Caveat: I am neither a doctor nor scientist; I am a local ‘smarty-pants.’
I showed this illustration to my book club members one evening, “HA,” they snortled... That’s hilarious! Now that computer fits on your WRIST!” (weighs a few ounces)… {How far technology has advanced in 65 years!}… “I have to take a picture of that! No one will believe me,”… “The size of the Empire State Building?” (weighs 365,000 tons). I answered, “I plan to write a column about brains, including this picture.” Imagine a brain THAT LARGE! Today, even humanoid robots have functioning ‘brains’, and frankly, I never want to meet up with one! Robots, cars, smartphones, Siri and Alexa, some ‘intelligent’ buildings, homes; ALL have A.I. ‘brains’. Theirs are wires, ours are living and ‘breathing’ (needs oxygen!) gray and white cells.
Why does everyone need a brain? Didn’t the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz crave a brain? Didn’t Frankenstein’s creator require a brain to bring his monster to life? Most animal forms and humans require a brain as the central command post of their organism. Vertebrates (have a spinal column) and invertebrates (no spine) all require a brain to function. Ninety-seven percent of all animals are invertebrates; hard to believe! That means that dogs, cats, horses, cows, lions, tigers, elephants, monkeys, etc. ALL the animals you can think of, just 3%, are vertebrates! Research has proved that octopuses are extremely intelligent. They are very popular now in books and documentaries, even in artwork. I highly recommend Netflix’s “My Octopus Teacher” …It won an Oscar in 2021!
The adult human brain weighs about three pounds, and is composed of 60% fat, really?!! making it the fattiest organ in the body! Amazing! Plus water, protein, carbs and salts. It has 86 billion neurons, and is 75% water, so… stay hydrated! If I drink more water, will I become smarter? The brain is fully developed at age 25, with the frontal lobes being the last to mature. Brain information can travel 350 miles per hour, a superhighway of the mind. It’s a myth that we only use 10% of our brain. Maybe you know some people who use more parts than others? I do, lol. Bonehead, noggin, melon, dome, gourd, noodle, bean, whiz, genius, loaf (British), egghead, birdbrain, no-brainer, smooth-brain, ‘bats in the -attic’, ‘a few sandwiches short of a picnic,’ etc….are all various slang describers of our [medical terminology] encephalon (Greek) and cerebrum (Latin).
Surprisingly, the storage capacity is unlimited. Then how do I forget so much??? Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the lightbulb (and many other inventions), said... “The chief function of the body is to carry the brain around.” He felt that the brain is the source of ideas, progress, true achievement, and he endorsed intellectual development over physical strength. It’s ironic (hint, hint ) that images with a lightbulb over a head represent thinking. The expression ‘the lightbulb went on!’ indicates (duh) that you thought of something. Metacognition is thinking about thinking, so I suppose that I am cogitating to write this? Does that make me a ‘brainiac’…(an exceptionally intelligent person)…doubtful! I did meet a neurosurgeon in South Carolina; his oceanfront beach house was named “Brain Waves”... that is brilliant!
Do you take brain supplements? Do you think they work? Do you play brain games? I think they work. I was doing crossword puzzles for years as a brain challenge, but stopped those and took up Wordle, am addicted, and I must play every day with morning coffee! AHHH. Sudoku is not for me, can’t do math. As a side note, I donated blood every year of my life until 20 years ago, when the Red Cross declined me, as I might have ‘mad cow’ disease, from living overseas. The ONLY way to determine was by a brain biopsy, and I said, “NO, thank you, I’ll pass!” But… aha... last year I received a letter from them… “Guess what, great news... we’ve revised our testing, you have beautiful clean blood! Our favorite type, actually, and we want it, and we want it NOW, so come donate!” And I did. So, if you can’t donate a kidney, you can graciously donate blood, as they ALWAYS need it. 1-800-733-2767 American Red Cross.
The brain is not actually a muscle, but similar to a muscle, it needs exercise to stay healthy and vital… “use it or lose it”. Both the body and the brain need physical and mental exercise. There are all kinds of recommendations on how to accomplish that. Reading is my favorite, plus it helps stave off Alzheimer’s. But it has to be books, deep topics which force you to analyze, remember and continue a thread of thought. Flipping through a magazine won’t do it. Learn a new language, take up art or something new, out of your comfort zone.
Clinically speaking, these are a dozen recommended ways to “pump up” your brain.
(1) Get mental stimulation. (2) Get physical exercise. (3) Improve your diet. (4) Improve your blood pressure. (5) Improve your blood sugar. (6) Improve your cholesterol. (7) Consider low-dose aspirin. (8) Avoid tobacco. (9) Don’t abuse alcohol. (10) Care for your emotions. (11) Protect your head. (12) Build social networks. Well now... how many of these do you (or I ) actually follow? Looks like I’m halfway there!
Carol Veliotis is a local columnist for The Covington News. She can be reached at carol.veliotis@gmail.com.
