{"id":440,"date":"2015-10-30T11:32:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T11:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrmushava.wordpress.com\/2015\/10\/30\/unravelling-the-wiring-of-the-mind\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T15:34:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T15:34:39","slug":"unravelling-the-wiring-of-the-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/?p=440","title":{"rendered":"Unravelling the Wiring of the Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"<table align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left;margin-right: 1em;text-align: left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51LIpni5SYL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\" height=\"400\" src=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51LIpni5SYL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto\" width=\"265\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"><span>Michio Kaku&#8217;s <i>The Future of the Mind<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Book: The Future of the Mind<\/span><\/span><\/b><br \/><b><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Author: Michio Kaku<\/span><\/span><\/b><br \/><b><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Publisher: Doubleday (2014)<\/span><\/span><\/b><br \/><b><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">ISBN: 978-0-385-53083-5<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">If there is a short circuit in the wiring of genius, it is its incapacity to understand itself.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The human mind is the perhaps most fascinating example of this contradiction.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">It  seems as though the smarter the mind is, the farther it is from  generating its own anatomy. The contradiction borders on the odds of a  physician healing himself, or the oddity of a hound chasing its tail.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">In  the latter case, the faster the tracker goes, the harder the target  becomes. Likewise, human ingenuity seems to be inversely correlated to  introspection.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">While the complexity of the mind might be the force  behind staggering accomplishments, discoveries and creations, it may  also be the reason why the mind seems a file too large to retrieve  for researchers across disciplines.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The mind is a mirror of the universe but an elusive phenomenon, an object of self-intrigue.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">A sage once observed that if the mind was simple enough to be understood, we would not be smart enough to understand it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cThe  mind is no farther than our next thought, yet we are often clueless  when asked to articulate and explain it,\u201d according to popular science  author, Michio Kaku.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">In his 2014 bestseller, \u201cThe Future of the  Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance and Empower the Mind,\u201d  Kaku explores science\u2019s ambitious quest to explore this mysterious  frontier.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cThe Future of the Mind\u201d anticipates dynamic  possibilities in neuroscience such as devices which can videotape  dreams, read and transmit thoughts as they occur, and record memories to  upload and play them back into the mind.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Kaku, who has presented  science programmes on BBC, Discovery and Science, ventures with mastery  and conviction into a territory of science which is stranger than  fiction.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Science has for centuries grappled with the twin  phenomena of the human brain and the earth. The former, though  incomparably smaller, has the capacity to manipulate the latter.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Advances  in neuroscience can, therefore, vastly alter the world for better and  for worse. Kaku explores both possibilities with special emphasis on the  sunny side of science.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">However, one comes away from the book with  a conviction that future technology may draw the world to the  precipice. That is an argument for another segment.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The book opens  with landmarks in the history of neuroscience, notably how the  accidental damage to a railroad foreman\u2019s brain in 1848 altered his  personality, calling into question the philosophy of dualism which held  the brain and the soul to be two separate entities.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The discovery  was followed by the breakthrough studies of Carl Wernicke and Pierre  Paul Broca which established a link between behavioural attributes such  as speech impairment and damage to specific sections of the brain.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Wilder  Penfield\u2019s observation that electrical pathways connect the brain to  the body and his outline of the correspondence of specific areas of the  cortex to the body was another significant feat in early neuroscience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Crowned  by his establishment of the possibility of retrieving long-forgotten  information by stimulating parts of the temporary lobe, Penfield\u2019s work  prepared the way for modern neuroscience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The phenomenal  advancement of computer science has incentivised novel feats in the  exploration of brain power. Kaku says some computers are now powerful  enough to record the electrical signals emanating from the brain and to  partially decode them into a familiar digital language.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">He  references Moore\u2019s law which states that computer power doubles every  two years, and the fact that cellphones today have more computer power  than NASA collectively when it sent two men to the moon in 1969.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Kaku  uses these references to simulate groundbreaking advances in computer  science and, concurrently, greater possibilities in neuroscience and  high end mind-powered technologies.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cThe fast-growing field is  called BMI (brain-machine interface), and the key technology is the  computer,\u201d Kaku points out. This technology enables the brain to  directly interface with computers to control any object around it. It  can be used to remotely manipulate household appliances, among other  things.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The technology has its flaws, chiefly lack of feeling  which can lead to inordinate exertion of force in the mechanical arms  used to perform tasks. Developers are troubleshooting the flaw with a  new technology called the \u201cInternet of the mind\u201d or the \u201cbrain-net\u201d  where there is two-way communication between the command centre and the  foreign implements.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The anticipated brain-net may usher in total  immersion entertainment involving all the five senses instead of just  sight and audio.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Kaku explains that whereas in the 1920s,  technological capacity to tape-record sound and light facilitated the  transition from silent movies to \u201ctalkies\u201d, the brain-net might set off  an all-encompassing transformation in the creation and reception of  films. \u201c\u2026 in the future, the entertainment industry may make the next  transition, recording all five senses, including smell, taste, and  touch, as well as the full range of emotions.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cTelepathic probes  would be able to handle the full range of senses and emotions that  circulate in the brain, producing a complete immersion of the audience  in the story\u2026 We would smell the perfume of the heroine, feel the terror  of the victims in a horror movie, and relish the vanquishing of the bad  guys,\u201d Kaku anticipates.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">He also expects to a day when  nanotechnology will be used to enhance medicine. This ambitious  technology will involve micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS), the  size of cells, entering a patient\u2019s bloodstream to administer  medication.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cAn elaborate machine with gears, levers, pulleys, and  even motors can be made smaller than the period at the end of this  sentence. One day a person may be able to put on a telepathy helmet and  then command a MEMS submarine using wireless technology to perform  surgery inside a patient,\u201d Kaku says.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">On another positive score,  the future of the brain-net may involve helping the disabled manipulate  household appliance and walking by mentally guiding mechanical limbs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The  technology may, however, spell the end of creativity. According to  Kaku, artists may visualise their artwork in their minds and have the  image displayed on a holographic screen in 3-D.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cSince the image  in the mind is not as precise as the original object, the artist could  then make improvements on the 3-D image and dream up the next iteration.  After several cycles, the artist could print out the final image on a  3-D printer,\u201d Kaku says.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Engineers could also deploy their  imagination to create scale models of bridges, tunnels, and airports,  and revise their blueprints using thought alone. \u201cMachine parts could  fly off the computer screen and into a 3-D printer,\u201d anticipates Kaku.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">There  can be, of course, an apocalyptic downside to this elimination of human  agency. If realised, this high-end technology could make our lonely  planet far less habitable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cHaving every wish come true is  something that only a divinity can accomplish. However, there is also a  downside to this celestial power. All technologies can be used for good  or for evil,\u201d Kaku warns.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">\u201cUltimately, science is a double-edged  sword. One side of the sword can cut against poverty, disease, and  ignorance. But the other side can cut against people in several ways,\u201d  he says.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The lethal edge might involve deploying robotic  surrogates, armed with high-tech weapons to unleash terror on far-away  civilians.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">The problem of consciousness inevitably inclines  neuroscience to the big questions: \u201cWhat lurks behind our eyes? This  raises haunting questions like: Do we have a soul? What happens to us  after we die? Who am \u2018I\u2019 anyway?\u201d Kaku asks.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">If he appropriately  ascribes these questions to neurology, then the evolutionary world view  underlying Kaku\u2019s book holds him back from aspiring to the demands of  the questions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">This explains an inadequate view of humanity,  whereby Kaku views man as a sophisticated machine, and the brain as an  incarnate control centre which it is permissible to genetically  reengineer for optimal functionality.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"font-size: small\">As with all evolutionary science, this forebodes efficiency without empathy and convenience without conscience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michio Kaku&#8217;s The Future of the Mind Book: The Future of the MindAuthor: Michio KakuPublisher: Doubleday (2014)ISBN: 978-0-385-53083-5 If there is a short circuit in the wiring of genius, it is its incapacity to understand itself. The human mind is the perhaps most fascinating example of this contradiction. It seems as though the smarter the mind is, the farther it is from generating its own anatomy. The contradiction borders on the odds of a physician healing himself, or the oddity of a hound chasing its tail. In the latter case, the faster the tracker goes, the harder the target becomes. Likewise, human ingenuity seems to be inversely correlated to introspection. While the complexity of the mind might be the force behind staggering accomplishments, discoveries and creations, it may also be the reason why the mind seems a file too large to retrieve for researchers across disciplines. The mind is a mirror of the universe but an elusive phenomenon, an object of self-intrigue. A sage once observed that if the mind was simple enough to be understood, we would not be smart enough to understand it. \u201cThe mind is no farther than our next thought, yet we are often clueless when asked to articulate and explain it,\u201d according to popular science author, Michio Kaku. In his 2014 bestseller, \u201cThe Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance and Empower the Mind,\u201d Kaku explores science\u2019s ambitious quest to explore this mysterious frontier. \u201cThe Future of the Mind\u201d anticipates dynamic possibilities in neuroscience such as devices which can videotape dreams, read and transmit thoughts as they occur, and record memories to upload and play them back into the mind. Kaku, who has presented science programmes on BBC, Discovery and Science, ventures with mastery and conviction into a territory of science which is stranger than fiction. Science has for centuries grappled with the twin phenomena of the human brain and the earth. The former, though incomparably smaller, has the capacity to manipulate the latter. Advances in neuroscience can, therefore, vastly alter the world for better and for worse. Kaku explores both possibilities with special emphasis on the sunny side of science. However, one comes away from the book with a conviction that future technology may draw the world to the precipice. That is an argument for another segment. The book opens with landmarks in the history of neuroscience, notably how the accidental damage to a railroad foreman\u2019s brain in 1848 altered his personality, calling into question the philosophy of dualism which held the brain and the soul to be two separate entities. The discovery was followed by the breakthrough studies of Carl Wernicke and Pierre Paul Broca which established a link between behavioural attributes such as speech impairment and damage to specific sections of the brain. Wilder Penfield\u2019s observation that electrical pathways connect the brain to the body and his outline of the correspondence of specific areas of the cortex to the body was another significant feat in early neuroscience. Crowned by his establishment of the possibility of retrieving long-forgotten information by stimulating parts of the temporary lobe, Penfield\u2019s work prepared the way for modern neuroscience. The phenomenal advancement of computer science has incentivised novel feats in the exploration of brain power. Kaku says some computers are now powerful enough to record the electrical signals emanating from the brain and to partially decode them into a familiar digital language. He references Moore\u2019s law which states that computer power doubles every two years, and the fact that cellphones today have more computer power than NASA collectively when it sent two men to the moon in 1969. Kaku uses these references to simulate groundbreaking advances in computer science and, concurrently, greater possibilities in neuroscience and high end mind-powered technologies. \u201cThe fast-growing field is called BMI (brain-machine interface), and the key technology is the computer,\u201d Kaku points out. This technology enables the brain to directly interface with computers to control any object around it. It can be used to remotely manipulate household appliances, among other things. The technology has its flaws, chiefly lack of feeling which can lead to inordinate exertion of force in the mechanical arms used to perform tasks. Developers are troubleshooting the flaw with a new technology called the \u201cInternet of the mind\u201d or the \u201cbrain-net\u201d where there is two-way communication between the command centre and the foreign implements. The anticipated brain-net may usher in total immersion entertainment involving all the five senses instead of just sight and audio. Kaku explains that whereas in the 1920s, technological capacity to tape-record sound and light facilitated the transition from silent movies to \u201ctalkies\u201d, the brain-net might set off an all-encompassing transformation in the creation and reception of films. \u201c\u2026 in the future, the entertainment industry may make the next transition, recording all five senses, including smell, taste, and touch, as well as the full range of emotions.&#8221; \u201cTelepathic probes would be able to handle the full range of senses and emotions that circulate in the brain, producing a complete immersion of the audience in the story\u2026 We would smell the perfume of the heroine, feel the terror of the victims in a horror movie, and relish the vanquishing of the bad guys,\u201d Kaku anticipates. He also expects to a day when nanotechnology will be used to enhance medicine. This ambitious technology will involve micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS), the size of cells, entering a patient\u2019s bloodstream to administer medication. \u201cAn elaborate machine with gears, levers, pulleys, and even motors can be made smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. One day a person may be able to put on a telepathy helmet and then command a MEMS submarine using wireless technology to perform surgery inside a patient,\u201d Kaku says. On another positive score, the future of the brain-net may involve helping the disabled manipulate household appliance and walking by mentally guiding mechanical limbs. The technology may, however, spell the end of creativity. According to Kaku, artists may visualise their artwork in their<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,7,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-tech","category-theory"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Unravelling the Wiring of the Mind | Blockspace<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/?p=440\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unravelling the Wiring of the Mind | Blockspace\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michio Kaku&#8217;s The Future of the Mind Book: The Future of the MindAuthor: Michio KakuPublisher: Doubleday (2014)ISBN: 978-0-385-53083-5 If there is a short circuit in the wiring of genius, it is its incapacity to understand itself. The human mind is the perhaps most fascinating example of this contradiction. It seems as though the smarter the mind is, the farther it is from generating its own anatomy. The contradiction borders on the odds of a physician healing himself, or the oddity of a hound chasing its tail. In the latter case, the faster the tracker goes, the harder the target becomes. Likewise, human ingenuity seems to be inversely correlated to introspection. While the complexity of the mind might be the force behind staggering accomplishments, discoveries and creations, it may also be the reason why the mind seems a file too large to retrieve for researchers across disciplines. The mind is a mirror of the universe but an elusive phenomenon, an object of self-intrigue. A sage once observed that if the mind was simple enough to be understood, we would not be smart enough to understand it. \u201cThe mind is no farther than our next thought, yet we are often clueless when asked to articulate and explain it,\u201d according to popular science author, Michio Kaku. In his 2014 bestseller, \u201cThe Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance and Empower the Mind,\u201d Kaku explores science\u2019s ambitious quest to explore this mysterious frontier. \u201cThe Future of the Mind\u201d anticipates dynamic possibilities in neuroscience such as devices which can videotape dreams, read and transmit thoughts as they occur, and record memories to upload and play them back into the mind. Kaku, who has presented science programmes on BBC, Discovery and Science, ventures with mastery and conviction into a territory of science which is stranger than fiction. Science has for centuries grappled with the twin phenomena of the human brain and the earth. The former, though incomparably smaller, has the capacity to manipulate the latter. Advances in neuroscience can, therefore, vastly alter the world for better and for worse. Kaku explores both possibilities with special emphasis on the sunny side of science. However, one comes away from the book with a conviction that future technology may draw the world to the precipice. That is an argument for another segment. The book opens with landmarks in the history of neuroscience, notably how the accidental damage to a railroad foreman\u2019s brain in 1848 altered his personality, calling into question the philosophy of dualism which held the brain and the soul to be two separate entities. The discovery was followed by the breakthrough studies of Carl Wernicke and Pierre Paul Broca which established a link between behavioural attributes such as speech impairment and damage to specific sections of the brain. Wilder Penfield\u2019s observation that electrical pathways connect the brain to the body and his outline of the correspondence of specific areas of the cortex to the body was another significant feat in early neuroscience. Crowned by his establishment of the possibility of retrieving long-forgotten information by stimulating parts of the temporary lobe, Penfield\u2019s work prepared the way for modern neuroscience. The phenomenal advancement of computer science has incentivised novel feats in the exploration of brain power. Kaku says some computers are now powerful enough to record the electrical signals emanating from the brain and to partially decode them into a familiar digital language. He references Moore\u2019s law which states that computer power doubles every two years, and the fact that cellphones today have more computer power than NASA collectively when it sent two men to the moon in 1969. Kaku uses these references to simulate groundbreaking advances in computer science and, concurrently, greater possibilities in neuroscience and high end mind-powered technologies. \u201cThe fast-growing field is called BMI (brain-machine interface), and the key technology is the computer,\u201d Kaku points out. This technology enables the brain to directly interface with computers to control any object around it. It can be used to remotely manipulate household appliances, among other things. The technology has its flaws, chiefly lack of feeling which can lead to inordinate exertion of force in the mechanical arms used to perform tasks. Developers are troubleshooting the flaw with a new technology called the \u201cInternet of the mind\u201d or the \u201cbrain-net\u201d where there is two-way communication between the command centre and the foreign implements. The anticipated brain-net may usher in total immersion entertainment involving all the five senses instead of just sight and audio. Kaku explains that whereas in the 1920s, technological capacity to tape-record sound and light facilitated the transition from silent movies to \u201ctalkies\u201d, the brain-net might set off an all-encompassing transformation in the creation and reception of films. \u201c\u2026 in the future, the entertainment industry may make the next transition, recording all five senses, including smell, taste, and touch, as well as the full range of emotions.&#8221; \u201cTelepathic probes would be able to handle the full range of senses and emotions that circulate in the brain, producing a complete immersion of the audience in the story\u2026 We would smell the perfume of the heroine, feel the terror of the victims in a horror movie, and relish the vanquishing of the bad guys,\u201d Kaku anticipates. He also expects to a day when nanotechnology will be used to enhance medicine. This ambitious technology will involve micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS), the size of cells, entering a patient\u2019s bloodstream to administer medication. \u201cAn elaborate machine with gears, levers, pulleys, and even motors can be made smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. One day a person may be able to put on a telepathy helmet and then command a MEMS submarine using wireless technology to perform surgery inside a patient,\u201d Kaku says. On another positive score, the future of the brain-net may involve helping the disabled manipulate household appliance and walking by mentally guiding mechanical limbs. The technology may, however, spell the end of creativity. According to Kaku, artists may visualise their artwork in their\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/?p=440\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blockspace\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-30T11:32:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-25T15:34:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51LIpni5SYL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"hardsouth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"hardsouth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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\/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Unravelling the Wiring of the Mind | Blockspace","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/?p=440","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Unravelling the Wiring of the Mind | Blockspace","og_description":"Michio Kaku&#8217;s The Future of the Mind Book: The Future of the MindAuthor: Michio KakuPublisher: Doubleday (2014)ISBN: 978-0-385-53083-5 If there is a short circuit in the wiring of genius, it is its incapacity to understand itself. The human mind is the perhaps most fascinating example of this contradiction. It seems as though the smarter the mind is, the farther it is from generating its own anatomy. The contradiction borders on the odds of a physician healing himself, or the oddity of a hound chasing its tail. In the latter case, the faster the tracker goes, the harder the target becomes. Likewise, human ingenuity seems to be inversely correlated to introspection. While the complexity of the mind might be the force behind staggering accomplishments, discoveries and creations, it may also be the reason why the mind seems a file too large to retrieve for researchers across disciplines. The mind is a mirror of the universe but an elusive phenomenon, an object of self-intrigue. A sage once observed that if the mind was simple enough to be understood, we would not be smart enough to understand it. \u201cThe mind is no farther than our next thought, yet we are often clueless when asked to articulate and explain it,\u201d according to popular science author, Michio Kaku. In his 2014 bestseller, \u201cThe Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance and Empower the Mind,\u201d Kaku explores science\u2019s ambitious quest to explore this mysterious frontier. \u201cThe Future of the Mind\u201d anticipates dynamic possibilities in neuroscience such as devices which can videotape dreams, read and transmit thoughts as they occur, and record memories to upload and play them back into the mind. Kaku, who has presented science programmes on BBC, Discovery and Science, ventures with mastery and conviction into a territory of science which is stranger than fiction. Science has for centuries grappled with the twin phenomena of the human brain and the earth. The former, though incomparably smaller, has the capacity to manipulate the latter. Advances in neuroscience can, therefore, vastly alter the world for better and for worse. Kaku explores both possibilities with special emphasis on the sunny side of science. However, one comes away from the book with a conviction that future technology may draw the world to the precipice. That is an argument for another segment. The book opens with landmarks in the history of neuroscience, notably how the accidental damage to a railroad foreman\u2019s brain in 1848 altered his personality, calling into question the philosophy of dualism which held the brain and the soul to be two separate entities. The discovery was followed by the breakthrough studies of Carl Wernicke and Pierre Paul Broca which established a link between behavioural attributes such as speech impairment and damage to specific sections of the brain. Wilder Penfield\u2019s observation that electrical pathways connect the brain to the body and his outline of the correspondence of specific areas of the cortex to the body was another significant feat in early neuroscience. Crowned by his establishment of the possibility of retrieving long-forgotten information by stimulating parts of the temporary lobe, Penfield\u2019s work prepared the way for modern neuroscience. The phenomenal advancement of computer science has incentivised novel feats in the exploration of brain power. Kaku says some computers are now powerful enough to record the electrical signals emanating from the brain and to partially decode them into a familiar digital language. He references Moore\u2019s law which states that computer power doubles every two years, and the fact that cellphones today have more computer power than NASA collectively when it sent two men to the moon in 1969. Kaku uses these references to simulate groundbreaking advances in computer science and, concurrently, greater possibilities in neuroscience and high end mind-powered technologies. \u201cThe fast-growing field is called BMI (brain-machine interface), and the key technology is the computer,\u201d Kaku points out. This technology enables the brain to directly interface with computers to control any object around it. It can be used to remotely manipulate household appliances, among other things. The technology has its flaws, chiefly lack of feeling which can lead to inordinate exertion of force in the mechanical arms used to perform tasks. Developers are troubleshooting the flaw with a new technology called the \u201cInternet of the mind\u201d or the \u201cbrain-net\u201d where there is two-way communication between the command centre and the foreign implements. The anticipated brain-net may usher in total immersion entertainment involving all the five senses instead of just sight and audio. Kaku explains that whereas in the 1920s, technological capacity to tape-record sound and light facilitated the transition from silent movies to \u201ctalkies\u201d, the brain-net might set off an all-encompassing transformation in the creation and reception of films. \u201c\u2026 in the future, the entertainment industry may make the next transition, recording all five senses, including smell, taste, and touch, as well as the full range of emotions.&#8221; \u201cTelepathic probes would be able to handle the full range of senses and emotions that circulate in the brain, producing a complete immersion of the audience in the story\u2026 We would smell the perfume of the heroine, feel the terror of the victims in a horror movie, and relish the vanquishing of the bad guys,\u201d Kaku anticipates. He also expects to a day when nanotechnology will be used to enhance medicine. This ambitious technology will involve micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS), the size of cells, entering a patient\u2019s bloodstream to administer medication. \u201cAn elaborate machine with gears, levers, pulleys, and even motors can be made smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. One day a person may be able to put on a telepathy helmet and then command a MEMS submarine using wireless technology to perform surgery inside a patient,\u201d Kaku says. On another positive score, the future of the brain-net may involve helping the disabled manipulate household appliance and walking by mentally guiding mechanical limbs. The technology may, however, spell the end of creativity. According to Kaku, artists may visualise their artwork in their","og_url":"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/?p=440","og_site_name":"Blockspace","article_published_time":"2015-10-30T11:32:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-25T15:34:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51LIpni5SYL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"hardsouth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"hardsouth","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/?p=440#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/?p=440"},"author":{"name":"hardsouth","@id":"https:\/\/blockspaceballads.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a336a678f28eacb341ce63c6b84b17d0"},"headline":"Unravelling the Wiring of the 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