Much has been written recently about the development of the human brain. Not that long ago, even Hillary and Bill hosted a colloquium on early neurological development. Small wonder really – brains are us.
The development of a brain is a dynamic interactive process beginning shortly after conception. Its ultimate configuration is an amalgam of the genetic raw material wired up in response to environmental inputs. “The world develops the mind” writes researcher Robert Ornstein.
An example Ornstein cites is illustrative. A two year old boy developed a small growth on his left eyelid. Treatment involved covering that eye for two weeks. Later, during his first grade eye test, it was determined that he was blind in that left eye. Subsequent investigation found nothing at all wrong with the eye itself.
‘Sup with that? It was simply because the eye had been covered during a critical time in the development of the boy’s visual system. At that point, certain neurons were looking for a live connection. Finding no stimulation at the left eye, some withered and others connected with the right eye. Sadly, that particular process rapidly becomes complete and immutable.
Neuronal selection is what it is called. Neural Darwinism. The sum total of a zillion similar interactions directly influences the wiring pattern of each brain. The process yields a unique mind with its own collection of constellations.
A fertilized egg is thus an incipient cosmos; a big bang as it were. Guess who guides its evolution.
The Subtle Landscape 
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