Would someone please explain to me this persistent tendency to describe the
nervous system as having electricity? Electricity involves the movement of
electrons, nervous transmission involves the movement of ions. I don't
understand.
John H>
"Matthew Kirkcaldie" <Matthew.Kirkcaldie at removethis.newcastle.edu.au> wrote
in message
news:Matthew.Kirkcaldie-2675DD.16384320112003 at seagoon.newcastle.edu.au...
> In article <68f44414.0311192119.6f67c2bb at posting.google.com>,
>Monsieur_Lynx at brown.edu (pavan03) wrote:
>> > What if the nervous system is nothing more than an electrical supply
> > for the body? The way the heart provides the necessary blood for the
> > body to function, the brain provides the necessary electricity for the
> > muscles in the body to contract, etc.?
>> No "electricity" passes between the nervous system and the rest of the
> body; it is entirely linked via locally released chemicals. The
> electrical events of muscles are generated by the muscles themselves, as
> you can see if you drip acetyl choline onto their neuromuscular
> junctions when the neurons are removed.
>> > In this Information Age, we like to attribute electricity with
> > these incredible abilities, like representing information, etc. If we
> > analyze a computer, the circuitry is designed in such a way that
> > certain sequences of on and off wires trigger the functioning of
> > certain parts of the computer
> ....
> > Again, they seem to be putting "magical" properties onto the nervous
> > system. All that's there is just electricity. If you're not going to
> > look at electrical patterns in the world around us and say it's
> > consciousness/thinking/whatever other inexplicable phenomena, why say
> > the brain does that?
>> If you believe the activity of the nervous system is characterised by
> "electricity" then it's clear you haven't taken the trouble to learn
> even the simplest facts of the matter. Your argument collapses to
> pointless sophistry, and attacks only straw men.
>> I suggest you gain a basic familiarity with what science actually knows
> about the nervous system, before wading in with your opinion. Otherwise
> you simply make a fool of yourself. Sorry to put it that bluntly, but
> you appear to be very confident of opinions based on near-complete
> ignorance.
>> Matthew.