I love to study the brain. I wish I had realized this in college. There are a lot of things I didn't realize I liked until long after college. I want to go back and learn, learn, learn some more. But about the brain. Our world has so much information. We know so much. But the one little thing that is almost completely a mystery is the thing that we use to gather all of that other information about the world in the first place: the human brain! Isn't that nuts? I eat it up when Oliver Sacks is interviewed on NPR. I wish I could ingest all of the info already out there because there is so much to discover and I am very late to the game. I realize using the word "ingest" while talking about the brain my give you the wrong idea: No, I am not a zombie. It's just that...The human brain is a mystery! I think the answers to all of our unanswered questions are locked in there and we just don't have access. I have a lot of theories, but I need to learn from the experts before I start spouting them.
I just ordered a book from amazon:
The Face in the Mirror: The Search for the Origins of Consciousness . I ordered it because I heard about 30 seconds of the end of the interview with one of the authors (Julian Keenan) on the radio. What was the clincher? He was throwing out a theory that perhaps those that suffer from depression are actually the only people who see the world clearly. Everyone else is looking through rose colored glasses.
Huh.
For some reason I want that idea to be true. I am tired of feeling "lesser than" because I am always the pessimist. I want to feel superior because I am depressed....? Weird. Weirdo. I hate my brain. I'll let you know if it is a book worth reading, and if I actually *am* the brilliant genius who sees everything correctly while the rest of you imagine your way through life with blind optimism.
I am so jealous of you.
6 comments:
I'm fascinated by this post. Please give us a book report when you are done. Heree is my observation. Some of my most creative/bright/artistic friends also deal with depression. Now I am not suggesting that one equals the other only that there seems to be some sort of link.
.....and i love your brain.
I have a book by Oliver Sacks called "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat". It is funny and fascinating. Please report on your findings...and if all else fails maybe you can try the zombie thing. Maybe it's like Sylar from Heroes, if you eat someone's brain you will inherit their super powers. Worth a try.
Sylar *shiver*. Scariest villain ever.
I always call myself a realist. James--the most positive person I know--tells me that's just what pessimists call themselves. I'm a hopeful pessimist. I also have a theory that I am brilliant in a totally non conventional way. So yes, book report indeed when you are done.
Did I just declare my brilliance out loud?
Sounds worth reading. I need an answer to my pessimism too.
Post a Comment