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JJLopez's picture

On the Brain

I thought that the idea that everything is a construction of the brain is somewhat interesting however, I don't fully agree with this.  Yes, the brain is the main reason why we experience (see, think, hear, feel, etc)everything thing around us.  It also includes how we experience our own thoughts, but I don't think that everything is constructed by the mind.  The chair I sit on is still a chair, and the laptop I use is still a laptop, regardless of what my mind is doing.  This theory makes me think that, because my mind isn't constructing it then it doesn't exist, which I don't think is true at all.  Someone with mental illness perhaps isn't aware of everything going on around them at all times, but it doesn't mean that because their mind isn't "constructing" everything means that things aren't happening around them.  
I do think that brain equals behavior, as Prof. Grobstein pointed out.  I would like to learn more about the way behavior is affected by the brain with more details.  I work with children, and I have seen children behave in peculiar ways (ex: flapping their hand like a bird to release excessive amounts of energy).  Why does he do that, and what in his brain is telling him to do that?
I think that behavior is a way the brain outwardly expresses things such as emotions, and thoughts, whether consciously or unconsciously.  Also, I think that behavior is affected by daily experiences such as (culture, religion, music, news, other people, and much much more), but chemical reactions in the brain are what allow these internal thoughts to be outwardly expressed through speech and body language.

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