Ponder
I think too much.
As a result I have generally contemplated most topics in my head at some point in time. If you ask my oppinion, it's likely I have one. I don't have to think about it when you ask. It's likely I've asked myself the same question before and will regurgitate the conversation I had in my head if I feel it's worth sharing. I don't often give my oppinion on things unless I'm asked though. I don't want to be intrusive on people's thoughts or conversations. If it's important then I'll share.
Anyways, check out this cartoon (on same secret website as previous) *click it to see it larger*
I laughed when I saw this one because it's one of the things I've pondered. Do I see things the same way as you? Probably not (by default) is the decision I arrived at in my head. Humans have a unique form of communication (ie. language) and with it we have found a way to express our thoughts etc. But we are raised from babies to call a certain item by it's name and a certain shade by its colour classification. But really, it could be arbitrary, and we might be seeing a totally different "green" then everyone else. There's no way to know.
But that's not why I decided on my conclusion. My reasoning was long and drawn out but it basially came down to science (which lots of stuff does, at least in my head). Our brains are made up of millions of cells. Specialized cells called "neurons" make hundreds of connections with hundreds of other "neurons" and they all create communication pathways. It's like a super-highway with on-ramps and off-ramps every where (but without congested traffic hopefully). But every person has a unique set of neural connections. So that's my first thought.
But here's what makes it more interesting. The neurons communicate by a transfer of "electrical" energy. So basically it's like a chemical build-up of "stuff" until it reaches a threashold and then all of a sudden it "fires" and passes its "information" on to the next guy. It's amazing really. It's neat how we can use this to think, and remember, and learn. (By the way, learning something is just the formation of new connections between neurons - you're doing it right now).
OK I've chosen a confusing way to get to the point and explain why I like this cartoon BUT It makes the blog a little bit better then "Hey, check out this cartoon I like - the end" but whatever. So, I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, we have found a way to "communicate" but we aren't necessarily on the same page with anything. It's impossible for you and me to have the same brain, and therefore the same thoughts. So even if all sensory stimuli (ie. stuff) was hitting our eyes the same way, we would never produce exactly the same interpretation.
Science Rules!
As a result I have generally contemplated most topics in my head at some point in time. If you ask my oppinion, it's likely I have one. I don't have to think about it when you ask. It's likely I've asked myself the same question before and will regurgitate the conversation I had in my head if I feel it's worth sharing. I don't often give my oppinion on things unless I'm asked though. I don't want to be intrusive on people's thoughts or conversations. If it's important then I'll share.
Anyways, check out this cartoon (on same secret website as previous) *click it to see it larger*
I laughed when I saw this one because it's one of the things I've pondered. Do I see things the same way as you? Probably not (by default) is the decision I arrived at in my head. Humans have a unique form of communication (ie. language) and with it we have found a way to express our thoughts etc. But we are raised from babies to call a certain item by it's name and a certain shade by its colour classification. But really, it could be arbitrary, and we might be seeing a totally different "green" then everyone else. There's no way to know.But that's not why I decided on my conclusion. My reasoning was long and drawn out but it basially came down to science (which lots of stuff does, at least in my head). Our brains are made up of millions of cells. Specialized cells called "neurons" make hundreds of connections with hundreds of other "neurons" and they all create communication pathways. It's like a super-highway with on-ramps and off-ramps every where (but without congested traffic hopefully). But every person has a unique set of neural connections. So that's my first thought.
But here's what makes it more interesting. The neurons communicate by a transfer of "electrical" energy. So basically it's like a chemical build-up of "stuff" until it reaches a threashold and then all of a sudden it "fires" and passes its "information" on to the next guy. It's amazing really. It's neat how we can use this to think, and remember, and learn. (By the way, learning something is just the formation of new connections between neurons - you're doing it right now).
OK I've chosen a confusing way to get to the point and explain why I like this cartoon BUT It makes the blog a little bit better then "Hey, check out this cartoon I like - the end" but whatever. So, I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, we have found a way to "communicate" but we aren't necessarily on the same page with anything. It's impossible for you and me to have the same brain, and therefore the same thoughts. So even if all sensory stimuli (ie. stuff) was hitting our eyes the same way, we would never produce exactly the same interpretation.
Science Rules!
posted by Aimee at 6:31 PM
1 Comments:
My overly-introspective science nerd twin! I have had these same thoughts too!
But I decided that we do see similar colours. This is because of a few reasons. 1) If at least the 3 "primary colours" weren't the same, then all of the "secondary colours" would be mixed up...We both know that, paint-wise, yellow and blue mix to make green. And that green and red mix to make brown. What if your yellow was my orange, and vice versa... Then yellow and blue would mix to make brown. Even if I called it "green", it wouldn't change once I added red to it, because it would already be brown. OK that's probably a poor explanation that would be better done with paint :)
2) Steph, my prof's wife, does research on bird plumage so she talks about absorbance by different wavelengths and stuff... that kind of stuff makes me think that we see things similar-ly. What trips me up is that while humans have 3 colour cones, and can only see from red-blue, BIRDS have FOUR colour cones, one of which is in the UV zone. So when we look at birds, we're NOT seeing what THEY see. WEIRD.
Also, I was talking to one of my friends the other day about the process of learning, and it totally tripped me up. It's just reinforcements of connections between certain patterns of neurons. so bizarre.
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