Introducing the brain: where creative thought is found (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 20:47 (34 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: This sort of research is based directly on the assumption that the brain is the source of all our mental activities, which could once more lead to a discussion on materialism versus dualism, but I think we’ve spent enough time on that already. However, I’d like to put on record the extraordinary case of my elder son, Chris, who died of cancer last year.

The cancer was only discovered when it had already spread from his lungs to his brain. He had always been creative, but his writing was confined to prose – mainly short novels. Suddenly, however, he began to write poems – prolifically. He couldn’t stop. The tumors on his brain were under control for a few months (I can’t remember how many), and in that time he wrote exactly 1000 poems. These cover an enormous range of subjects, and even allowing for the bias of a father, brother and sister, this whole body of work is full of superb writing. But suddenly, from one day to the next, he stopped writing. He didn’t know why. It was then discovered that the tumors had started growing again.

I shan’t attempt to explain this. I offer it as a contribution to the great mystery of consciousness, of which creativity is just one small fragment.

To finish the personal story, we were all so impressed by the poems that we got Chris to make a selection, and published them privately in two volumes, the second of which I was able to show him on June 19th 2023. His eyes lit up when he saw it, although by then he was immobile and almost unable to speak. He died two days later.

My brief time with Chris found him to be a delightfully highly energetic sort of guy. How the tumors stirred up a poetic streak is their invasion must have created a stimulation of his neurons in a new way. They simply brought out a hidden talent. How deep is anyone's reservoir
of abilities?