Cell complexity: speed of reactions (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, October 11, 2015, 12:20 (3113 days ago) @ David Turell
edited by dhw, Sunday, October 11, 2015, 12:35

David: Comment: Automatically accurate, or death. That should be obvious. I don't see a thought process here.-dhw: Then try this variation: one organism is packed with millions of cells all reacting in split-second timing. Add McClintock: “Every component of the organism is as much of an organism as every other part.”
The thought is what directs the cells of the organism, and the thought is what directs the molecules of the cell. The source of the thought that directs the cells and the molecules within the cells (each cell being an organism) is the inventive mechanism or “brain”.-DAVID: If I could be shown an organelle of 'thought' I might accept your point. None exists.-I prefer the word ‘intelligence', since it is too tempting to equate ‘thought' with the multiple levels of consciousness involved in our own thinking. Like you and the rest of the world, I don't know how this is generated, though we would probably agree that it is somehow associated with the brain. Buehler thinks the cellular equivalent of the brain is the centrosphere:
 
Guenther Buehler and Cell intelligence - Home :...
www.basic.northwestern.edu/g-buehler/FRAME.HTM-QUOTE Centrosphere: Centrioles and radial array of microtubules. From the point of view of the ‘intelligent cell' the centrosphere is the ‘brain' of the cell. Analogous to our own bodies, it projects the ‘eyes' in the form of a pair of centrioles. Likewise, its ‘nerves' correspond to the radial array of microtubules connecting the centrospheres unbranchingly with the cellular ‘musculature' contained in the cortex. (Introduction: Anatomy of the intelligent cell)-Of course you will reject this, as you reject the findings of all other proponents of cellular intelligence, but since there is apparently a 50/50 chance that they are right, there must also be a chance that after 30-plus years of research he might be onto something. "None exists" seems a bit strong when it's 50/50.