Our brains are hackable, your dreams are sus and heartbreak is like going through withdrawal

"Free will. Yay or nay? Ha. We’re here mainly for music, so let’s look at it this way. Remember when Bruce sang: “You’re scared and you’re thinking that maybe we ain’t that young anymore…” Why does heartbreak feel like your chest is being ripped open? Or like when Amy Winehouse broke us with, “You go back to her, and I go back to black.” Was that love, or dopamine withdrawal? And then there are your dreams? Are they cryptic whispers from the soul, or just the brain’s drunk, late-night scribbles? Maybe that’s all dreaming is — your neurons firing off random fireworks, desperate to find meaning in the chaos. Or is there a scientific explanation that will work for you? When in doubt, go to John Prine: "Your heart gets bored with your mind, and it changes you.” And if you don’t do the spiritual thing, you know that your brain runs the show — that wrinkled, humming cosmos inside your skull. 86 billion neurons sparking electric storms, stitching together memories, illusions, cravings, nightmares. It's a universe all its own: messy, chaotic, astonishing. But maybe… not as unknowable as we’d like to believe. Maybe we’re just sophisticated meat machines, hackable and haunted by chemical ghosts. Ok, that might be a bit much. This is the sh* that fascinates me… so, I asked Dr. David Eagleman to pop on… A neuroscientist who isn’t just mapping the brain — he’s decoding it, stripping away the comforting myths to reveal what’s happening inside your private universe. So if you’ve ever nursed a broken heart, kept a dream journal by your bed, or wondered why your brain can be your best friend one moment and your worst enemy the next, hit play. Because understanding your mind might be the only way to keep it from running (or ruining) your life. Or “There’s someone in my head but it’s not me…” - Pink Floyd." #Strombo'sLit #applebooks #booktube RECOMMENDED READING - DAVID EAGLEMAN SELECTED WORKS: Livewired " If you were to zoom into the living, microscopic cosmos inside the skull, you would witness tentacle-like extensions grasping, bumping, sensing, searching for the right connections to establish or forego, like denizens of a country establishing friendships, marriages, neighbourhoods, political parties, vendettas, and social networks. …" The Brain: The Story of You "What is reality? Who are “you”? How do you make decisions? Why does your brain need other people? How is technology poised to change what it means to be human? In the course of his investigations, Eagleman guides us through the world of extreme sports, criminal justice, facial expressions, genocide, brain surgery, gut feelings, robotics, and the search for immortality." Sum - Forty Tales From the Afterlives "With a probing imagination and deep understanding of the human condition, acclaimed neuroscientist David Eagleman offers wonderfully imagined tales that shine a brilliant light on the here and now." Sidebar: If you haven’t seen the John Prine performance in my living room where he sang to you and Gordon Lightfoot… check it out here    • John Prine | House Of Strombo