Letting the Fellas have a Laugh

If you ask me something, and I say, "let me think about it for a second," the odds are that I'll look pensive. But I'm really just waiting around for a response from my own brain. Sure, certain modules are being accessed (things like my values, memories, and creativity), but I, the alleged agent of all this thinking, really have no idea what's going on. It just sort of happens.

It's pretty fast and it's not linear; it's parallel processing at its best. I definitely wouldn't call it "deliberation"; if anything, it's directional liberation. "Go for it, boys," I sort of say, "You think this through and I'll wait here 'til you're done."

This experience differs from other, more thoughtful, mental processing experiences--like following a recipe or doing a puzzle.

Chess is another example. When I think through a game of chess I am very deliberate. I say things to myself like, "If I move here, then she might do that--eeewwww, we don't want that."

Actually, that's why I enjoy chess. Directing attention in this way seems to settle down the fellas. I'm occupied and feeling in charge--while they're in there, feet up, playing cards or something, maybe smoking cigarettes, and having a laugh.