Toys in the attic
Thanks to modern technology, humans can now see their brains at work, can comprehend the billions of microscopic connections that power the hard drive between our ears and can start mapping this incredible engine of ingenuity. Unfortunately, all we’ve learned so far is how little we actually know and how difficult (and potentially impossible) it will be to truly understand the mysteries of the mind.
Reality itself is defined unconsciously by our working brains, which means that many people experience life and existence in a far different way than others. Science journalist Helen Thomson introduces her readers to several of these individuals in her fascinating book Unthinkable: an extraordinary journey through the world’s strangest brains.
The great irony is so many of us don’t think about the work the brain does without thinking, without conscious effort on our part.
Memories, emotions, breathing, the heart pumping blood and the internal organs doing their jobs, balance, direction, concentration, interpretation, reaction and so much more – all done on auto-pilot.
Yet there are some brains that do this unconscious work far differently than most. Or not at all.
Thomson introduces readers to a woman who has no sense of direction, meaning she is perpetually lost, even in her own home. She is not crazy, nor is she stupid. She can follow verbal and written directions to any location. For some unknown reason, however, her brain fails to recognize where she
is and where she’s been, so is unable to offer direction on where to go.
Thomson meets a fellow who still has to remind himself that he’s alive because he was convinced for years that he was dead. Shockingly, scans confirmed that numerous parts of his brain, particularly the ones associated with sensations, feelings and sense of self and belonging, were far more quiet than the average person. With the help of medication, psychotherapy and coping
techniques, the man is now able to experience living, a mental act most others simply take for granted.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are people whose senses are too strong. The startle reflex is so powerful in some people that they jump in fear at the slightest provocation. Others are so empathetic to the feelings of others around them that they experience the sensations of others – the taste of their food, their emotional state, the touch of a hand on an arm and even their physical pain – as if it was their own.
And then there are those whose senses are jumbled. Synesthesia is a well-researched and chronicled condition but neuroscientists are constantly learning about new variations all the time, far beyond the cases of people who assign colours and mental images to sounds and/or tastes. Some see halos around people or experience their words and presence as flashes of colour.
Others hear an endless musical soundtrack playing, songs permanently stuck in their heads, and scans confirm the heightened awareness that their brains are hearing and interpreting sound.
While there are individuals who can train their brains to exhibit miraculous feats of memory, such as remembering the exact order of a random deck of cards in less than a minute, these are taught skills with established techniques for specific uses. Some people, however, are able to remember every day of their lives, going back to early childhood, in incredible detail because the connection between their memories and their feelings is intertwined far greater than most others. They are able to remember events, where they were and what they were doing from a random date 40 years ago because they can’t help but recall how they were feeling – physically and emotionally – on that day.
The attic is always that endlessly fascinating, slightly terrifying and always rewarding place to explore in any house and it turns out the attic between our ears is as ripe for endless examination as the whole of the universe itself.