DescentBB

flip wrote:I disagree with your premise TC. It's a choice about how your gonna be. We are not animals who just react, we are cognitive beings.

Think about it flip. We are animals on a base level. We share a lot of the brain structures. We do have a emotional basal brain, the amygdala. It's whole purpose is for unthinking, instantaneous reactions, primarily for survival. The visual cortex usually takes a little too long to come up with a better survival solution in a life or death situation.

http://brainconnection.positscience.com ... nal-brain2

I had a split second reaction one time like that. I was standing in the doorway of a friend's dorm room one night. In the background, there was a dark window. All of a sudden, something large appeared to come right at the window. Without thinking, I turned and fled the room. The other girls must have seen my horrified face, for they charged out right behind me without question. But what's funny is that when I was already about halfway out of the room, my visual cortex kicked in and had already figured out what the movement was, so I started laughing hysterically. The other girls were puzzled until I told them what had happened, so we all had a good laugh. Someone on a floor above had thrown some water out of their window and it for the life of me, for a split second, it looked like some animal flying into the window in the dark!

My point is, my amygdala reacted far quicker, and without thought, in that sudden fight or flight situation. The visual cortex did kick in about a half a second after the initial reaction. It's when the cortex kicks in that a person can make the ultimate decision about whether to turn and fight, or run.

Well, everyone is different. I am a spiritual being. I ask for answers and I get them. I need counsel and I get it. I do not adhere to your belief of strictly chemical reactions. I have also prepared my mind for most situations. I have forethought and a conscience. We are spirits confined to a limited, fleshly body. In my opinion, it is at that point that we are like animals and also at that point where we begin to differ. We can make the choice, in spite of everything within us screaming differently. We are in control of our own programming and every choice we make determines our wiring.

I hate to say it, but I've been in that kind of a situation. it was absolutely terrifying. the only difference is that when I saw the the look in the guys' eyes, he looked just as scared and didn't want to shoot.

but, if I had any inclination that i'd ever be in a situation like that again, I'm not sure what I'd do. But one thing is for sure, i'd try to get some kind of training first, if it even exists for us civilians.

I'm almost certain the training you would want is available in the U.S. Not sure about up there. I'd be curious to know.

flip wrote:Well, everyone is different. I am a spiritual being. I ask for answers and I get them. I need counsel and I get it. I do not adhere to your belief of strictly chemical reactions. I have also prepared my mind for most situations. I have forethought and a conscience. We are spirits confined to a limited, fleshly body. In my opinion, it is at that point that we are like animals and also at that point where we begin to differ. We can make the choice, in spite of everything within us screaming differently. We are in control of our own programming and every choice we make determines our wiring.

Perhaps, but your brain still has an amygdala, like ALL humans, and it still has the shorter reaction time than the cortex because it's processor is meant for that very singular purpose, fight or flight. Unless you're an alien or something not from this planet.

Yep, and that very next instant you have a choice to make. I know what your saying, just the other day my amygdala saved my eye from a piece of plastic hitting it. My eye closed and I was hit before I knew it.

Derived from the Greek for almond, the amygdala sits in the brain's medial temporal lobe, a few inches from either ear. Coursing through the amygdala are nerves connecting it to a number of important brain centers, including the neocortex and visual cortex. "More and more we're beginning to believe, and the evidence is pointing to the idea, that it's the circuits that are important, not just the structure per se," says Ned Kalin, professor of psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison. "And in this particular case the circuitry between the frontal cortical regions of the brain may be critical in regulating emotion and in guiding emotion-related behaviors."

It's the choices one makes all throughout their lives that determine the circuitry and how your amygdala gets wired. Goes to my original post.

You can't change the wiring of the amygdala, but you can change the wiring of your cortex to do the right thing. That I do agree with.

We're all glad you were able to work through that, TC. Thanks for the little jaunt down sidetrack lane.