• Question: How do humans think?

    Asked by korea to Cat, Daz, Holly, Johnson, Pamela on 19 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Cat O'Connor

      Cat O'Connor answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi Korea,

      I really have no idea but great question. I did a bit of research (read I typed your question into google 😀 ) and this is what came up. I think these guys have provided a lot of information and it’s much better than anything I could attempt: http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=151

      I hope this helps and sorry I couldn’t be more informative,

      Cat

    • Photo: Darren Braddick

      Darren Braddick answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi Korea,

      How is a good question, maybe why we think is another.. Nobody at all knows the answer to ‘why’ but how is a property which arises from the amazing complexity of the human brain.

      It’s packed with millions upon millions of neurons and nerve cells- these are cells which basically can process small electrical signals. When specific patterns of them are activated, we can process sensation – for example it is how we unravel the complex food flavours detected in our mouth into a taste we recognise in our brain.

      Now, how they interact to give us thought is a tricky question and I’m not personally convinced we have a great answer yet. You have to consider that some animals seem to think to some degree – for example basic language or communication skills are an important thing and truly a mark of advancing brain power.

      I hope this helps answer your question a bit!

      Daz

    • Photo: Pamela Lithgow

      Pamela Lithgow answered on 19 Jun 2011:

      Hi Korea,
      I didn’t know the answer to this so I had a bit of a look. Darren has given a good answer above! When I looked I was surprised to read that everyone’s brains are different! The big picture of our brains are the same but at a cell to cell level they are different! I think that is pretty cool. So as Darren said the brain sends messages using electrical impulses then the cells change a bit and the connections are different which means that next time there is an impulse the brain has “memory”.
      So I don’t really know much about this but I hope that has added a bit to Darren’s answer.
      Pam 🙂

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