I’ve been thinking a lot recently how ridiculous it is to think about humans as the “crown” of creation. The flaws are too many. In particular, the wetware — our brains. The problem with the brain is you’re it, and your mind is physically bound to the growth of cells and chemicals-infused liquid percolating inside your skull.
Similar to software engineering, you can abstract the computer as much as you want, but if you want real speed and efficiency, you have to respect the hardware. The brains’ architecture is generally the same, but all the people are wired differently — in a very physical sense. The neural growth that happens over a person’s lifetime is unique. The hot, reinforced neural paths you’ve built in your head physically define the way you think. To me, this is sad. I’d prefer to have no physical body and enjoy pure intellect. Ah, but there’s the catch: without the physical anchor, my thinking patterns would irrevocably change; a total loss of identity.
But back to the earthly, squishy matters. When I’ve been distracted for a long time, I experience a sense of static in my consciousness, akin to white noise, that puts everything out of focus. It usually takes an hour or two to clear and I imagine how whole regions of interconnected tissue have been excited by wayward electricity, and there is no other choice but to physically wait until the neurons stop firing and calm down. In contrast, very early mornings — or very late nights when I’ve had enough sleep — feel so blissful because I (again) imagine that there are no ripples and kinks in the inter-neuron communications, I move slowly and the thoughts are just skipping on the surface, quick and clear.
What you do, then, physically defines who you are. Activity defines identity. I said we are wired for certain things, but not hardwired. With neuroplasticity, you can directly influence the neurons and the webs they grow. Neural nets (the original kind) need to grow for you to learn new things. That’s why learning is generally so slow — you have to wait until the matter in your head changes its configuration.
I’ve spent a lot of time learning languages and learning all about it, and it’s fascinating how people push themselves to the limits of their actual, physical brain. Such as in this post which may or not be entirely true, but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility. To improve language learning, there is a flurry of methods that all essentially focus on reinforcing the physical growth of new neural connections in your brain: spaced repetition, the Golden List, immersion and many others. It’s common knowledge that 10 minutes of study a day is better than an hour once a week, precisely because daily effort doesn’t let the new growth dissolve.
The takeaway? Remember you’re the warmest machine. Your mind is quick, but your brain needs time to go through certain motions; don’t rush it. Let nature take its course.