Brain Power

The human brain is the most incredible thing in all of the universe. How can this lump of meat accomplish things no computer can equal? As with Donald Rumsfeld's reference to "things we don't know we don't know", it would take more education than most of us will ever acquire to even comprehend what the human brain can do.

Still, I find it curiously interesting that the wonderful brain can sometimes be easily tripped up. The rising or setting moon appears much larger than the moon seen high in the sky overhead. The answer, I am told, is reference. At moonrise or moonset, we can compare the apparent size of the moon to terrestrial objects, which makes it look larger.

Reference. Our brains seem incapable of comprehending things far outside the range of familiarity. Empty space in the universe is infinite. It has no boundaries. Incomprehensible. To our wondrous brain, everything has boundaries.

The speed of light. 186,000 miles per second. Incomprehensible. We can't even comprehend the speed of a jet aircraft. Recent reports tell of tornadoes with wind speeds of 200 miles per hour snapping large trees like matchsticks. Imagine sticking your head out the window of a plane moving at 500 miles per hour. It might be snapped off like those tree trunks.

But at 35,000 feet we have no reference for gauging terrestrial speed. If we were flying close to the ground, watching fields and towns swish by at the rate of about 2 1/2 football fields per second, we would not calmly consider our choice from the flight attendant's beverage cart... we would be clutching the seat in front of us in white-knuckle panic!

At my advancing age, I have discovered another incident of brain shortcoming - again related to reference. Once we reach the age of about two years, standing upright requires no thought, no conscious effort. The brain sends just the right signal to each of those many muscles in our feet, legs, thighs and back that keep our bodies erect... even on a surfboard or on skis (once we get the hang of using those devices!).

But now, after decades of practice, my brain at times can no longer figure out which way is up - can't decide what signals to send to which muscles, until I give it a reference point. Standing in the shower with a head full of shampoo and eyes closed, I must touch the shower wall and determine which way is up, or all those muscles will just go limp and I will fall.

I laugh to myself when I imagine being given a roadside sobriety test by a police officer. Asked to walk a straight line, placing one foot in front of the other helps to indicate if you are impaired. I can no longer do that when stone cold sober.

In fact, I cannot walk any straight line - I just tend to stagger to one side or the other. I know, a cane will largely solve that problem. Reference! But, walk with a cane? Like some old man? I suppose I will have to fall a couple of times before I accept that inevitability!