Excuse me, is that a Brain in your Pocket?
You know, if I were smarter, liked school more, understood chemistry, biology, physiology etc etc….. I would have been a brain surgeon….. stop laughing…. I have skills.
D'oh!
A neurosurgeon studies for an absolute minimum of 14 years before being legally qualified to poke inside someone’s head. But even after four years pre-med, four years MD and six years of residency, many neurosurgical candidates cram in a two-year master’s degree and follow their residency with a one- to two-year subspecialty fellowship, if not significant Ph.D. research in neuroscience. Clearly, these are not normal people….. on second thought, maybe I’d be perfect.
My brain, became fascinated with the Brain, in grade nine, when a teacher posed me this mind blowing question. If you cut off your arm, you’d say me and my arm, same with your leg, me and my leg…. what if you cut off your head would you say me and my head or would you say me and my body… we’re entering into the shadowy nether regions of consciousness and the existence of the soul – irregardless I was hooked.
I probably own something over 100 books on Psychology, Psychiatry, Brain Chemistry, Brain Function, Brain Disorders etc etc – along with a whole host of documentaries – it is such an incredible & fascinating piece of engineering…. it’s one of the passions most people don’t know I have….. check out just a few of these random facts….
Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour.
Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body.
The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb.
Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.
The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes.
Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream.
The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy.
The brain is much more active at night than during the day.
Logically, during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on.
Neurons continue to grow throughout human life.
For years scientists and doctors thought that brain and neural tissue couldn’t grow or regenerate. While it doesn’t act in the same manner as tissues in many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life.
The brain itself cannot feel pain.
While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain.
80% of the brain is water.
Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on TV. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue.
Obviously missing lips, this specimen is unable to tell us if it's me and my head or me and my body...
I haven’t even broached the seemingly endless lists of abnormalities, psychiatric and psychological problems, illnesses, syndromes, disorders etc etc….. just amazing. As Jim Morrision sang “People are Strange”
Have a Great Day