Leave It!

"A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short." ~ Bertrand Russell

On any given day in and around my house you will hear this simple, two-word command: "Leave it!"

The command is directed toward my dog, Kenai (KEE-nigh) -- an intelligent but persistently curious Border Collie mix.

I often wonder whether he has an incredible zest for life or if he has some kind of a death wish because he loves to smell, lick, and eat almost anything he can find. He's well fed; so I know he's not hungry. I'm guessing he just loves to experience everything to the fullest.

Fortunately, for him and for us, he releases whatever is in his mouth when we firmly tell him to leave it. While I admire his sense of adventure, I also wonder if he would still be alive if not for our stern warnings to drop the potential dangers he so loves to taste (I'll spare you the details of the things he's had in his mouth but I'm sure you can imagine...)

Recently I've been thinking more deeply about his seemingly limitless capacity for joy in the small things in life but also the boundaries I've set for him, such as the periodic reminder to let go of things that either he doesn't need or things that could prove harmful, or even deadly.

While our human/dog relationship and our shared interactions are similar to that of parent and child, I believe it is also much like the duality of the human mind and brain. In scientific regards, human brains have a developed pre-frontal cortex, whereas dogs do not. The pre-frontal cortex is responsible for complex planning, decision making, and moderating social behavior. It enables what I call "thinking about thinking." It is our mind. So we humans have both a brain and a mind. We have the capacity for good judgment and self-management (capacity connotes potential here; it doesn't mean it's fully functional, especially for some humans I've encountered).

However, our frontal lobes, or our minds, can be harmful to us when we worry about the future or we are afraid to attempt anything risky because of concern over the potential for negative outcomes. Because of our large frontal lobes, and in absence of a healthy perspective on life, we can become consumed by negative thinking. And certainly us humans can be potentially self-destructive if we are lacking in mindfulness and self-awareness. We need a healthy mind that reminds us not to fear things too much but also to "Leave it," to know when to let go of the things that may prove harmful to us.

"Dogs don’t rationalize. They don’t hold anything against a person. They don’t see the outside of a human but the inside of a human." ~ Cesar Millan

Although they don't always know what's best for them, the dog's advantage in having a pre-frontal cortex that is less complex than ours is that they don't spend time worrying about the future. Everything is about the present moment; they don't judge or hold grudges. Their strength and weakness is the same -- they can act without thinking of consequences. Put simply, they are perpetually and completely authentic. They can live and love with no bounds. I admire that tremendously.

Here is where my thinking about my dog's behavior has led: For humans, a healthy balance of mind and brain is integral for complete happiness and it is not different than a dog that has good human parents. Kenai has a happy life because he has a healthy balance of adventure and responsibility. He can live fully in the present moment and enjoy all the small things in life, such as taking walks, going for car rides, sticking his nose out the window, and doing his smelling and licking. But he also has human parents that tell him when to "Leave it."

Therefore if we humans can use our minds as parental controls but still allow ourselves to experience life fully, we can arrive at a healthy balance of mind and brain, or of human and dog, if you will.

Without the mind, or what we may call self-awareness, mindfulness, or consciousness, the mindless brain would run off the leash and possibly destroy itself. Or perhaps we would be happier without any inhibitions or concern over the potential danger?

"The nature of man as a combination of mind and body is such that it is bound to mislead him from time to time." ~ Rene Descartes

Intuitively, you already know of the potentially self-destructive behaviors but I can help with a few reminders of when your mind can tell your brain to "Leave it!":

• Mass Media
• Misguided Fear
• Negative Thinking
• Narrow Perspective
• Opinions
• Arguments

Can you think of others? And remember moderation! Have fun. Have your cake but eat your fruits and vegetables, too.

Nothing is really dangerous... if you know when to leave it.

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Related: Less is More: The Wisdom of Simplicity

Comments

[Adrian]

Literally speaking, dogs do have a prefrontal cortex, of course less complex than primates (or maybe even rudimentary?), with some/many features missing, and with other features operating in lower boundaries. This doesn't invalidate the spirit of your post, which is worth reflecting on.

Side note: an area called the "lateral frontal pole prefrontal cortex", part of the ventrolateral frontal cortex, part of the prefrontal cortex, looks to be a more evolutionarily new part of the brain, found in humans, but missing in macaques (http://www.healthcanal.com/brain-nerves/47080-what-makes-us-human-unique-brain-area-linked-to-higher-cognitive-powers.html) (of course, brain science being in its infancy, everything is to be taken as work in progress).

[Kent Thune]

Adrian,

Thanks for adding such an informative comment! I have the smartest readers on the web!

I did know that dogs have a pre-frontal cortex but I didn't do the best job of communicating that knowledge. My wording was "humans have a developed pre-frontal cortex, whereas dogs do not." The operative word is "developed," which would mean that dogs have a pre-frontal cortex but it's not as developed as that of a human.

Later, I did say dogs "lack a pre-frontal cortex," which is not a true statement. I'll fix that!

For clarity, do you believe that it is best to compare the two brains in terms of their development or in terms of their complexity? It seems the latter is the best.

I will touch upon this idea in my forthcoming book and I always like to hear from people like you, who may have better ways of communicating certain ideas, especially when it comes to science. Philosophers don't often make the best scientists!

Thanks again...

Kent

[Adrian]

Hi Kent

Unfortunately for me, I did not choose a career that would put me in the 'trenches' of an intellectual 'warfare', each day 'fighting' in order to make 'territorial' gains - discover new things about how the world works. So, I'm just a spectator of this endeavor, waiting for researchers/scientists to win new 'battles' (and they constantly do; like Voltaire said "No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.") and amaze me with their new discoveries. And of course, the same passion for insightful ideas makes me read your blog.

I am not in the position to give a qualified answer to your question. An engineer by education, programmer by profession and trader by aspiration would say we can compare 2 brains functionally. As we don't really understand how the brain works, for now we can just treat it as a black box and notice the actions it is able to conduct and the results it can achieve. But I don't despair, I know somewhere out there, there are a lot of 'soldiers' working on this, and ultimately we will understand much more about the brain.

And talking about '2 brains' reminds me of split-brain patients, which sometimes act like having 2 brains, maybe you know about this, I find it fascinating every time I watch these videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx53Zj7EKQE , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9u6cQYcOHw

All best!

[Myke Myers]

Kent,

I would add "hubris" to the list. People who are possessed by hubris will crash and create chaos for anyone following.

I enjoy your posts.

Myke

[Kent Thune]

Adrian,

Interesting videos! Science amazes me but I prefer to leave the science to the scientists! Perhaps that is your position? Philosophers are not bound to scientific methodologies and they can put forth ideas without having to prove their points with concrete facts. This is why many of the great philosophers became famous posthumously.

Myke,

I agree about hubris. It's certainly a destructive force, especially in capital markets! The best we can do is learn to recognize it and to stay out of its way.

Thanks to you both for the comments!

Kent

[Adrian]

Of course, I leave the doing science to scientists, but I am too 'selfish' to leave them the discoveries, too. :)