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Two summers ago I read an article in the newspaper about a man who attended the University of Sheffield in the UK, had an IQ of 126, and graduated with honors.  His head was slightly larger than normal due to hydrocephalus, which caused the brain cavity to fill up with cerebrospinal fluid, impeding the normal development and growth of the brain.  After undergoing several medical examinations and tests, doctors concluded that this man had no detectable brain.  His cranium, instead, completely filled with cerebrospinal fluid, yet he was able to function completely normally, and, indeed, would have been considered smarter than average.  This man makes me call into question Emily Dickenson's theory about the brain that we learned this past week.  If behavior is merely based on the firing of synapses and chemical reactions within the nervous system, then how can a human function normally, let alone exist, without the brain, the most essential part of the central nervous system?  I wonder if even Descartes theory stands up when considering the case of this man.  Even if the brain and the mind are separate entities, how can one exist without the other?