So I've been into Buddhism lately, and I find the stream of consciousness and self analogies pleasantly comfortable. In them, we are a volume of liquid poured into a bowl, and that liquid flows in and out (ultimately out) throughout one's life. That liquid is our thoughts, feelings, experiences, none of which are truly unique to the individual, at least as I understand them, and it is always in flux. But are we also the bowl in a sense? Because if we are, some amusing parallels can be observed between our bowls and our brains with regard to the medium's material. An autistic brain would be insular, ceramic and therefore brittle but strong, a poor conductor of any latent emotional heat inherent to its thoughts (which is a pain once it's hot), and also generally resistant to the acidic nature of its contents, if it's used for that. I suspect one could say that neurotypicals are metallic and malleable, great for mixing drinks and prone to conducting emotional heat, such that the one holding it is aware of its feelings, but there would always be a bit of itself in the taste of the drink afterwards. I'd like some help fleshing out the analogy, if anyone's interested.
19 Feb 2015, 9:18 pm
