Consciousness and the 2-track mind

This chapter talked about a lot of different things, all leading back to the topic of consciousness. It talked about different levels and forms of consciousness, like dual processing , the cocktail party effect, selective attentiveness, inattentional blindness, change and blindness. Hypnotics was discussed. Drugs was another topic that it covered. However, what I found most surprising was the topic of sleep. I knew that there were different stages of sleep. However, I thought that you dreamt the entire night. Boy, was I wrong. You actually only dream about forty minutes a night!!! Also, I thought that you dreamt when you were in the deepest level of sleep but it's actually when you are closest to consciousness.

The concept that I agreed with most in this chapter was probably the idea of selective attention. Even while writing this blog entry, I experienced it. My little sister was trying to get my attention so that I could do her hair for quite a while before I even realized that she was there! She was yelling my name, kicking her feet, and waving her hands in front of my computer screen. It wasn't until she put her hand on my arm to shake it that I realized that she was there. I jolted up and about threw my laptop across the room. Immediately following, I had to run to the bathroom because I was so frightened (ok, not really, but it added to the story).

The idea that I'm still unsure about is dual processing. The idea of the conscious and unconscious thoughts being processed on completely different tracks sounds a bit creepy to me. I mean, it makes it seem as if we have this separate life form with its own thoughts living inside our skull and living off of our circulatory system supplied by our heart's labor. Our brain is what makes us who we are. Our brain is us. Therefore, how can our brains hide information, prejudices, and ideas from itself? It just baffles me.

I really like this chapter, in general, although I found some of the topics strange.