The Tooth Fairy came

This guy was soooo excited that he wouldn't hold still for this photo.  Too proud that he'd gotten through this trauma with only a tiny little bit of blood to show for it.

One down.  A dollar under the pillow

A small fortune ahead.

And onlya few more of Mom's tears.

2:23:17 PM    comment []

ConsciousThoughts:  Is that all there is?

Zack Lynch at Corante’s Brain Waves had guest blogger Tom Ray, noted brain biology researcher, filling in for him last week.

Unfortunately I think Mr. Ray’s going to remain unknown as a blogger, promptly to be forgotten.  In my opinion, the man spent a week saying:

“I’m mapping the human brain’s response to neurochemicals to see how the brain works.”

How many words was that, fourteen or so?  Would you need a week to say that much?  Does adding the observed number of receptors in the human brain to this statement substantially increase the value of this short statement?

I was really looking forward to something far more penetrating than was posted.  For instance, is there any effort being made in research to cross-map the physical functions of the brain with both the neurochemical and the entirety of conscious/unconscious brain activity, or only the activity of conscious, predicted activity and mental illness?  Is cellular automata making headway in modeling brain output based on interactions between the mechanical, neurochemical and quantum brain?  Is research finding data which indicates all brain functions are mechanical, chemical and other or only mechanical and chemical, independent of conscious/unconscious thought?

Is it possible that Ray didn’t want to disclose anything due to intellectual property concerns?  Or is there something else going on here – is Ray simply uncomfortable with blogging or with quasi-public discourse about on-going research?  Is there really nothing more going on than “Add neurochemical A, watch for output at brain center B, plot in research C”?  Perhaps Ray only see s the brain as proof of “Better living through chemicals” (mind arises solely from the interaction of neurochemicals on the nervous system) and he’s unwilling to just spit it out??

Or perhaps this is the best that Zack Lynch could come up with for a substitute blogger?

Whatever the case, I feel like I was invited to a three-course meal, only to be served two stale bites of tepid California roll.

And it wasn’t even real crab meat.

11:48:29 AM    comment []