Brain extentions

The average human brain weighs about 3 pounds and is about 77% water. It doesn't sound that impressive, does it? Yet there are as many neurons in your brain as there are stars in the galaxy, and more possible connections than there are atoms in the universe. Human beings are really amazing, not only because of the potential of our brains, but because of what we have already done with them. The fact that we are clever enough to invent anything is pretty impressive, but the things that have been invented and imagined are both numerous and stupefying. This is a subject that could be discussed for years, but for the purpose of brevity I would like to focus on one area in particular: the things humans have invented to extend the brain.

Our brain is the seat of sensation, so everything that comes from beyond our immediate radius to make our senses tingle -- television, radio, telephone, written communication, walking sticks and even imported produce -- is stimulus that we would never have were it not for human invention. Television allows our eyes to see all the way to downtown Indianapolis, or Caracas, or the bottom of the ocean, or even inside the belly of a pelican, and all these things register in our minds. It is an extention of our brains, just as a walking stick is an extention of our arms. Written communication allows you to tell someone something without ever seeing them, bringing their senses into contact with your own. As for the produce, if humans were not smart enough to make boats, Europeans would never have tasted a potato or a tomato (this, however, is a sensitive subject and has more to do with history and cultural compulsion than tickling your neurons. In this case I am more interested in the taste sensation of a fruit from halfway around the world than by the oil and time it took to get it there. One thing at a time!).

And then, there is the greatest brain extention of all: The Internet.

Ah, the Internet. What a marvel. We as human beings have never been more knowledgeable or more entertained. A literal world of information is available at the click of a button, and a well-worded search can turn up not only the information you were looking for, but information on that information, and interesting side notes to the information, etc. If you suddenly find yourself wondering about the reasons behind the Crimean War (and good for you if you even knew there was a Crimean War), you can search for it online and find a massive pile of explainations, opinions, merchandise, and God only knows what else. Then, if you read about the war and realize you want to know more about Florence Nightingale, who sounds like a real upright, intelligent human being, you can start your search over again. The internet allows us to find things almost at the speed of thought, and provides fodder for brain connections that we never would have made otherwise. Who knew there was a website devoted to things shaped like ducks, for example?

More on this subject to come... your thoughts?