It may well be our brains are wired up to be slightly more optimistic than they should be. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran More Quotes by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran More Quotes From Vilayanur S. Ramachandran Think about what artists, novelists and poets have in common: the ability to engage in metaphorical thinking, linking seemingly unrelated ideas, such as, 'It is the east, and Juliet is the Sun.' Vilayanur S. Ramachandran motivationartistinspiration Great art allows you to transcend your mortal frame and to reach for the stars. I think great science does the same thing. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran starsartthinking With the arrival of humans, it has been said, the universe has suddenly become conscious of itself. This, truly, it the greatest mystery of all. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran mysteryconsciousnesssaid The adage that fact is stranger than fiction seems to be especially true for the workings of the brain. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran brainfactsfiction Any ape can reach for a banana, but only humans can reach for the stars. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran bananasapesstars Lofty questions about the mind are fascinating to ask, philosophers have been asking them for three millennia both in India where I am from and here in the West - but it is only in the brain that we can eventually hope to find the answers. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran westmindbrain What the neurology tells us is that the self consists of many components, and the notion of one unitary self may well be an illusion. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran neurologyselfmay A genius is somebody who seemingly just reaches out of nowhere. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran reach-outgenius Our ability to perceive the world around us seems so effortless that we tend to take it for granted. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran grantedabilityworld In fact, on one occasion, a rather pedantic experimental psychologist was telling him about a long, complicated experiment he had done, incorporating all the proper controls and using considerable technical virtuosity. When he saw Crick's exasperated expression he said, "but Dr. Crick, we have got it right - we know it's right," Crick's response was, "The point is not whether it's right. The point is: does it even matter whether its right or wrong?" Vilayanur S. Ramachandran painexpressionlong The boundary between neurology and psychiatry is becoming increasingly blurred, and its only a matter of time before psychiatry becomes just another branch of neurology. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran branchesbecomingmatter Yet as human beings we have to accept-with humility-that the question of ultimate origins will always remain with us, no matter how deeply we understand the brain and the cosmos that it creates. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran cosmoshumilitybrain Here is a neuron that fires when I reach and grab something, but it also fires when I watch Joe reaching and grabbing something. ... It's as though this neuron is adopting the other person's point of view. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran fireviewsbrain You cant just take an image and randomly distort it and call it art - although many people in La Jolla where I come from do precisely that. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran cantpeopleart The minute you succumb to outside pressure, you cease to be creative. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran minutescreativepressure If we knew about the real facts and statistics of mortality, we’d be terrified. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran statisticsrealfacts One of the first things we teach medical students is to listen to the patient by taking a careful medical history. Ninety percent of the time, you can arrive at an uncannily accurate diagnosis by paying close attention, using physical examination and sophisticated lab test to confirm your hunch (and to increase the bill to the insurance company). Vilayanur S. Ramachandran labsexaminationattention Even today no computer can understand language as well as a three-year-old or see as well as a mouse. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran threetodayyears Without ducking responsibility, what's wrong with medicine today is that it is predicated on providing treatment, not on reducing suffering. Not on solving problems. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran medicineresponsibilitysuffering When I speak of artistic universals, I am not denying the enormous role played by culture. Obviously culture plays a tremendous role, otherwise you wouldn't have different artistic styles - but it doesn't follow that art is completely idiosyncratic and arbitrary, either, or that there are no universal laws. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran i-amyoucultureart
