Hayter’s article for March 6, 2022
“Just think about it”
I need you to humor me. Right now I want you to take five seconds to look away from the newspaper and see the stuff around you. You don’t need to concentrate on anything. just let your eyes do whatever they normally do. But don’t get lost out there. You need to return in five seconds. Ready? – You’re gone.
And, five. –Good. In those five seconds, something happened to your brain and you didn’t even notice. When you took your eyes away from the newspaper, a big chunk of your brain was no longer needed for reading and concentrating. Instead, it immediately took in 11 million bits of info per second on your surroundings. In other words, your noggin received 55 million bits of electrical impulses from every part of your body that has nerves. I’m doubting that your toenails are a part of the group.
The info your brain received came mostly from your nose, ears, eyeballs, and skin. The other parts of your body didn’t turn themselves off during that time or you would’ve passed out. However, now that you’ve returned to the newspaper, your brain is only taking in a mere 60,000 bits of info per second. Your brain receptors are channeling a lot of electricity trying to figure out what the Sam Hill I’m getting at. You can still breath and see, but that itch under your arm is not getting much brain time.
The stuff from your five-second experiment has been filed deep because your mind knows you don’t like boring stuff. Had you noticed a giant tarantula walking across the carpet, your nerve system would’ve been focused almost entirely on survival. Everything else is just gonna hafta wait. The bottom line, while in a state of spider sighting, your brain shuts down a lot of other stuff that does not merit even subconscious attention. And, yes, that can include your urinary tract.
I doubt scientists just made this stuff up. They glued dozens of diodes on a person’s scalp, legs, stomach, underarms… you get the picture. And having them look at photos and videos. On occasion, they might wire them up and have 13 aides take each one on walks outside.
Inside your skull are parts of your brain that control different body parts. Tell you what, reach back and point to the little place on your noggin where your neck meets your skull. Then go up about one inch. Got it? Okay, now you can stop pointing and return your hand to its proper place.
How long does superfluous info stay in your brain? Some say it only leaves when your brain shuts down. You see, the electricity in your body is generated by chemical reactions? The process must take place in the appendix because my memory has been shot ever since I had mine removed.
Of of this was meant to get you prepared for what’s coming. A busload of the files in your brain will not surface in your lifetime. There’s just too much of it. Some of it may trickle out when you’re dreaming. But, your encounters with family, friends co-workers, neighbors… are each cataloged in your brain. When your uncle didn’t reimburse you for his breakfast on October 9, 2004, that info is easy to retrieve. What color blouse your wife is wearing right now, was never filed in the first place. Scientists don’t know why that is.
All of your experiences in life are tucked away in your brain and together they make up who you are. And, get this, your spouse, sons, daughters, grandkids, aunts, the people at work, your teachers… none of them know who you really are. Their brains automatically analyze what little they’ve witnessed about you, allowing them to compose a judgment of who you are – to them. For the teacher: “Ah, Betty Sue. Nice kid. Does her homework. Not crazy about the ring in her nose. Of course, if she takes it out, I won’t remember her name.”
Each person sees you differently. None of them know who you really are. YOU don’t even know who you are. There are nutzoids out there who think they’re geniuses. They think they know more than you and can do everything better than you, yet they’re dumb as dirt. On the other hand, some people have no confidence whatsoever. They think they are idiots, and deserve to have the cruel creep that they married. Their memories of failure, relationships, embarrassments, losses… are filed at an easily accessible spot in their brains. These are two exaggerated examples of not knowing who you “really” are.
Can these attitudes be changed? For some of us, counseling, medication, electric shock treatment, brain injuries… might help. Let me tell you this story. Some of you pretend you never heard it. -- I once knew a man I never cared for. He was crude as can be. Fairly proud of himself, too. It was all I could do to be around him. Well, he had a motorcycle accident several years back that required an operation on his brain. When he was finally released from the hospital, he was not the person that I remembered. He’s a friend to this day. Kind, thoughtful, moral, great sense of humor… While I believe that God had a hand in it, I believe He did it by keeping him alive after the wreck and causing some more pleasant experiences in his life to come out of hiding.
The brain is a wonderment is it not? One thing I’ve wondered for a good while is why it is that over 50 years ago, other guys didn’t see Kay Cross the way I did. Their brains did some very poor filing. -- Beg your pardon? Why did I ask you to touch the back of your head, earlier? I don’t recal doing that. -- Enough of this. -- Next time.
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