By John Sangster

receives information upside down and in reverse, leaving it to the brain to
unscramble the mess. It’s unsettling since I’m not sure the brain can be
trusted . . . For example, just how clearly do we see ourselves—in the
mirror, in our minds? Okay, right side up but . . . My guess is that the
brain filters and spins information because it knows we’re not really
interested in reality. “Self deception takes you only so far, but you can’t
get anywhere without it.” I read that somewhere and I’m not sure I
understand it, but it has the ring of truth. The brain is a crutch we’re
forced to lean on (a design flaw, it seems to me)—I don’t know about
yours but mine’s suspect: prone to slipping out from under me on wet
surfaces, to questionable judgment. Even the great brains of our
progressive thinkers—the ones that gave us such advances as modern
“difficult” poetry, twelve-tone music, free jazz . . . Ever try to listen to
that stuff? What were they thinking?

© John Sangster 2001