The thing that geeks me out is what you're using to read this right now. Not glasses, not a computer, but the brain. It's the tool that invented everything. Just think about it. Right now, there are thousands of impulses firing through the cells in your brain and you can't control a single one of them. If a few start misfiring in your amygdala, the emotional control center of the brain, you could be thrown into a fit of rage that you won't remember ten minutes from now. Overstimulate your occipital lobe, the vision processing region? You could have a crushing headache or worse, a sudden seizure.
You control your own thoughts. Or do you? Brain diseases like Alzheimer's can take your mind but leave your body. What is it like to walk around not knowing who you are? How do you know if what you're feeling right now is situationally appropriate or just an organic byproduct of a misfired impulse? These questions fascinate and terrify me at the same time, which is why I have diligently devoted hundreds of hours to sitting in my kitchen eating Oreos and reading about the brain.
What I don't understand is how people are not fascinated by the brain. How can a brain not be interested in itself?
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