Is it all just neurons? If we want to say that, can we specify further and say that it’s all just cells? That would be the ultimate cellular automata – to begin with one cell, one “on”, which follows a randomly chosen pattern to become a human with a distinct brain. Another cell follows a different pattern, and becomes a dog or a fish (or anything else). Or, maybe they’re all permutations from the one cell (or atom), which have broken into different patterns within the automata. Is it possible that the world we’ve come to know came to be through the same pattern as a cellular automata, triggered by a bang which set us on our way? The rules the automata followed, we would still be learning through the rules of science. Is this possible?
If it isn’t just cells, if we think about it simply as control of neurons, then I ask, how much control do we have? It brings me back to Mr Kelly, that first Greek teacher of mine, who never hesitated to ask “Why did you do that?” Are firing neurons really capable of being totally random or thoughtless? Bethie mentioned as well (in class) the reflex test in a doctor’s office as a thoughtless movement, but, as it is triggered by nerve signals, is it really thoughtless? I don’t think any movement could ever be thoughtless, or wouldn’t we be able to do it without a brain?
Still, back to the neurons. If everything is controlled by neurons, what controls them? More neurons? Or is everything we do controlled by our environment? I think back to the discussion we had over the neurological test, in which a subject would need to lift a finger or arm, and the brain would show signs of what was going to be done before it happened. What causes those neurons to fire?
Meghan
I like how you are pondering why someone would do something. The motivations of actions seem quite unclear even in my own brain. So the fact that everything is controlled by neurons is baffling. However, maybe looking at how CA was capable of computing things could tie into how our brains (neurons) make decisions. The question of what causes a neuron to fire is fascinating and a great point to bring up and I think that the motivation to do something and the firing of a neuron must somehow be connected (though I’m not really sure how)