Little Minds

Now I finally understood it. After almost 64 years on this earth and the reading of several non-fiction books on the subject. 

Only the cerebellum decides. Cerebellum is Latin for “little brain”. It is located in the middle of the brain and has the size of a nut. A big one apparently is not needed for this. All happens in nanoseconds, so fast we do not realize what is going on at all. Feelings and a few loose accumulated experiences are crucial. There is no place for longer trains of thought, after all it is a cerebellum, a small mind. Quick! So we think.

Afterwards and if required, the rest of the brain - the cerebrum - produces only arguments for this decision. Some say it is the cerebellum's press secretary. From the decision itself it is completely excluded. Here the cerebellum tricks a little: It lets the big brother in the belief that he himself, after much pros and cons, came to a conclusion and made the decision. This is the reason, the cerebrum will never be persuaded to change his mind, because nobody gives up on his idea.

Therefore you will never change anybody’s mind. It is a loss of time to try to convince someone with facts. The cerebellum has behind the scenes already pressed all the necessary keys and written the script. Whatever support its decisions is accepted by consciousness and will be joyfully retweeted. Anything that will not, will be ignored; it will not be registered, it does not exist. Or, if the din of a possible cognitive dissonance becomes too big and the wall of ignoring cannot withstand, then the brain gets full steam and produces torrents of arguments that support the little sister's opinion. Should there possibly be a lack of factual arguments, it gets personal and insulting. Or attacked another sore of the opponent, which is totally unrelated to the point in question.

Spouses know that from their partner. Parents from their teens and teens from their parents.

The popular Bavarian humorist Karl Valentin once told a story of a brave deceased from Munich, who persuaded the celestial powers to send him back to earth to give to the Kings some divine hints how to govern more effectively, in order to improve a little the mess we have down here. Regretfully, the divine messenger included a stop in one of Munich’s famous beer houses, and there still he remains. But Valentin's theory how our rulers were cut off from the divine inspiration is now revoked by modern science: It is the cerebellum that has hijacked the command center of the authorities and of anybody else; including me.

But what is happening here? Why and how do I write this?

Looks like if my cortex, my conscious mind, is emancipating from the yoke of the small cerebellum. Otherwise I could not write this rebellious text, could I? Is there a chance that we are able to free ourselves from the infinite stupidity in which we have been condemned by the cerebella of the world?

No, no worries. As always, the cerebellum is still in full control. It is just tricking again. It only pretends to make the big cerebrum believe it would have any right for participation. It should not notice it is so totally dependent. Therefore, it treats him with occasional open spaces, but completely safe for its actual preservation of power.

Just like in these new democracies in east and west, in which actually a strongman alone holds all the threads in his hand, allowing gracefully a playground for dissenters. In it you may do what you want. However, you will not achieve much. The actual decision making power remains with the chief and his gang. And I suspect that many of them have no cerebrum, but two cerebellums. Two little minds. More they do not need.