Figure 6A. The “first brain,” the neocortex or thinking brain (in white). The
“second brain” is the limbic or emotional brain, responsible for creating,
maintaining, and organizing chemicals in the body (in gray). The “third
brain,” the cerebellum, is the seat of the subconscious mind (in charcoal).
From Thinking to Doing: The Neocortex Processes
Knowledge, Then Prompts Us to Live What We Learned
Our “thinking brain” is the neocortex, the brain’s walnut-like outer
covering. Humanity’s newest, most advanced neurological hardware, the
neocortex is the seat of the conscious mind, our identity, and other higher
brain functions. (The frontal lobe, discussed in earlier chapters, is one of
four parts of the neocortex.)
Essentially, the neocortex is the brain’s architect or designer. It allows
you to learn, remember, reason, analyze, plan, create, speculate on
possibilities, invent, and communicate. Since this area is where you log
sensory data such as what you see and hear, the neocortex plugs you into
external reality.