Read Online An Ecology of MInd by Stephen Johnston - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephen Johnston
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youthful beauty was destroyed by the bloody
dent in the side of her head with grey brain matter showing through in places.
It was the same through the whole camp. His entire tribe, virtually everyone he knew had been brutally and efficiently killed. The camp itself was mostly
destroyed and looted.
He wept for a long time, and his grief felt like a physical wound in his guts. His whole world had been ripped away from him and changed in so many
horrible ways that he was having a hard time thinking anything useful. Finally, when the sun was starting to get very low in the sky, he crawled into what
was left of a tent of sewn hides and curled into a ball and thought of his loss until exhaustion claimed him, and he fell into a troubled sleep.
The next morning he was awoken early by the need to relieve himself. After, he sat in the cool fall morning air and thought as the sun came up. There had
been no warning that he was aware of before the attack. His people had not come across any of the No Chins for quite some time. The only thing he could
think of was that they had attacked for trespassing on lands that they saw as theirs.
He thought for a long time about his survival and healing. He didn't understand it, and in some ways was angry about it. If some god or spirit had saved
him, why had it not saved the others of his tribe as well? He had never even paid much attention to the teachings of the shaman of the tribe, being far
more interested in hunting and Sinjee.
He finally gave up thinking about it for now, and got up and walked about the ruined camp. He began looking for useful items in the wreckage that he would
need for survival. He managed to find weapons, some food, tools and hides, enough to be able to hunt and provide shelter and live on his own. There was
actually more than he could carry so he packed up what he thought would be the most useful or that could be used to make what he needed if he had to.
He looked around the camp, fixing the sight in his memory. The No Chins had a lot to pay for, and he would make them pay. He didn't care how long it took.
He then turned and moved off into the forest.
Chapter 9
IT LOOKED LIKE MOST PEOPLE were back from the break so Dr. Pearson started the next portion of the lecture.
"Welcome back, it's always gratifying when you don't all make a run for it." Several of the class laughed and the last few settled into their seats.
"I'm going to ask you all to listen carefully to exactly what I say in the next section and to try to hear me out. Some beliefs or mental constructs are
much more emotionally charged than others. They seem to use strong emotions as a defense mechanism. Even discussing them can be like walking through a
minefield. I will be talking more about this defense mechanism used by the brain later in the day."
"What I want to talk about now as being another barrier to reality is prejudice and my first example is one that involves racism. I'm going to assume that
everyone in this room is aware of people that make general assumptions about individuals based on the color of their skin, their race or country of origin,
or their religion beliefs. The lumping of all individuals into a category because of one of these characteristics without knowing more about them can be a
barrier to reality."
"It should be noted that there are definite common characteristics to particular cultures, which are different from other cultures. These should not be
confused with assumptions of inferiority based on race. Cultural differences can be real and measurable."
"A few years ago, a researcher at a reputable university announced the result of a study he had conducted. This researcher, who was a tenured professor,
announced that his study showed that physical brain size varied between races. He claimed that the results of his study showed the brain size to be the
smallest for Blacks. He reported his study as showing brain size was largest for Asians. Caucasians
dent in the side of her head with grey brain matter showing through in places.
It was the same through the whole camp. His entire tribe, virtually everyone he knew had been brutally and efficiently killed. The camp itself was mostly
destroyed and looted.
He wept for a long time, and his grief felt like a physical wound in his guts. His whole world had been ripped away from him and changed in so many
horrible ways that he was having a hard time thinking anything useful. Finally, when the sun was starting to get very low in the sky, he crawled into what
was left of a tent of sewn hides and curled into a ball and thought of his loss until exhaustion claimed him, and he fell into a troubled sleep.
The next morning he was awoken early by the need to relieve himself. After, he sat in the cool fall morning air and thought as the sun came up. There had
been no warning that he was aware of before the attack. His people had not come across any of the No Chins for quite some time. The only thing he could
think of was that they had attacked for trespassing on lands that they saw as theirs.
He thought for a long time about his survival and healing. He didn't understand it, and in some ways was angry about it. If some god or spirit had saved
him, why had it not saved the others of his tribe as well? He had never even paid much attention to the teachings of the shaman of the tribe, being far
more interested in hunting and Sinjee.
He finally gave up thinking about it for now, and got up and walked about the ruined camp. He began looking for useful items in the wreckage that he would
need for survival. He managed to find weapons, some food, tools and hides, enough to be able to hunt and provide shelter and live on his own. There was
actually more than he could carry so he packed up what he thought would be the most useful or that could be used to make what he needed if he had to.
He looked around the camp, fixing the sight in his memory. The No Chins had a lot to pay for, and he would make them pay. He didn't care how long it took.
He then turned and moved off into the forest.
Chapter 9
IT LOOKED LIKE MOST PEOPLE were back from the break so Dr. Pearson started the next portion of the lecture.
"Welcome back, it's always gratifying when you don't all make a run for it." Several of the class laughed and the last few settled into their seats.
"I'm going to ask you all to listen carefully to exactly what I say in the next section and to try to hear me out. Some beliefs or mental constructs are
much more emotionally charged than others. They seem to use strong emotions as a defense mechanism. Even discussing them can be like walking through a
minefield. I will be talking more about this defense mechanism used by the brain later in the day."
"What I want to talk about now as being another barrier to reality is prejudice and my first example is one that involves racism. I'm going to assume that
everyone in this room is aware of people that make general assumptions about individuals based on the color of their skin, their race or country of origin,
or their religion beliefs. The lumping of all individuals into a category because of one of these characteristics without knowing more about them can be a
barrier to reality."
"It should be noted that there are definite common characteristics to particular cultures, which are different from other cultures. These should not be
confused with assumptions of inferiority based on race. Cultural differences can be real and measurable."
"A few years ago, a researcher at a reputable university announced the result of a study he had conducted. This researcher, who was a tenured professor,
announced that his study showed that physical brain size varied between races. He claimed that the results of his study showed the brain size to be the
smallest for Blacks. He reported his study as showing brain size was largest for Asians. Caucasians
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