A friend of mine during college days would sometimes express some current "deep thought" he was mulling. One day he asked, "Have you ever woken up in the morning and looked at your hand resting on the pillow in front of your face and thought, 'I control this'?" At this point, he held his hand up and wiggled each finger and his eyes grew wide in wonder. The rest of us laughed.
But it actually is kind of amazing. How many super-intelligent scientists have put in how many hours in recent decades attempting (unsuccessfully) to recreate in robotic hands the dexterity and sensitivity of those two amazing instruments at the end of your arms!
Our hands can grasp pencils and paintbrushes. They can wipe away tears, pick up pennies, and offer a pat on the back. They can sculpt. They push lawnmowers. They braid hair and tie shoelaces and flip burgers. They type letters and control video game characters. They lift coffee cups and turn pages. Change diapers. Apply Band-Aids. And throw baseballs.
And each movement begins as an impulse in our brains.
If our brains command a movement, our hands respond instantaneously to accomplish the goal of our will.
Which gets me wondering: is it possible to exercise the same sort of unquestioned control over our stomachs, our eyes, our mouths, and even our thoughts?
If not, why is that?
[The photo is of a sculpture I created during high school which now sits in my office. I made it with my own two hands.]
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