{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "Here\u2019s something I\u2019d learned about before, but didn\u2019t really understand until nursing school:\n When you put your hand on a hot...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/162259584703/", "html": "

pistachi0n:

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shlevy:

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pervocracy:

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Here\u2019s something I\u2019d learned about before, but didn\u2019t really understand until nursing school:

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When you put your hand on a hot stove \n\n (or any extremity on any major, unexpected source of pain), the decision to pull it away happens in your back. \u00a0That\u2019s what a spinal reflex means\u2013not just that the action is automatic, but that your brain isn\u2019t even consulted.

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You will never remember it this way. \u00a0You will always remember the event as\u00a0\u201cthe stove felt hot so I pulled my hand away.\u201d \u00a0But\u00a0\u201cyou\u201d didn\u2019t do anything. \u00a0All you did was come up with a justification after your back had already acted. \u00a0Even if you know this intellectually, it won\u2019t change anything\u2013you still won\u2019t be able to remember your hand acting on its own. \u00a0Your brain will not allow it.

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There are more parts of the nervous system that work this way than you\u2019d probably like to think about.

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Alternate framing: your spinal cord (and indeed your whole body) is part of \u201cyou\u201d just like your brain

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I\u2019m not going to talk about the gut microbiome

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I\u2019m not going to talk about the gut microbiome

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