From gcanham at cs.com Tue Jan 2 02:34:38 2018 From: gcanham at cs.com (gcanham at cs.com) Date: 02 Jan 2018 02:34:38 +0000 Subject: Mystery of Mysteries In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 193187 Brain Room The brain controls us, and we at least like to think that we control our brain. But are 'we' separate from our brain? Is that what wizards are researching in the brain room, or are they trying to find what is the different between Muggle and wizard brains? Or what? I was asking why the brains were attacking Ron, and the suggestion I like best is that one brain will always find something to argue with compared to another. It has even been found that one half of your brain can argue with the other, even get violent at times. There was a case of a woman who had had her corpus callosum (which connects and helps coordinate the two hemispheres) had been cut for medical reasons, and her left hand (controlled by the right hemisphere) would often try to choke her, and she would have to bring it under control with her right hand (controlled by the left hemisphere). There is other evidence as well that shows that your two hemispheres, even when connected by the corpus callosum, can have different hopes and desires. So it should not be surprising that different brains can come into conflict. Seeing the behavior of the brains in the Brain Room, perhaps they need a body to keep them under some sort of control. Also, the subconscious parts of our brains can act effectively by themselves most of the time, without need for conscious thought. No one really knows where consciousness comes from, but we know we have souls (that dementors have a taste for) so presumably it comes from those. I've never met a wizard who has received the Dementors' Kiss, but from what Muggles have found about the subconscious brain, it sounds as if they would be able to function, but have little if any control, and tend to act on impulse and their prejudices. That could be another reason the brain, which presumably didn't have a soul to restrain it, attacked Ron if it believed he was making fun of it. Lashing out at the slightest provocation, would be typical thoughtless action a brain with no soul is likely to do. Muggle studies seem to show that our subconscious comes up with conclusions and actions, based on what the brain has learnt in the past, and our consciousness is only made aware of the decision a matter of seconds before any action is initiated. That leads some Muggles to say we don't really have willpower, just allowed to have the illusion of it. Perhaps we don't have willpower, but it seems we do have "Won't Power", because our consciousness normally seems to have a few seconds to overrule the subconscious, and stop the action it was planning. Thinking of Dumbledore's comment to Harry during his 'near death experience' at what looked like King's Cross Station, what we think of as reality is actually all in our heads. What we see is our brain's interpretation of the light's interaction with the cells at the back of our eyes. How you visualize red might be completely different from what I see as red. As a kid at school I recall our class being asked what color we saw when shown turquoise, and I think I was one of only two or three, out of about 20 in the class, who saw it as green, rather than blue. There is an old question about whether a falling tree makes a sound if there is noone to hear it. The answer is No. It disturbs the air and creates vibrations or waves in it, but if there are no ears to interpret those vibrations, then it doesn't become sound. It is not surprising that the Ministry has a room dedicated to the brain. Muggle scientists, studying quantum mechanics and the fundamental building blocks of matter, have noticed that some results are affected by being observed or not, and some even go so far as to say that things only exist when you observe them (yet they claim not to believe in magic!!!). So our brains might be responsible for everything we know as 'reality'. Well worth studying. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ravenclaweric at gmail.com Tue Jan 2 06:38:47 2018 From: ravenclaweric at gmail.com (Eric Oppen) Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2018 22:38:47 -0800 Subject: [HPforGrownups] Re: Mystery of Mysteries In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: No: HPFGUIDX 193188 Maybe the brains attacked him because he was the "Pinky" of the bunch, and the brains were finally fed up? *grin* Happy New Year to all who still read this list! On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 6:34 PM, gcanham at cs.com [HPforGrownups] < HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > Brain Room > > The brain controls us, and we at least like to think that we control our > brain. But are 'we' separate from our brain? Is that what wizards are > researching in the brain room, or are they trying to find what is the > different between Muggle and wizard brains? Or what? > > I was asking why the brains were attacking Ron, and the suggestion I like > best is that one brain will always find something to argue with compared to > another. It has even been found that one half of your brain can argue with > the other, even get violent at times. There was a case of a woman who had > had her corpus callosum (which connects and helps coordinate the two > hemispheres) had been cut for medical reasons, and her left hand > (controlled by the right hemisphere) would often try to choke her, and she > would have to bring it under control with her right hand (controlled by the > left hemisphere). There is other evidence as well that shows that your two > hemispheres, even when connected by the corpus callosum, can have different > hopes and desires. So it should not be surprising that different brains can > come into conflict. Seeing the behavior of the brains in the Brain Room, > perhaps they need a body to keep them under some sort of control. > > Also, the subconscious parts of our brains can act effectively by > themselves most of the time, without need for conscious thought. No one > really knows where consciousness comes from, but we know we have souls > (that dementors have a taste for) so presumably it comes from those. I've > never met a wizard who has received the Dementors' Kiss, but from what > Muggles have found about the subconscious brain, it sounds as if they would > be able to function, but have little if any control, and tend to act on > impulse and their prejudices. That could be another reason the brain, which > presumably didn't have a soul to restrain it, attacked Ron if it believed > he was making fun of it. Lashing out at the slightest provocation, would be > typical thoughtless action a brain with no soul is likely to do. > > Muggle studies seem to show that our subconscious comes up with > conclusions and actions, based on what the brain has learnt in the past, > and our consciousness is only made aware of the decision a matter of > seconds before any action is initiated. That leads some Muggles to say we > don't really have willpower, just allowed to have the illusion of it. > Perhaps we don't have willpower, but it seems we do have "Won't Power", > because our consciousness normally seems to have a few seconds to overrule > the subconscious, and stop the action it was planning. > > Thinking of Dumbledore's comment to Harry during his 'near death > experience' at what looked like King's Cross Station, what we think of as > reality is actually all in our heads. What we see is our brain's > interpretation of the light's interaction with the cells at the back of our > eyes. How you visualize red might be completely different from what I see > as red. As a kid at school I recall our class being asked what color we saw > when shown turquoise, and I think I was one of only two or three, out of > about 20 in the class, who saw it as green, rather than blue. There is an > old question about whether a falling tree makes a sound if there is noone > to hear it. The answer is No. It disturbs the air and creates vibrations or > waves in it, but if there are no ears to interpret those vibrations, then > it doesn't become sound. > > It is not surprising that the Ministry has a room dedicated to the brain. > Muggle scientists, studying quantum mechanics and the fundamental building > blocks of matter, have noticed that some results are affected by being > observed or not, and some even go so far as to say that things only exist > when you observe them (yet they claim not to believe in magic!!!). So our > brains might be responsible for everything we know as 'reality'. Well worth > studying. > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: