..appreciate the shout. the time difference doesn't really help discussion, I'm leaving when most of you are switching on (assuming you're in america). as to the cobain quote ('all apologies' as wise7 said) I believe it to be true.

way I see it, every single experience of any description must pass through the brain at some point to mean anything, otherwise it's irrelevant..reality's recieved, analysed, processed then defined through our five senses - or however many. whether it's belief or experience they all pass through the same portal, it's all we know. umm, trying to stay simple and scientifical.. rather than philosophical or whatever - still, I think it all comes down to the mind.

so what makes us different..I see the brain as the computer hardware that we all have. where it becomes a 'mind' is in that each brain is custom-fitted and personalised, so thinks and reacts different. which might come from the fact that the brain actually develops physically in children as they grow..dunno any specifics but I think it responds to experience/learning and constantly creates new nerve endings, blood vessels and such until it peaks and starts the downhill decline.

so it stands to reason that everyone thinks/reacts different because our minds are physically un-alike in a sense, as a result of our diverse experiences. and memory plays a huge part..I'd guess that's the retrieval mechanism boodah mentioned - if you think of it, when you remember something it's like you actually 'relive' it, maybe not in like dvd, but emotions can resurface fresh after a decade.

damn, what sort of hard drive would it take to cope with downloading so much so quick after so long - memory plays a powerful part. when you think of it, your mind chooses what you remember and effectively tosses away the rest cause you can't keep it all - how does it choose? because that's pretty much the sum of what we know..so is it memory that makes us who we are? cause mad decisions/emotions are made on the strength of recognition. communication relies on it too.

and you've got the soul to contend with..what works for me: heart's the motor (keep sht moving), like the body's the car (do, act, get you there). brain's the driver (decison maker, time-keeper, archive, license-holder). and the spirit/soul is that part of you that has to prioritise for itself..the part of you that tells you whether you're happy with that decision to make the turn to work when you wanna keep going out of town but have sht tying you down behind you. brain knows what's needed, soul deals with desires..and stress/life is about trying to meet halfway.

and that's what makes us human, that we have to tussle about shit like that every couple of seconds, play games with yourself until you're almost not even aware of it..dunno if they have souls or not but there aren't many half-hearted animals in the wild - but even more literally, they are all they know. perhaps they/we are just all that we need at the end of the day, no longer need to dedicate thought to it so we turn in on ourselves.

I will conceed to the cats talking about ancestors, that's another thing humans benefit from the past in the sense that we don't have to start from scratch with each birth like many other species do. some sort of progression's made, don't necessarily mean industrial/technological/economic.
______________________________________

seize your time! - marley/wailers

all we know is all we are.. - cobain/nirvana