36 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
Each is divided into an internal world and an automatic part.
The three composite styles are located in subcortical regions.
They form a loop which travels from the cortex back to the cortex.Evidence from neurology also supports the idea that this subcortical
loop drives imagination and action. For example, if the place in the brain
called the SMA (the primary location where this loop re-enters the cortex)
is damaged, then a person will experience a very peculiar form of paralysis.
He can still talk and act, but he has no desire to do so. He can respond
intelligently if he is forced to, but otherwise he reacts like the proverbial
couch potato—pure thought and all eyes.
How to Make Friends with a Theory
I have suggested that learning a theory is like getting to know a friend.
So, how far have we come? By now, I have introduced you to my model of
thought, and I have told you something about „him.‟ At this point in the
relationship we need to answer the following questions: “Do I like this
person? Do I want to spend time with him? Is he the type of individual
whom I find interesting?”
Some people are great at creating first impressions, but the more we get
to know them, the less we want to be around them. Others may not appear
so brilliant at first, but they wear well; over time, we find that they turn
into faithful friends. I suggest that theories are much the same. Some ideas
seem really exciting at first, but they have no depth. Other systems of
thought may take a while to understand, but they then survive the test of
time.
Most of us have close friends. However, not all of us have learned to
make „friends‟ with a theory; we have not acquired the art of appreciating a
general understanding. Therefore, I would like to mention a few aspects of
a quality relationship with a theory.
First, having a friend means that you will be seeing the same face over
and over again. I have mentioned that this book uses one general theory to
explain many different aspects of human thought and personality. This
means that you will be seeing the same basic concepts repeated page after
page—wherever you turn, the same „person‟ will keep showing his „face.‟
In fact, if there is a simple model which describes all of human thought,
then once you know it, you will find that the same words and concepts
occur endlessly, everywhere.
How can I handle reading about the same ideas for the next several
hundred pages? Well, how does a couple survive marriage? I suggest that
the same answer applies to both situations. Initially there is the excitement
of novelty—doing things together for the first time, or experiencing the
thrill of grasping a mental concept. However, if the relationship is to