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Do we need 'something complicated to create the rules for the "simple things interacting in simple ways" that we look at'? It is never enough to say something is simple and leave it as it is. Language, the assignment of arbitrary symbols and words to objects and feelings, is seemingly simple. But when people try to classify it, it gets complicated. Rules are always complicated. I babysit a young boy and every time we play a game (especially if he's losing) the rules get complicated. Perhaps he isn't old enough to appreciate simple explanations, or perhaps his perspective of the world isn't quite as simple as mine. The point is, explaining the theory behind a game of Tag shouldn't take longer than it does to play the game, right?

Maybe not. Maybe I think the game is simple because I already know the (complex) rule system associated with it. Does knowing the rules help individuals perceive the outcome as simple? My friend recently sent me this article: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/brain-mapping.html

People have been working for decades already trying to map, or create, a structure analogous to the nervous system of a C. elegans, the nematode responsible for much of the breakthroughs in our commonly shared understanding of modern neurobiology. By creating this map of neuronal activity in the nervous system, scientists are creating a complex set of rules with which they will ultimately be able to explain, and maybe even predict, behavior. The article states that, "Mapping the millions of miles of neuronal “wires” in the brain could help researchers understand how those neurons give rise to intelligence, personality and memory, says Sebastian Seung, professor of computational neuroscience at MIT." Here is an excellent example of how scientists are using something complicated to create understanding about seemingly simple things, like personality and memory. Perhaps this will lead to new discoveries of the potential of the human brain/mind to construct our own realities, which in turn are influenced by our personalities and memories. Maybe scientists will even determine the specific neurons (probably somewhere in the frontal lobe) responsible for personality, and the personality change exhibited by Phineas Gage as discussed in class.