The Brain is an Engine,
the mind is the work the engine produces.
The operation of an engine is relatively simple. A highly energetic force acts upon a specific pre-fabricated mechanism that translates the energy into mechanical action, like the rotation of a crank shaft.
Likewise, in the brain, a specific neurotransmitter acts upon a specific pre-fabricated neuro-receptor, and a mechanical action takes place. The action is repeated, over and over, through molecular metabolism, creating a neural circuit across an integrated web of neural fibers. Something is learned. A new thought is born. A home run is hit. A new child is born.
The brain is an engine, the mind is the work the engine produces.
There are a broad range of neurotransmitters produced endogenously in the human body. Modern science hasn't fully charted all the neurochemicals that we produce in our bodies everyday. To further compound the situation, plants produce chemicals that act as human neurotransmitters, and many of these chemicals effect the nervous systems of dogs, monkeys, mice, spiders, and ants, and just about every other aspect of the food chain. This is no coincidence. There is a reason for this.
These neuro-chemicals represent keys that unlock specific networks within the central nervous system. Using the engine as a metaphor, these various chemical keys represent different pistons upon which the brain as an engine can drive the actions of the mind. So, what we would call, "the mind," is the action of multiple pistons operating multiple axes in sync to produce a harmonic standing wave that becomes the carrier wave for everything we call "reality," our identity, our language, our memory, our worldview, as it is perceived through the five senses.
(it's okay if you want to stop and re-read that last part.)
The brain is an engine, the mind is the work the engine produces.
But the brain is not just a mechanical engine, manufacturing chemical pistons and then recycling them over and over. The engine of the brain is also electrical.
Using fMRI's to study the metabolic action of the brain is great and all, but really, it's like trying to record the beauty of your favorite 1080 dp HiDef movie using an old VHS camera. There are details in the electric wave action that can't be recorded at the relatively low samples rates of modern technology. Still, it is possible to model electrical wave actions using mechanical analogues. Perhaps a good place to start is to model the action of sound waves, specifically within acoustic chambers that shape resonant frequencies.
Electrical waves resonate with each other just like sound waves do. Imagine standing in a concert hall. A man is standing next to a synthesizer, and he presses a key. You hear a low booming sound, continuous, sustained. It fills the air of the hall, and you feel the vibrations in your gut. The Man with the synthesizer rolls the pitch of the booming sound up a note, then two note, then three. The air of the hall screams as the walls vibrate with the harmonic frequency of the synthesizer. The acoustics of the room, as defined by its architecture, reflect and amplify the sound wave, making it much louder, and producing a standing wave that rattles the walls and makes your ears hurt. Then, the man rolls the pitch higher, and the standing wave disappears. The walls stop shaking. The volume of the soundwave returns to normal.
Electrical waves can do the same thing, just like the sound waves. They can modulate one another to produce higher frequency harmonics resulting in a peak harmonic standing wave that is defined by a specific material architecture.
The brain is an engine. A hyper-dimensional, multifaceted electrical and mechanical engine that revs up to reach peak operational workload and produce a range of harmonic standing waves. These standing waves act as a carrier wave for the functions and quantum-computations of the mind as information is received through the five sense.
And if that doesn't blow your mind, this will. You, as you currently know you, are a singularity. That's right, you are a point of infinite subjective regression generated by the standing waves of your brain-engine, and you will defy any attempt to be completely measured objectively. Kinda like a black hole, only instead of consuming matter and energy beyond all recognition, you produce almost unlimited potential for creative expression as you define reality out of the chaos.
Chew on it. Let it idle.
If your curious about more, stay tuned. Next time, I will examine a method by which to map the pistons that drive the engine of the mind. I'f I ever get around to it, I might include blow-out charts. Wouldn't that be fun.
posted by sourmonkey at 11:17 PM
18 comments
