A few months ago, someone told me that we knew less about the human brain than the dark side of the moon. In fact, he was quoting an intellectual psychologist of a past period. However true that was at the time that quote was produced - I don't think it is quite true today. Further, I would say that there's a lot more to know about the human brain, than the dark side of the moon. Okay so, let's talk about this for a moment shall we?
It seems that every single day I read something in the science news about new discoveries of the brain. We are unlocking all the secrets in rapid succession. Each incremental gain of knowledge in neuroscience is bringing us closer to the merging of computers and machines. There was an interesting article in Medical Express Online News which was titled; "Warning! Collision imminent! The brain's quick interceptions help you navigate the world," posted on February 7, 2012, which stated;
"Researchers at The Neuro and the University of Maryland have figured out the mathematical calculations that specific neurons employ in order to inform us of our distance from an object and the 3-D velocities of moving objects and surfaces relative to ourselves."
Sure, well, this is excellent research, and I would submit to you that this same principle works in reverse, as in when a human being is about to crash into something hard, such as the ground, or tree stump, or after striking something moving or fixed and about to hit something else. Why do I suspect this and believe there are more mathematical calculations to discover? Well, I've been involved previously in racing motorcycles, and as a high performance athlete with an intensive and often reckless training routine.
It's amazing what the brain can do, running over big rocks and knowing exactly where to put your feet, or when you start to fall, your feet instinctively and in a split second reflex catch your balance. The mind is doing all of this and it is amazing fast at it and incredibly good at it. So, there are more mathematical formulas to discover you see.
Obviously, without the ability of humans to have these attributes, they probably wouldn't have survived and made it through the evolutionary process to where they are today. Therefore it should not surprise anyone. Nevertheless, the ability to watch this in real time and put a mathematical formula to it is quite intriguing. In fact, this will help us in the future as we merge man and machine, or we get to the point where we can drive our cars by thought, just as today folks are able to operate prosthesis devices with their brain.
This would eliminate quite a bit of reaction time, and it would make everything much safer. There are also applications for exoskeletons, public safety, and military robotics. It figures that evolution would have figured out a way to solve these problems, and now that we have the mathematics behind the brain's process in all this and its understanding of its environment around it, we are that much closer to our future reality. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
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