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Pastimes : Human Brain, The -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: George Statham who wrote (375)	2/7/2014 10:59:57 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 935

Just an observation. I run/power walk 4-5 before dawn every day. My consciousness is along for the ride, but most of the time it's doing it's own stream of thought, elsewhere. Once in a while I'll be startled by a noise in the bushes next to me... and the process is interesting. The noise is heard in the closest ear, then the further away ear. The subconscious measures the difference in time between the sound reaching the ears, six inches, at the speed of sound, and somehow calculates it's precise location. The subconscious then searches my memory to see if the sound is familiar and non-threatening or unfamiliar and potentially threatening. Judgement made it sends a strong message, millions of neurons firing, to my consciousness along with goosebumps along that side of my body, quickened pulse, released hormones and I'm sure other stuff I'm not aware of. I guess my point is that the subconscious is really doing all the heavy lifting. I won't defend these stats and really don't think anyone knows, but I've heard that the human brain uses 20-25% of the bodies energy, much higher than any other mammal. And that the subconscious uses 94% of the energy that the brain uses. Who is to say that parts of our subconscious don't have their own, very separate consciousness? As distinct and invisible to ourselves, as our consciousness is to each other? How could this six pounds of organic material make all those calculations and take those actions, in a few nanoseconds, without some form of its own, individual consciousness? Just thinking out loud....

To: George Statham who wrote (375)	2/7/2014 6:38:09 PM
From: Shane M	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 935

"One thing I'd noticed when tired and driving late at night many years ago is that I'd see a dog by the side of the road. I'd get closer and realize it was a bush or some brush." George, I laughed a little when I read this. My immediate recollection was a time when I small - probably in 3rd or 4th grade. I lived on a farm and it was dusky/maybe even dark. I was walking outside and scared myself nearly to death. I saw what I thought was a large wolf just sitting in the yard watching me. (Makes me wonder if some of these images are hardwired into our mind - I sometimes think I see snakes when they're not there also). I raced back to the house at full sprint with the screen door banging behind me. Turns out it was a bag of garbage that was just in an odd place in the yard where I hadn't expected it. I didn't figure this out until the next morning when I went out and saw a bag of garbage in the same place where the wolf was sitting watching me!