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STEFAN AARNIO

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The Thinking Brain—The Neocortex

The highest, most evolved, most advanced brain is the thin layer of grey matter at the top of the brain called the neocortex. The neocortex is the thinking brain and the part of the brain that we celebrate and worship with through art, music, poetry, science, and mathematics. The neocortex is the thinking brain that allows us to create, in the words of Plato, the true, the good, and the beautiful, and it also is the part of the brain that constructs lies and ingenious ways to hurt, kill, deceive, and cheat other people. The neocortex is the conscious part of the brain and ultimately the part of the brain that has separated human beings from every other animal on the planet. We are able to think ahead, form complex plans, access the spiritual realm, create and use tools, form large super-tribes, read, write, and build the atomic bomb. Man is the king of all animals because through the use of his neocortex he has been able to transcend the other beasts in the animal kingdom through creativity, planning, and thinking.

The Emotional Brain—The Mammalian Brain

Underneath the neocortex is the mammalian brain, which is less evolved than the neocortex. The mammalian brain is the midbrain, and it drives us to flock and freeze. After the dinosaurs were wiped out, mammals dominated the earth through their warm blood, which allowed them to survive the ice age and form tribes. The mammalian brain is responsible for sheep flocking together into a herd for protection or for hundreds of bison running in a panicked fashion over a cliff and plunging to their deaths. The mammalian brain is the part of the brain that makes humans want to fit in and be a part of a tribe. It’s the part of the brain that makes investors sell their stock at an all-time low when market is crashing and it’s the part of the brain that makes a home owner freeze and fail to take action when his home is being foreclosed on.

The Reptile Brain—The Decision-Making Brain

Underneath the mammalian brain is the brain of a reptile. The reptilian brain is the base of the human brain and it is only concerned with self-preservation and survival. The reptilian brain is the part of the brain that keeps you alive on a daily basis. It allows you to breathe, eat, sleep,