I consider the brain more of antenna and shock absorber than a computational center--yes, it is a neurological servomechanism with a lot of nodes of control as far as body mechanics is concerned, but the only impact it has directly on what passes for thought in some circles is in modulating the refried thoughts of the past. I think some psychedelic compounds open up pathways that make for wider band reception, which can be very interesting or very chaotic and disruptive, as with any receiver.

I believe it was Neal Stephenson's definition that cyberspace was "where you are when you are on the telephone". I think this notion intersects with poor old Robert Pirsig's life-long wrestling match with "qualitas", the zone of the non-innumerable whatness of things perceived. Some novels bring this out most elegantly--the permeating container within the thing contained. These are not easy notions in a culture whose vocabulary has evolved from millenia of struggling with material form and force and measure, and striving to survive in what is still a pretty dangerous sort of universe overall.

Kick-start reactions to signals from the material environment are what the brain does best, but they are not the best and highest product of the mind.


A