were Binky and the Brain on Animaniacs. Brain would say "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Binky?" and Binky would say something dopy like "Yes, Brain, but I don't know if anyone would buy sardine salami." Brain would retort with a "No, Binky! I'm thinking about how to take over the world." If you've never seen the show, it was a hoot. Two lab rats - one made incredibly intelligent - the other not so much - tried to take over the world in each episode.

I'm not thinking about how to take over the world. That's so overdone. But I have wondered how we think.

Have you ever wondered what makes a thought? Where does an idea come from? I know enough of the science to be dangerous. Neurotransmitters transmit. Synapses fire and information is carried from point A to point B in the human brain. But where does a thought come from? Is it a chemical process? Or is it electrical? Or is it something else entirely?

And what about the will? Is there some part of the brain dedicated to the exercise of individual willpower? Does some cluster of cells specialize in having it my way? And is that individuality encoded in DNA? I think maybe not, since we can change our preferences, you know what I mean?

Okay, I'm back. What? You didn't notice I left? Had to get ready for church. Then there was the going away/slash 4-year-old birthday party for the Thompsons, friends from church that are moving to Ohio to pastor. Then home for the Chiefs' game (Sometimes you feel so sad.) then quizzing for Eldest, back home to pick up Wonderful Wifey and Youngest, church, where we had a piano concert featuring some uber-talented guy we'd never heard of, then Wendy's for dinner - at least in part because of the Muzak - 70's and 80's classic rock.

Now I'm back. And where was I?

Oh yes. Thinking. I was thinking that thoughts probably aren't encoded in DNA, because that would mean we were just like totally programmed at conception, and that doesn't make sense.

Maybe I'm the only one that thinks much about this. I googled the phrase "where do thoughts come from?" and got some gobbledy-gook that didn't seem to address the subject.

So I'm going to have to leave this idea to germinate. Maybe it will take root. Maybe some day in the future I'll be driving along, minding my own business, and understanding will come to me. Then again, maybe not. I'll have to think about it. I'll be sure to ask "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

21:22 Posted in About Life | Permalink | Email this

Comments

Indeed, the brain is an amazing organ. And yes, it does appear that there are geographical portions of the brain dedicated to specific tasks and functions. For example, when the frontal lobe is damaged, abilities related to self-control, impulse responses, and maturaty are affected. What really amazes me is that when brain cells are damaged, newly transplanted brain cells can pick up and take over lost functions!



More to your specific question on the origin of thought, I tend to think of the origin of species: God Himself and the spirit that He created and placed into our physical, human form. I think the spirit interacts with our physical brain system to store information and respond to stimulation of all kinds.



Being inclined toward technology myself, here's one that blows my mind (yes, pun intended): Think of a database (oops, I made another punny) that stores images and searches for matches. Not an easy or efficient task--even for today's fastest computers. But then think of walking into a room with 50 people in it. With a 3-second scan across the room with your eyes, you know immediately if you know ANY of these people, who they are, where they are from, and maybe eveng their names. Even people who you've only seen on TV or in magazines. That's thousands and thousands of similar-looking faces to evaluate--all in an instant. The human brain is truly an amazing work of genius.

Posted by: Big Bro-in-law | 10/31/2005

Big Bro-in-law:



The more I learn about the brain, the more I am amazed at it's complexity and wonder. I agree that the spirit (intentional small s) interacts with the mind (matter) in response and storage and retrieval.



Being a bit off-the-wall, I go beyond that and wonder how a thought is formed at all. Perhaps my real question is what is the human spirit?



I read recently that someone has predicted that in our lifetime, a computer will have been created that will be as powerful as all the brains in the world. At least, I think that was the benchmark. To the team working on this project, I say "Good luck!"



I'm reminded of the group of scientists that decided they didn't need God because they could pretty much do what they wanted through science. They elected one of their members to break the bad news.



On the appointed day, the unlucky member appears before God and shares the "news" that they don't need him anymore. God, rather bemused, challenges the scientist to a contest. If they can create life, he'll go away.



"That's easy." says the scientist and scoops to pick up some dirt.



"No, no, no." chides the Lord. "Make your own dirt."

Posted by: Bruce L. | 11/02/2005