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The brilliant little jelly under the skullcap

2022-01-27T11:46:15.862Z


The brilliant little jelly under the skullcap Created: 2022-01-27Updated: 2022-01-27 12:32 p.m The sculpture "Anthropologist of a Planet" by Jan Fabre in the exhibition "The Brain. In Art & Science", which can be seen from January 28 to June 26, 2022 in the Bundeskunsthalle. ©Oliver Berg/dpa There are many myths about the brain. Is it true that we only use ten percent of our brain capacity? And


The brilliant little jelly under the skullcap

Created: 2022-01-27Updated: 2022-01-27 12:32 p.m

The sculpture "Anthropologist of a Planet" by Jan Fabre in the exhibition "The Brain. In Art & Science", which can be seen from January 28 to June 26, 2022 in the Bundeskunsthalle.

©Oliver Berg/dpa

There are many myths about the brain.

Is it true that we only use ten percent of our brain capacity?

And mathematicians especially the left half?

The Bundeskunsthalle provides the answer.

Bonn - The most moving exhibit in the latest exhibition at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn is not a work of art at all.

It is the note box of a dementia patient who died in 2005.

The apparently highly educated man made many hundreds of differently colored handwritten papers, some of them with drawings.

“When was there a divorce?” is written on one.

But also: "Do I have the book "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum"?

does it exist?

Apparently he was no longer sure whether Heinrich Böll's story even existed.

Sometimes it gets downright philosophical: "At home or in a home?" And: "The old commandment: You shouldn't ask!" Perhaps the saddest thing: "How do I reach Karin?" Karin was his daughter.

Fascinating exhibition

"The brain.

In Art & Science" is the name of the fascinating exhibition in which art, cultural history and science meet, but philosophy and religion also play a role.

The focus is on the latest findings in brain research.

They are broken down into five very specific questions in a visitor-friendly manner.

The installation "The Brain City Project" by the artist Aaron Steinberg is hanging in the Bundeskunsthalle.

©Oliver Berg/dpa

Question 1: What do I have in mind? Answer: Pretty little. Not only is the brain as soft as jelly, it's also a lot smaller than many people think. It is believed not to have grown significantly in 100,000 years. The reason: the metabolism could no longer supply an even larger brain. Even at rest, the brain, despite making up only 2 percent of body mass, uses up 20 percent of all energy.

Question 2: How do I imagine the processes in the brain?

Often quite wrong.

As in earlier times, countless myths are still circulating today, for example that mathematicians and natural scientists primarily use the left half of the brain because logic and rationality are said to be at home there.

Poets, painters and rock stars, on the other hand, tend to think with their right half, which is where creativity and intuition reside.

According to the exhibition catalogue, the current state of science is: There is absolutely nothing to it!

A question of belief

Question 3: Are I and my body the same?

It's partly a matter of faith.

Brain research dispenses with terms such as "soul" and "spirit", preferring to speak of "consciousness".

The scientists simply attribute so-called near-death experiences to an undersupply of the brain.

For the hospice worker Linda Bulthaup, on the other hand, it is adamant that human beings have a soul.

Dying people often tell her about the presence of their parents and grandparents.

"Sometimes so realistic that I sometimes get a little queasy and wonder if there really is someone in the room with us."

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The Bundeskunsthalle is waiting with a very special exhibit: It has brought the skull of René Descartes ashore from Paris, and that is none other than the inventor of "I think, therefore I am".

There is an inscription on the skull, according to which the great philosopher has hovered “in the spheres of heaven” since his death in 1650.

How I like it

Question 4: How do I make the world for myself?

As I like of course.

Example: In an experiment, students were sent into a professor's room with an almost empty bookshelf.

A few hours later they should describe the room.

Most said: There was a full bookshelf.

Because that's what you expect: professor full bookshelves.

The brain does not store the space exactly as it is, but as it should be based on many previous experiences.

This is usually much more efficient.

The installation "Card of a man with dementia" by Karin Schulte in a showcase in the Bundeskunsthalle.

©Oliver Berg/dpa

Question 5: Should I optimize my brain?

Depends on.

Implants in the brain are already helping to alleviate diseases such as Parkinson's.

Perhaps in the long term development will go in the direction of cyborgs.

But the much-quoted sentence "We only use ten percent of our brain" is fictitious.

Among other things, this suggests that you can train your brain to become more intelligent.

But: "Several studies have shown that particularly clever people can do with the left hand and without much brain effort what less gifted people can only do with a lot of energy." dpa

Source: merkur

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