A very unusual brain

[ICIT2LOL]

Found this in a newsletter and am amazed at the well preserved convolutions in this brain. I have seen quite a few over the years and especially form dementias and they are indeed a sory looking organ compared to this one.

Einstein?s brain was unusual in several respects, rarely seen photos show - Washington Post

 

[indianacarnie]

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[A Guy]

There is some speculation he was an alien. Many people just tune out when aliens are mentioned, but...

They say humans only use a small percentage of their brains. Somehow a larger part of his was switched on. I wonder if other creative peoples brains had similar designs, such as Beethoven, or Mozart?

A Guy

 

[ICIT2LOL]

View attachment 280979

There is some speculation he was an alien. Many people just tune out when aliens are mentioned, but...

They say humans only use a small percentage of their brains. Somehow a larger part of his was switched on. I wonder if other creative peoples brains had similar designs, such as Beethoven, or Mozart?

A Guy

An interesting hypothesis Bill but I have during my profession life often heard remarked that we only use 10% of our brain's computing power at most. There is a lot of research at the moment with "plasticity" of nerve tissue in that damaged parts can be taken over by other non used parts of the brain to compensate.
Now it may be interesting to note that I worked for six years in a rehab unit dealing with a lot of stroke victims and maybe it was my imagination but in my humble opinion the individuals who had strokes and some really quite devastating ones often recovered more quickly and to a large extent had more recovered loss of all functions if given therapies of one sort or another in the early stage say within a day or so of suffering the stroke then an individual who had spent for example three weeks on bed rest before rehab.
Now I must say that haemorrhagic strokes recovered in my view better than occlusive or embolic CVA (Cerebral Vascular Accident) events. That is again in my humble opinion and from what I was privy to observe.
Another point of great interest to me also was the recovery rate of patients who were exposed to using computers even if playing very simple games they also (IMHO) vastly improved not only their physical limitations but also reduced the level of depression - a fact that not many would readily think of as stroke (CVA) individuals as having.
As for the other individuals brains you mentioned yes it would have been really interesting to see the convolutional patterns of their cerebral cortex (the very thin layer of grey matter - actual nerve cells) to compare with what we see in Einstein's brain which are indeed unusually tight.
The convolutions for anyone who is not aware is the body's way of increasing the surface area of the cerebral cortex therefore increasing the number of nerve cells contained therein.
In the pic is a fairly typical pattern of convolutions for comparison.

 

[M1GU31]

View attachment 280979

There is some speculation he was an alien. Many people just tune out when aliens are mentioned, but...

They say humans only use a small percentage of their brains. Somehow a larger part of his was switched on. I wonder if other creative peoples brains had similar designs, such as Beethoven, or Mozart?

A Guy

The history channel lately thinks eveyrthing is aliens or ghost. Not really surprised to hear that. I think some humans just developer their brains better then others.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hmm MIG I think too that like other feotal develpomental, genetically inherited or altered tissues / organs in particular the brain are majot factors in what one neds up with.
Now depending on ones beliefs of course it really is down to evolution.

 

[indianacarnie]

Hmm MIG I think too that like other feotal develpomental, genetically inherited or altered tissues / organs in particular the brain are majot factors in what one neds up with.
Now depending on ones beliefs of course it really is down to evolution.

I agree. But that opens up a scary thought ........ ever seen the movie "Idiocracy"?

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hmm MIG I think too that like other feotal develpomental, genetically inherited or altered tissues / organs in particular the brain are majot factors in what one neds up with.
Now depending on ones beliefs of course it really is down to evolution.

I agree. But that opens up a scary thought ........ ever seen the movie "Idiocracy"?

No mate I haven't to be honest but I can imagine if "evolution" or genetic / inherited traits were drastically altered by whatever because e we live in an environment that is conducive to mutant changes creating what could possibly be for the better or worse.

A good example would be what we tip on the land to kill weeds substances again for example like
2-4 D that were considered to be reasonably safe but recent research shows that in the developing countries the standards behind the chemicals manufacture fall very short of the - again example dioxin levels that have been set very definite max levels by out here at least the Australian government. In fact I saw a doco just recently that showed the levels of this toxin in some instances were 7 times the absolute max set out here.
In my humble opinion there is no just cause for using this rubbish apart from human greed to make the most out of what can be grown.

 

[indianacarnie]

Again I agree with you 100%. Corporate greed needs to take a backseat to the public safety. We here in the States have had our own problems with Dioxin especially but other toxic chemicals too.

I do believe in evolution but theres two sides to every coin you know. What can evolve can devolve too. I'm somewhat afraid of a "two tiered" future, dumb masses and a better fed better educated "elite" who actually run things. Dangerous chemicals in our food, air and water have the potential to bring that to reality. Rich people have access to better food etc.

As an aside...... you really ought to watch that movie. Its supposed to be a comedy (and is funny) but the underlying logic and premise are all too real and very scary. To me anyway.

 

[bobafetthotmail]

They say humans only use a small percentage of their brains.

And they always forget to say "at any given time".

To elaborate: the brain is an exceptionally complex analog computer. Each portion of the brain has a very specific function and cannot be drastically re-purposed so easily if at all.
For example, the motor cortex is divided in areas that control a very specific muscle of your body. Some damage can be compensated to a certain extent if enough of the area of a specific muscle is damaged, but if the specific area is fully gone, you lose control of that muscle. Period.
And the sensory cortex is divided in areas that receive the input from a very specific sensory cell or group of sensory cells.

Bulk of the brain's surface is used by memory areas, again linked to specific functions, so motor memory, visual memory, sound memory, and so on.

There is also the part for instincts and emotions (the cingulate cortex) and the part for superior brain functions, that is taking rational decisions (prefrontal lobes, lobotomy damages connection to this part and depending on the extent of damage you can end up with total annihilation of the individual).

So using 100% of the brain would be just sensing all sensations at the same time (hot-cold-pressure-pain), contracting all muscles at the same time, recalling all memories at the same time, sensing all emotions at the same time, while also screwing up the rest of the body by releasing a ton of wildly different hormones not meant to work together.

Just correcting a very annoying piece of misinformation, not a critique to you in particular.

I'm somewhat afraid of a "two tiered" future, dumb masses and a better fed better educated "elite" who actually run things.

I'm pretty sure that it has been like this from day 0.

And seriously, evolution is a bi.tch. The only thing that matters for it is if the individual makes more offspring than an individual with a different set of traits.
So that the traits of the most successful individual are passed on to the offspring as the traits of the less successful individual decrease in % in the population until they disappear or keep a token presence.

Now, while this is fine for animals that aren't horribly smart on average, for humans it breaks down a little.

I mean, look at how the natality drops as the average income of the nation rises. Here in EU it's not negative just because there are a ton of migrants still making tons of children.

What can evolve can devolve too.

This is happening at an alarming rate for allergies and other relatively minor stuff. Since we all benefit from decent healthcare technology, people that in the past would have been too weak (against invisible threats) to live are allowed to live by using medicines, therefore allowing their traits to spread, weakening the population (and making it very dependent from medicines and medical tech to survive and thrive).

I'm not saying it's an evil thing as I'm not a Nazi, but human beings in the wealthier nations are weakening against antigens and non-phyisical threats every new generation just because of evolution.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Again I agree with you 100%. Corporate greed needs to take a backseat to the public safety. We here in the States have had our own problems with Dioxin especially but other toxic chemicals too.

I do believe in evolution but theres two sides to every coin you know. What can evolve can devolve too. I'm somewhat afraid of a "two tiered" future, dumb masses and a better fed better educated "elite" who actually run things. Dangerous chemicals in our food, air and water have the potential to bring that to reality. Rich people have access to better food etc.

As an aside...... you really ought to watch that movie. Its supposed to be a comedy (and is funny) but the underlying logic and premise are all too real and very scary. To me anyway.

Yes mate and the chemical issue has been going since the turn of the 20th century and if we knew probably before who knows what we have eaten as kids and adults especially when they brought in the new "breed" of herbicides and pesticides.
I saw a good doco on the TV the other night that showed what war can do for the development of these kinds of things / substances ie mustard gas that was developed by Haber who went on the get the Noble prize for chemistry something I find rather contradictory in that on one hand he was trying to effectively kill humans and on the other make substance s essential for more efficient plant growth. Fritz Haber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[mjf]

He apparently had a definite penchant for the ladies. I'm hoping there is a correlation between that and intelligence

 

[Layback Bear]

To me it's very complicated subject. The human brain trying to figure out the human brain.
I do have some very strong beliefs that DNA form generation way back in time has a very important part on how ones brain works.
Check out how Alexander The Great. He ordered cross breeding of humans from different part of the world that he conquered just to see what would happen.
I also think it chemicals. Good ones or bad ones; it all depends on who did the testing. Has anybody did a study of what all the good chemicals do when mixed with what is considered other good chemicals?
Does anybody know what Genetic Altered Foods is going to do to humans 4 or 5 generations from now. They speculate and have theories only. Those speculations and theories vary according to which side you talk to on the Genetic Altered Food subject.
To me the human brain is a muscle and needs to be worked and exercised like any other muscle to develop and/or healed.
I think it's obvious that I'm no expert on the subject.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Absolutely Jack and something I learnt early on in a psych hospital that dementias deteriorate faster if they are not stimulated mentally on a regular basis.

One only has to look at dogs for example I am a firm believer that a cross bred dog is a far more resilient and IMHO more intelligent than pure breds. That we as humans in general are crossbreds for the best part is testament to what I just stated. I have worked in many facilities for the developmentally disabled to be politically correct where in breeding or to be blunt are conceived through incest - the offspring either have awful physical or mental disabilities or indeed have both.

MJF mate that is really thin ice mate LOL!!

 

[bobafetthotmail]

ie mustard gas that was developed by Haber who went on the get the Noble prize for chemistry something I find rather contradictory in that on one hand he was trying to effectively kill humans and on the other make substance s essential for more efficient plant growth. Fritz Haber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yeah, because Alfred Nobel didn't create the Nobel foundation and Prizes with the enourmous pile of cash he made by basically inventing the modern explosive industry from scratch by starting with dynamite and going on with blasting caps (devices to detonate less-sensitive explosives) and the first modern stable smokeless gunpowder (again with nytroglicerine-based explosives), in 1887, so his stuff was used to shoot at other humans in at least the first World War (in some of the European armies, French used their own stuff which was pretty unstable).

Besides, any pesticide is poisonous for men too. Just that to kill insects they use lower concentrations, so it's not lethal for men.

Rat poison is another matter alltogether.

Does anybody know what Generic Altered Foods is going to do to humans 4 or 5 generations from now.

IF you mean Genetic Altered Foods, then any effect caused by the different genome or different proteins they use is nearly impossible. The genome and proteins of our food are disassembled down to their constituents before being absorbed in the digestive system. DNA and proteins are too big to be absorbed otherwise.

Such stuff is very very bad mainly because it's copyrighted. That is, it's sterile. The farmers need to buy it from the company each year. This is screwing up a lot of farmers in India that adopted that in desperation after a few bad years with normal crops.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thats all very well but a lot of the pesticides and herbicides we use are accumulative so it doesn't matter how weak the pesticide is it builds up to levels that are harmful. At very least stay in our systems until the DNA damage has been done.

Now what you say may be true for the indoor pesticides I don't know I have no figures although the ingredients now are not the natural pyrethrins originally used -they are synthesised.

The chemicals that are sprayed on farmland however are of real concern one only has to look at the death rate of predatory birds to know that something is killing them and it certainly would not be what they have been preying on for millennia. What also concerns me is what they tip into and onto animals that are subsequently eaten by humans - remember the days when they fed pigs and chickens and the like hormones (if not they are still doing that) how good was that for an idea:sarc:

 

[bobafetthotmail]

The main problem is that if we stop using that shit and go Organic we need to dramatically decrease the total food consumption. There is too much people to do that without killing 4-ish billion people or more through starving.

Before mechanized and industrialized farming world population was around one billion. Now we are more than 7 billions. So yeah, it's not easy to do.

Still worth trying though, but probably not gonna happen unless Aliens land and force this at gunpoint.

Thats all very well but a lot of the pesticides and herbicides we use are accumulative

As are most industrial food dyes. There is some turnover in what they use as a lot of dyes turns out to be carcinogenic or to damage people one way or another (after years that the products using it was consumed by population). Can even increase kid hyperactivity

At very least stay in our systems until the DNA damage has been done.

Just note that the only damage to DNA worth considering for the future generations is the one done to gametes (in the man's nuts and woman's ovary). Which are relatively well protected from such stuff even if it builds up.

All mutations in other cells can only make your life miserable through tumors and a bunch of other issues. As if this wasn't worth considering.

Although I would really like to see someone doing a half-decent study on the multi-generational dynamics of a lot of these chemicals. These kinds of studies are pretty damn rare.

Now what you say may be true for the indoor pesticides I don't know I have no figures although the ingredients now are not the natural pyrethrins originally used -they are synthesised.

Poison is poison. The molecule is the same and has the same dynamics regardless of where it comes from (still accumulates and still. The only thing that artificial stuff adds are different impurities (reagents used and possible byproducts), while natural stuff has other kinds of impurities (whatever was similar enough to the molecule extracted to be hard to separate).

The chemicals that are sprayed on farmland however are of real concern

Also all the medicines (and drugs) we take that end up in the waste water (medicines are removed from the body with pee, but the molecules that do the job aren't destroyed) and go screw the river ecosystems.

remember the days when they fed pigs and chickens and the like hormones (if not they are still doing that) how good was that for an idea

Afaik, US does not have decent regulations banning that. EU banned most hormone use on meat animals. One of the reasons US meat cannot be exported to EU.

Well, maybe one of the reasons Americans are so high and strong is because they eat meat with growth hormones, that do work in humans as well.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Well I for one do not think there is such a short fall in food as one only has to look at what we dispose of or waste as out of date and a lot of that would be that it is because the food stuff is not the right colour or will not be as tasty.

It is a fact for example in Australia we bulldoze tons of oranges into giant holes in the ground because they cannot compete with the cheap imports.

I know for a fact that we send heaps of out of date medications to third world countries fro example that we only discard because the companies want to sell more and the OOD is just a ruse to do just that.

 

[mjf]

MJF mate that is really thin ice mate LOL!!

It was meant as a bit of humor - even though he did.
I do not believe "intelligence" is purely innate DNA. Continued thought and study improves ones ability to problem solve (fact I believe). Potential med students in this country do a UMAT (form of intelligence test) and you can be trained to improve your score.
I've worked in research most of my life and think I'm smarter now than I was 20 years ago at figuring out problems. So what really is intelligence.

 

[Layback Bear]

Thank you bobafetthotmail for pointing out my spelling error.
I have edited my gross error in spelling. I hope my post makes sense now.