Human Imagination & The Story of the Self

'Few people have the imagination for reality.'

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

'I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head, I being to elaborate the work in its breadth, its narrowness, its height, its depth...I hear and see the image in front of me from every angle as if it had been cast and only the labour of writing it down remains.'

— Ludwig van Beethoven


Neurons are the oldest and longest cells in the body. You have many of the same neurons for your whole life. Although other cells die and are replaced, many neurons are never replaced when they die. In fact, you have fewer neurons when you are old compared to when you are young. On the other hand, data published in November 1998 show that in one area of the brain (the hippocampus), new neurons CAN grow in adult humans.

Neurons can be quite large - in some neurons, such as corticospinal neurons (from motor cortex to spinal cord) or primary afferent neurons (neurons that extend from the skin into the spinal cord and up to the brain stem), can be several feet long!

Michel de Montaigne'Que sais-je?'- what do I know ?

Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.'

— Albert Einstein

'The history of scientific and technical discovery teaches us that the human race is poor in independent and creative imagination.'

Logic will get you from A to B, Imagination will take you everywhere.'

— Albert Einstein

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• brain
• neurons
• human
• imagination
• consciousness
• mind
• evolution
• gods
• religion
• art
• ape
• self
• Storytelling
• Ape
• qualia
• ramachandran
• science
• wonder

[sam51092]

And yet there's plenty of things that are real that we cannot truly imagine. Like the size of the universe, geological deep time, four-dimensional space and the 'why' of quantum effects. Mind-blowing.

[pangeaprogressblog]

@sam51092 Yes. "Few people have the imagination for reality." -Goethe

The immense time of the evolution of life and the Cosmos is overwhelming to our evolved brains on Planet Earth. If we can combine imagination and science that is Einsteinian nobility.

[arellano6220]

talaga???



[jsscm02]

I guess this is from Radio lab, right? One of the best radio shows ever!

[Cashify]

The only thing that prevents the direct realization of the self, which is limitless and formless, is the belief in some bullshit story or thought of who "I" is. The bullshit isn't the self, it is the ignorance that keep consciousness blind to itself.

[Professoranton]

many thanks. excellent

[h0tsex0r]

thanks for the great videos, pangea!