Our sense organs 45

The fact that Archimedes had hands has never
been stored anywhere in our brain, but we can
immediately answer this question in the affirmative.
We deduce that if he did not have hands,
this fact would have been common knowledge.
In regard to the second question, there may be
many unknown men involved in the Boer War,
but from the fact that the well-known actor Harrison
Ford was born well after it ended, we can
deduce that he definitely did not take part in it.
And what about Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685 –
1750) telephone number? A computer would
search through long lists of phone numbers, and
then report that this composer either did not
have a telephone, or that his name had not yet
been entered. But we know when the telephone
was invented, so we can quickly conclude that he
could have had neither telephone nor phone
number.
Interpretation instead of mere data acquisition:
Our senses carry a million times more
information to the brain than it is able to consciously
process. And the brain does not merely
register the observed realities around us like a
camera or a tape recorder. Our brain reduces the
flood of external data signals, simultaneously
interpreting them and constructing a very personal
inner world. This internally created reality
is generally quite distinct from the outside world.
A red rose is actually a physical structure which
reflects light of a specific wavelength. Only in our
brain is there such a thing as the colour red,
along with the knowledge that this structure is
a flower. Our brain compares these signals from
outside with what it has already stored about
roses previously seen. At the same time, memories
of associated events and emotions are
awakened. Our nerve cells not only produce an
image of a rose, they evaluate it as well. An image
of a red rose can cause us to recall its fragrance,
and perhaps also some tender memories of a
great love. All these things happen without any
conscious involvement. The American neurophysiologist,
Benjamin Libet, discovered that our
consciousness lags about half a second behind
the activities of the brain. By the time we are
conscious of making a decision about something,
our brain has long since analysed and evaluated
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