Does this make sense? No, probably not. Trying to explain it makes me sound like a distracted preschooler, too. These are the kind of conversations where words trail off in sad, little tails that drag in the dirt. Awkwardly look at the grass, or your hand. Fidget with a button. Bring up an intelligent book. Redirect. Ahem.
But that’s my story. That’s the inside out seam lines of what happens when I decide to think. Thinking is usually only for smart people, but I do it too. Kind of.
So. Right. Point. That illustration, that “secret” – that’s my quintessential mind. No, let’s do this: that’s my quintessential Mind. Quintessential Erin with her quintessential neuron blobs firing all quintessentially without my cognitive permission. Quintessentially. I’ll stop.
And the Mind and all its glorious (-ly stupid) mechanisms is exactly what author Ray Kurzweil (remember him? He’s the star, here) seeks to demystify with his new book, How to Create a Mind: The Secrets of Human Thought Revealed. Joining up with Jim Fleming – the host of PRI’s “To the Best of Our Knowledge” – Kurzweil brings to the table the cogwork of the Homo Sapien brain, exploring the aspects of emotional and moral intelligence, as well as the origins of consciousness. In other words (“words” is a layer cake of grays and charcoals and black and chocolate colors. Like mineral strata in a rock face), Kurzweil could know why “Josh” looks like butter in my head. Spongey butter.
For $20, guests can attend the interview as Kurzweil and Fleming enjoy some Smart Conversation at The Kentucky Center for the Arts as part of the Kentucky Author Forum. Big spenders can enjoy dinner with the author plus the show for $110. This will all happen tonight, Monday, November 26th, starting at 6pm – so, you should probably consider your evening, like, now. Or maybe two hours ago would have been better – that’s when I started writing this informative article. Sorry, doves.
Your brain is beautiful. I know it must be, and it’s a crying shame that we can’t all belly-up nose to nose all the time and take a peek at how we each tic and quirk and idiosync. Let Ray Kurzweil take a crack at tonight and – maybe someday – we can try too. How do you See on the inside? Tell me. Tell me your name, and I’ll tell you what color your Mama gave you in my quintessential head.
The Kentucky Center for the Arts is located at 501 W Main Street. For more information on Ray Kurzweil, as well as tickets, visit the event page.
Image: Courtesy of Amazon www.amazon.com
