Basic HTML Version
January,
1970
responsible for conscious intelligence.
(The
cerebral cortex
is
the thin, 4
mm., outermost !ayer of the brain –
it is convoluted [folded and fur–
rowedJ in order to compact a large
surface area into a sma!J volume.)
Further investigations reveal two
general categories of cortex: 'Specific
correx' subserving direct seosation
(visual, auditory, somesthetic) and
movements; and 'unspecific-cort.:x'
('or association-cortex') which has no
direct connection with the external
environment. Unspecific cortex is
composed of two areas: 'Posterior–
unspecific-cortex,' involved in sensory
assoctatwns and problem solving;
and 'frontal-unspecific-cortex,' from
which thinking in the sphere of
time, social awareness and the 'will'
originate. Unspecific cortex, then, is
the key to
hummz
thought. Man has
large unspecific cortical areas -
especially the frontal regions. Conse–
quently, man
should
be
somewhat
more advanced than mere brain size
suggested.
"But here again there is a problem:
man's cerebral cortex, even his frontal
unspecific region, is not as large as
che whale's. So maybe the
relative
proportion of unspecific cortex is
critica!. Perhaps too much
speci.fic
cortex 'clutters up' the brain - much
as numerous local radio stations will
limit the range of a super-power radio
station - thereby not allowing the
tmspeci.fic
cortical areas the 'un–
jammed freedom' necessary for the
generation of abstract, cognitive and
symbolic thought.
If
this is indeed
true, the
ratio
(percentage) of un–
specific cortex
to
total cortex is che
critica! factor.
"Our
physiological
conclusions can
now be finalized: Man's brain is the
most advanced; chimpanzee (large
ratio
of unspecific cortex) and whale,
dolphin and elephant (large
amoutzts
of unspecific cortex) are
all a very
close
second.
"Consequently, "-'ith respect to indi–
vidual and collective behavior, on tbe
bases of
all
physical evidence, a die–
hard materialist would smugly expect
the
same close
relative positions to
exist between the 'mental abilities' of
Tbe
PLAIN TRUTH
man, chimp, whale, dolphin aod ele–
phant as does already exist becween
tbeir respective brains. Such a nalve
gentleman would be visibly shaken by
a study of comparative psychology.
The mental attainment of human
beings would seem
to
be
utterly im–
possible
as judged by his self-deluded
jangle of pompous ideas.
"Aoybody who is even the least bit
aware of his environment will surely
recognize that man is unique. Man is
vastly differenc - producing automo–
biles and astronauts, bridges and
brushes, symphonies and soliloquies,
catascrophes and calamities. Man com–
municates symbo!ically, he ioquires
about himself, he delves into his
origin, he writes his history, he builds
upon his predecessors and he passes
oo to bis descendants. None of chese
characteristics are remotely shown by
chimp, whale or any other animal.
"The materialist stands stupefied.
He
cannot
accouot for the cavernous
gulf between human mind and animal
instinct. The brains are not
that
dif–
ferent - anatomically, biochemically,
or electrically.
"There is no
physical
explanation.
"And that frightens the materialist
- because his whole life-style is now
open to question.
" He knows that there is only one
solution to the problem:
A
unique
NON-physiettl
component must exist
in the human mind - an essence
which transforms the human brain
into rhe human mind.
"No11-physical! There is no other
choice. Naturally, the existence of
anything
non-physical is very depress–
ing to many scientists, since it
acknowledges a reality
above
their
own - now limited - fields of
endeavor. Nevertheless, to retain even
a shred of their much-professed
'intellectual honesty,' every scieotist
will have to admit that the human
mind contains a NON-physical com–
ponent.
"Consideriog the cosmological sig–
oificance of such ao intimate non–
physical power, we should clearly
understand the logical sequence of
prerequisite propositions which culmi–
nate in this conclusion:
45
1.
Man does not have the most mas–
sive brain, nor the largest cerebral
cortex, nor even the greatest un–
specific cortical areas. Therefore,
brain size canm1t be che sole
explanation for 'mind' - or else
whale, elephant and dolphin
would domínate the world.
2.
Mammalian brains are qualitatively
identical; there are no uniqne
sections in man's brain, every struc–
ture is easily found in other brains.
3. Proportionally, mao has che Iarg–
est unspecific cortex. This crit ica!
percentage ( unspecific cortex
1
total
cortex x
100)
is about
60
percent
in man,
40
percent in chimp, and
Jess than
10
percent in rat. About
che same relative positions among
man, chimp and rat also hold with
respect co che micro-anatomical
organization of cerebro-cortical
nerve cells ancl the intcicate wave–
form patterns of cerebro-cortical
electrical activity. The trend is
clear: Chimp brain is
enormously
more complex chao rat brain, while
in comparison, human brain is only
faintly
more complex than chimp
brain. Human and chimp brains
are similar, rat brain far behind.
4.
Consequenlly, on the basis of all
physical dala, chimp should be
meutally 'mperior' lo rat lo a far
greater degree tha11 ma11 is mental–
ly superior to chimp.
The chimp/
rat 'species-IQ' ratio should be
significantly above the manfchimp
ratio. We would therefore expect
the produce of brain fuoccion (the
mental output of man, chimp and
rat) - the psychological accomp–
lishments of che individuals and
the sociological attainments of the
spedes - to closely follow the
relative positions of their respective
brains aod be somewhat similar for
roan and chimp, while much dif–
ferent for chimp and rat. As a
result,
based on their pbysical
brains alone,
humans should
'think' only a
bit
better than
chimp, while chimp should 'chink'
substantially
better thao rat.
5. However, precisely the
opposite
is
true. Chimp and rars 'think' very
similarly. 8oth can learn complex