Food for Thought

[Niels]

Monday a trap was set for a raccoon [...]

It's not that I don't believe the story... but is there a source somewhere?

If my neighbor ever actually does manage to get the damn thing, I'll take a photo for you. He plans to make it into a hat.

Right, so you are the source. That's good enough; it's just that it sounded too much like an urban myth.

The mice in my house seem to recognize traps too: They eat anything in my kitchen except what's in the traps. Could it be that raccoons and mice have their own secret internet, sharing tips&tricks on urban survival?

[Flowerpot]

[Btw, SN, I did read all your posts and found them fascinating. Have you read Oliver Sachs' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat?]

That looks right up my alley. I find medical oddities and their diagnoses fascinating. I haven't read it yet, but there's a good chance I might.

There's an even better chance now; here's the PDF: Oliver Sacks - The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

That was a great read! I couldn't turn the computer off, and was up until very late reading. Then I finished it this morning.

A wonderful mix of fascinating medical information and a style of writing that pulls you along easily like a novel.

It was a little strange in being dated, even though the 80s feel like they were just yesterday. I noticed the absence of MRIs and genetic references, but that was more than made up for by the author's inclusion of info that I had never read about in connection with the various disorders, and which gives me a fuller picture of them.

Awakenings next! I always meant to read that one, and I was surprised with the above book to learn it's by same author.

[Stimbo]

That was a fantastic essay, SN and/or FP (does each half of you go by its own individual name? Or perhaps you're a gestalt entity answering to the moniker "Skunky"?). Everything to do with the workings of the human mind fascinates me, even though I know I'll never fully get my head around it. To kind-of-quote that venerable sage Emo Phillips, "I used to think the brain was the most important organ in the human body - then I realised what it was that was telling me this."

I remember reading an article on Capgras' Syndrome a while back, whilst conducting character research for a short story that may even get finished one day. That article wasn't as in-depth as the one you shared though.

All of which unashamed rim-kissing brings me to this question on a point of forum etiquette:

Approximately how long ought we to wait for a response before we get to conclude that anthony, in lieu of addressing the issues raised by these articles, has decided abandon the thread?

[Niels]

That was a fantastic essay, SN and/or FP (does each half of you go by its own individual name? Or perhaps you're a gestalt entity answering to the moniker "Skunky"?).

Wasn't it Hampe that provided the link? (All these damn sources...)

Approximately how long ought we to wait for a response before we get to conclude that anthony, in lieu of addressing the issues raised by these articles, has decided abandon the thread?

He won't. He'll leave it for a couple of weeks, hope that we've all forgotten about the thread or this forum or are all burning in hell, and then he'll post again, restating his first post.

[Stimbo]

Wasn't it Hampe that provided the link? (All these damn sources...)

Hampe linked to "A Ghost in the Machine," which I plan to read in bed tonight (my better half being temporarily unavailable for recreational purposes). Our polynomial friend anger-flooded us with the essay segments, sans link. All being well I might get to Z's wife-hat before long.

[Niels]

Hampe linked to "A Ghost in the Machine," which I plan to read in bed tonight

Hampe supplied the link; FP copied the text from that link into the forum. (I checked; I was afraid I missed some good essay.)

Our polynominal friend anger-flooded us with the essay segments, sans link.

That's what you get with these cat-people: They have dual personalities. In the daytime, they're nice and cuddly, but in the nighttime their murderous, sadistic, copy-and-pasting side wakes up.

All being well I might get to Z's wife-hat before long.

Make sure you don't take your wife for a book - she might be offended.

[Stimbo]

Hampe linked to "A Ghost in the Machine," which I plan to read in bed tonight

Hampe supplied the link; FP copied the text from that link into the forum. (I checked; I was afraid I missed some good essay.)

That's what I get for going for the fast-food option, putting off the effort of clicking my mouse until it's too late. Between that and my choice of words I'm almost afraid to think about what it all says about the workings of my brain.

Our polynominal friend anger-flooded us with the essay segments, sans link.

That's what you get with these cat-people: They have dual personalities. In the daytime, they're nice and cuddly, but in the nighttime their murderous, sadistic, copy-and-pasting side wakes up.

I'll probably have nightmares now after that.

All being well I might get to Z's wife-hat before long.

Make sure you don't take your wife for a book - she might be offended.

Not offended, but possibly surprised as to where I might stick my bookmark.

[Niels]

Between that and my choice of words I'm almost afraid to think about what it all says about the workings of my brain.

I discovered a mental blind spot in myself this evening. I was having dinner with my mother at the local Chinese restaurant. During the meal my mother asked "Aren't you going to eat your green salad?" To my astonishment, there was indeed a green salad at my elbow. It must have been brought and put down; I must have avoided it with my elbow - but not consciously.
I took a bite, but a minute later I had again completely forgotten about that salad. It's been taken away with just one bite missing.

I conclude that I block out green salads. I lack the mental ability to be aware of them.
(I also don't like them, except with a blue-cheese dressing that isn't for sale in the Netherlands.)

[Flowerpot]

Hahah, I have a few more personalities as well. Kind of like how cats have 9 lives.

[Hampe]

To kind-of-quote that venerable sage Emo Phillips, "I used to think the brain was the most important organ in the human body - then I realised what it was that was telling me this."

Haha....that's classic.

Approximately how long ought we to wait for a response before we get to conclude that anthony, in lieu of addressing the issues raised by these articles, has decided abandon the thread?

Wouldn't be the first time I've had that happen while having this discussion with a Christian......

Although, I doubt that anthony has simply ran off. It's a lot of information to process at once if you've never really dealt with the subject before. The theistic view of consciousness and the soul relies heavily on people's ignorance of neurology.