Stephan Lacast's Blog: Brainwalker Blog
May 24, 2016
Solid Matter Matters
In the first chapter of Brainwalker, our hero Bernard has a heated discussion with his dad about how all matter is energy, and all energy matter. This has been expressed years before by Albert Einstein in his brilliant equation, e=mc2.
But if it’s true that all matter is energy, it brings up some big questions: how come solid matter can’t pass through other solid matter, the way two beams of light just go through each other? Why do we go around barking our shins against table legs, instead of just phasing through them the way the Vision does in the Avengers? Why can we stand on the ground instead of just falling through the Earth’s crust straight down to the core?
Good questions, and as with anything that has to do with reality at the quantum level, the answer is both weird and complicated.
First let’s set the table. As you well know, matter is composed of atoms, which are themselves composed of smaller particles: electrons (which carry a negative charge), protons (positive charge) and neutrons (no charge).
Electrons and protons are attracted to each other due to their opposing charges. Hence you have electrons orbiting protons in the nuclei. On the other hand, electrons repel other electrons because they have the same negative charge. These are the properties of electromagnetic force, one of the four elemental forces that make up the universe.
Solid objects, of course, are made up of trillions of atoms, each with their own electromagnetic force. And so the EM force present in a leg chair will repel the EM force of your shin in the event of a collision, and, well, you won’t be able to spare yourself some pain.
So to go back to the book’s discussion, yes, matter is energy and vice versa. The mug on your table is being held up by energy, floating on a vast sea of electrons!
It all seems strange, but as you will see as you go deeper into the quantum level, the world gets stranger still.
But if it’s true that all matter is energy, it brings up some big questions: how come solid matter can’t pass through other solid matter, the way two beams of light just go through each other? Why do we go around barking our shins against table legs, instead of just phasing through them the way the Vision does in the Avengers? Why can we stand on the ground instead of just falling through the Earth’s crust straight down to the core?
Good questions, and as with anything that has to do with reality at the quantum level, the answer is both weird and complicated.
First let’s set the table. As you well know, matter is composed of atoms, which are themselves composed of smaller particles: electrons (which carry a negative charge), protons (positive charge) and neutrons (no charge).
Electrons and protons are attracted to each other due to their opposing charges. Hence you have electrons orbiting protons in the nuclei. On the other hand, electrons repel other electrons because they have the same negative charge. These are the properties of electromagnetic force, one of the four elemental forces that make up the universe.
Solid objects, of course, are made up of trillions of atoms, each with their own electromagnetic force. And so the EM force present in a leg chair will repel the EM force of your shin in the event of a collision, and, well, you won’t be able to spare yourself some pain.
So to go back to the book’s discussion, yes, matter is energy and vice versa. The mug on your table is being held up by energy, floating on a vast sea of electrons!
It all seems strange, but as you will see as you go deeper into the quantum level, the world gets stranger still.
Neuroplasticity: Let’s talk about gray matters
Like the quantum world, the human brain is a very strange place. Perhaps one of the strangest things to hear about is that the brain is actually plastic.
Doesn’t seem very flattering, does it? Conjures up the image of Saran wrap around your noggin. But plastic here actually means that the brain is capable of changing throughout one’s life.
In the early part of the 20th century, scientists believed that the brain develops only during one’s childhood. After some time, it reaches a stasis point when it stops changing, much like a clay figure hardening into its final shape.
Late into the 90’s, however, researchers found that this wasn’t the case—the brain does change well into adult life and can even generate new cells. When we experience new things or absorb new information, the brain readjusts its connections and forms neurons. In other words, that mental clay never fully hardens.
How does it work? Say you heard a song that you immediately liked. You put it on your replay list, learn it endlessly, even sing it in the car or in the shower. By learning that song, you have created new pathways in your brain.
This also happens when you learn new skills. Your brain changes shape, and the areas of your brain that are related to those skills even grow as you get better.
The other side of the coin is something called synaptic pruning. In this process, the brain gets rid of unwanted or unneeded neural connections in order to keep its processes more efficient. Think of it as decluttering, like dumping useless files from your hard drive so your computer runs faster.
Neuroplasticity has shown to be effective even when the brain itself gets injured. Studies on mice have shown that, when one portion of their brains got damaged, the cells surrounding that damaged area alter their functions and shape so they could take over for the dead cells. While not as extensive in humans, our brain cells can also adapt in the event of injuries.
So we know that brains can get better—can they also get worse? The answer is yes. Apart from injuries, stress can stop brain development. If you are under stress for some time, it causes a spike your cortisol, a natural hormone in your brain. Cortisol can actually stop the prevent neurons from developing and even break synapses.
In Brainwalker, Bernard’s dad Floyd goes through a tough period after his wife passes away. The severe stress causes the more creative side of his brain to suffer as neurons die away from lack of Energia. This results in less inspiration, less new ideas, and down the road, even mental illness.
Your brain dies a little bit under prolonged stress. So when doctors say that stress can kill you, you’d better believe it. Thankfully, you can increase your brain’s plasticity over time. Here are some activities I recommend you try:
1. Learn something new.
As mentioned before, learning a new skill opens new neural pathways. So pick up a new language, learn to play an instrument, or master a sport. These habits are sure to bulk up your brain.
2. Meet new people.
Studies show that meeting new people opens you up to new ideas, cultures, approaches to doing things—all of which feed the mind.
3. Absorb new ideas.
Reading books and gaining new viewpoints is a great way to build new neural pathways.
4. Practice Healthy Living.
You also have to feed your brain good food as well as reduce stress. Meditation, eating healthy food, and adequate exercise all help keep your mind fit.
5. Challenge your mind.
Try some brain plasticity exercises to keep your mind limber. Skill-based video games also help, but keep in mind that as you master the game, the returns diminish as it no longer sharpens your brain as much as before. Keep up the challenge by moving on to new ones.
Do you have your own ideas for building “new”-rons? Share them with the rest in the comments below.
Doesn’t seem very flattering, does it? Conjures up the image of Saran wrap around your noggin. But plastic here actually means that the brain is capable of changing throughout one’s life.
In the early part of the 20th century, scientists believed that the brain develops only during one’s childhood. After some time, it reaches a stasis point when it stops changing, much like a clay figure hardening into its final shape.
Late into the 90’s, however, researchers found that this wasn’t the case—the brain does change well into adult life and can even generate new cells. When we experience new things or absorb new information, the brain readjusts its connections and forms neurons. In other words, that mental clay never fully hardens.
How does it work? Say you heard a song that you immediately liked. You put it on your replay list, learn it endlessly, even sing it in the car or in the shower. By learning that song, you have created new pathways in your brain.
This also happens when you learn new skills. Your brain changes shape, and the areas of your brain that are related to those skills even grow as you get better.
The other side of the coin is something called synaptic pruning. In this process, the brain gets rid of unwanted or unneeded neural connections in order to keep its processes more efficient. Think of it as decluttering, like dumping useless files from your hard drive so your computer runs faster.
Neuroplasticity has shown to be effective even when the brain itself gets injured. Studies on mice have shown that, when one portion of their brains got damaged, the cells surrounding that damaged area alter their functions and shape so they could take over for the dead cells. While not as extensive in humans, our brain cells can also adapt in the event of injuries.
So we know that brains can get better—can they also get worse? The answer is yes. Apart from injuries, stress can stop brain development. If you are under stress for some time, it causes a spike your cortisol, a natural hormone in your brain. Cortisol can actually stop the prevent neurons from developing and even break synapses.
In Brainwalker, Bernard’s dad Floyd goes through a tough period after his wife passes away. The severe stress causes the more creative side of his brain to suffer as neurons die away from lack of Energia. This results in less inspiration, less new ideas, and down the road, even mental illness.
Your brain dies a little bit under prolonged stress. So when doctors say that stress can kill you, you’d better believe it. Thankfully, you can increase your brain’s plasticity over time. Here are some activities I recommend you try:
1. Learn something new.
As mentioned before, learning a new skill opens new neural pathways. So pick up a new language, learn to play an instrument, or master a sport. These habits are sure to bulk up your brain.
2. Meet new people.
Studies show that meeting new people opens you up to new ideas, cultures, approaches to doing things—all of which feed the mind.
3. Absorb new ideas.
Reading books and gaining new viewpoints is a great way to build new neural pathways.
4. Practice Healthy Living.
You also have to feed your brain good food as well as reduce stress. Meditation, eating healthy food, and adequate exercise all help keep your mind fit.
5. Challenge your mind.
Try some brain plasticity exercises to keep your mind limber. Skill-based video games also help, but keep in mind that as you master the game, the returns diminish as it no longer sharpens your brain as much as before. Keep up the challenge by moving on to new ones.
Do you have your own ideas for building “new”-rons? Share them with the rest in the comments below.
May 20, 2016
Follow the journey through the Mindbrain universe
On this map of the Brainiverse, you can see the two quasi-symmetrical hemispheres of the brain. Intuit and Reezon are small regions located in the brain’s frontal lobes, in the upper seas of the Brainiverse. The two hemispheres are connected by a giant bridge, the Great Arc, where Bernard and his friends meet the Bridge people. Deeper in the lower seas are the Darks and the mysterious city of Apathea where the Telamons live.
May 16, 2016
The science behind the fantasy
One of the most interesting things about reading a novel like Brainwalker is figuring out where the science ends and the story begins. Every science fiction and fantasy story combines elements of reality and imagination; the best ones ground imagination in a foundation of reality that lets the story soar. For Brainwalker, it all comes down to one simple idea: that Bernard’s mind can be elsewhere than his body. For new readers, that’s a hard idea to swallow. Or is it?
Several quantum mechanical theories support the idea that Bernard’s mind can exist apart from his body. Scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany recently demonstrated that atoms can actually be in two places at the same time. What the scientists did was take two sets of optical tweezers and play tug of war with an atom.
In classical physics the atom would go in one direction or the other, but according to quantum mechanics it would have an equal chance of being in both places at once. They did the measurements and that’s exactly what happened: the atom was in two places at once. Right now it can only be seen at the atomic level, which is much smaller than the level of the story, but it does give a way for Bernard to be both inside and outside the Brainiverse at the same time.
The other way you can look at it is what’s called mind-body dualism. That’s the idea that the mind is more than just the brain, that it’s something separate that controls the body through the brain. Naturally, if that’s true then of course Bernard’s mind can leave his body to enter the Brainiverse, and he doesn’t even have to be in two places at once. The two parts of him just go their separate ways. It sounds simple enough, but how plausible is it?
One of the key features of quantum mechanics is that the Universe always waits as long as possible before making up its mind. In other words, quantum mechanics tells us that the prize is behind both doors until you open one to find out. In other words, quantum mechanics requires an outside observer who can find out which door hides the prize. What makes it even more interesting is quantum mechanics is non-local, it doesn’t care about distance. No matter how far apart the two doors are, opening one affects both.
Where dualism comes in is in the nature of the observer and how observing something determines what happens. That means that observing something is a mental phenomenon with a physical effect; your mind changing the world. If this is a physical effect, then observing something should change your brain; if it doesn’t change your brain, then your mind must be separate from your brain, and that would let Bernard’s mind enter the Brainiverse.
A single explanation would be simple, but that’s not how quantum mechanics works. You have to open the door, or jump in the wormhole, first. Only then can you find the right answer, and sometimes there’s more than one.
May 14, 2016
The Telamons of the Darks.
Telamons are prehistoric creatures of the Brainiverse. They lived millions of tides ago, during the Crescer era, and were at the time the only known inhabitants of this world. Telamons are thought to have disappeared soon after the appearance of holons. Occasionally, there have been reports that at high tide, some Telamons have been spotted at the edge between the upper and the lower seas.
Brainwalker
What’s a holon?
Holons are the inhabitants of the Brainiverse, the Mindbrain universe. A Holon is a being, but it’s also part of a larger being. So Holons are part of neurons, and neurons are parts of a brain, which is part of Bernard’s dad, which is part of a world. And this world is part of a galaxy, etc.
All levels influence each other. Our cells influence our life. We influence the life of the Earth. As for the Holons, they influence the life of our neurons. But it also goes the other way. Floyd (Bernard’s dad) influences his neurons, and the Holons who live inside it.
Even though the Holons from Intuit accept the idea that everything in their world is a part of something bigger, only the Telamons are fully aware of the holonic nature of the universe. And only they understand that wormholes are a path from one level of the holonic order to another.
All levels influence each other. Our cells influence our life. We influence the life of the Earth. As for the Holons, they influence the life of our neurons. But it also goes the other way. Floyd (Bernard’s dad) influences his neurons, and the Holons who live inside it.
Even though the Holons from Intuit accept the idea that everything in their world is a part of something bigger, only the Telamons are fully aware of the holonic nature of the universe. And only they understand that wormholes are a path from one level of the holonic order to another.
May 13, 2016
The brain inhabited?
Yeah right… Aliens in outer space, fine. But people inside our brain? Come on! Well, so was Bernard skeptical until he found himself inside… his father’s brain. There, he found out that the brain hosts a whole array of life forms. Chief among them are the Holons, who like to live in the very heart of our nerve cells. Frankly, they could care less about us, because they’re not even aware of our existence. But what if what they did influence our thoughts somehow?
Brainwalker
Brainwalker
