Re: The brain's processing ability

[Guest guest]

Very interesting ideas, !! (About the brain processing and getting overwhelmed)

Recently I read in one of the 'women's magazines' that when a woman is in a situation where she is overwhelmed by emotion and might burst into tears, but the setting is innapropriate (like a business meeting) that she mentally go over some of the 'times tables' until she is calmer,to give her brain something to focus on. (other than what is overwhelming her)

This article also suggested ways to avoid gettng overwhelmed in teh first place, I can't remember them.

rl

'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'

adapted from a poem by Smart

To: FAMSecretSociety Sent: Mon, November 1, 2010 2:52:33 PMSubject: The brain's processing ability

I was halfway watching a program the other night when they made a comment about the processing ability of the brain. They said that the brain takes in something like 11 million bits of information per second but that the conscious part of the brain can only process about 200 bits. That means the majority of the brain's function take place behind the scenes and is why the brain works on generalizations, bias, etc. At 200 bits, the brain doesn't have the power to decide if that movement to the left is a bear or a just a bush in the breeze, but the subconscious does and can and thus could save ones life and also spare a lot of wasted time in daily life overthinking everyday things trying to figure out what they are, etc.

Still, the conscious mind can cause us trouble in that the mind will still sometimes try to process impressions or even the direct messages from the subconscious mind. That's one reason humans will often scream at another human when they attack, wear face paint or masks, etc. Those things rattle the brain of the victim causing a delay in response, and adding the mask or things that disrupt the expected, causes the brain to delay longer. Animals attacking other animals don't do this because they will just react at the first instance of a threat and so screaming first then attacking would only give the target a chance to run away, so most animal attacks come in silence.

Back to my point though. That is a point about sensory issues. Suppose the autistic brain's wiring is different in part because it allows more of the sensory data to flood into the conscious portion of the mind. If the processing power stays at the same 200 bits, but instead of say 50 bits of body sensory data coming through, 100 bits come through. That's 50 bits less per second for the conscious mind to deal with everything else. Now suppose the barrier is weak enough that a sufficiently strong signal, such as texture of clothing, smells, noise, etc., intrude more heavily on that 200 bit sector due to the strength of the signal. Say maybe even 150 bits of that particular data or sets of data (wearing scratchy clothing in the middle of a screaming mob), leaving only 50 bits for everything else.

Small wonder it might cause a meltdown, no? The brain is simply overwhelmed to the point of collapse because there is nothing else it can focus on. Perhaps even other senses will shut down, like visual sense under the force of a heavy sonic intrusion.

Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.

[Guest guest]

" Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.

Yep makes sense and is interesting, hope you get chance to finish up later.

>

> I was halfway watching a program the other night when they made a comment

> about the processing ability of the brain. They said that the brain takes in

> something like 11 million bits of information per second but that the

> conscious part of the brain can only process about 200 bits. That means the

> majority of the brain's function take place behind the scenes and is why the

> brain works on generalizations, bias, etc. At 200 bits, the brain doesn't

> have the power to decide if that movement to the left is a bear or a just a

> bush in the breeze, but the subconscious does and can and thus could save

> ones life and also spare a lot of wasted time in daily life overthinking

> everyday things trying to figure out what they are, etc.

>

> Still, the conscious mind can cause us trouble in that the mind will still

> sometimes try to process impressions or even the direct messages from the

> subconscious mind. That's one reason humans will often scream at another

> human when they attack, wear face paint or masks, etc. Those things rattle

the

> brain of the victim causing a delay in response, and adding the mask or

> things that disrupt the expected, causes the brain to delay longer. Animals

> attacking other animals don't do this because they will just react at the

> first instance of a threat and so screaming first then attacking would only

> give the target a chance to run away, so most animal attacks come in

> silence.

>

> Back to my point though. That is a point about sensory issues. Suppose the

> autistic brain's wiring is different in part because it allows more of the

> sensory data to flood into the conscious portion of the mind. If the

> processing power stays at the same 200 bits, but instead of say 50 bits of

body

> sensory data coming through, 100 bits come through. That's 50 bits less per

> second for the conscious mind to deal with everything else. Now suppose the

> barrier is weak enough that a sufficiently strong signal, such as texture

> of clothing, smells, noise, etc., intrude more heavily on that 200 bit

> sector due to the strength of the signal. Say maybe even 150 bits of that

> particular data or sets of data (wearing scratchy clothing in the middle of a

> screaming mob), leaving only 50 bits for everything else.

>

> Small wonder it might cause a meltdown, no? The brain is simply overwhelmed

> to the point of collapse because there is nothing else it can focus on.

> Perhaps even other senses will shut down, like visual sense under the force

> of a heavy sonic intrusion.

>

> Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks , RL. I've had a little more time to think about it all and will put the point a little differently.

RL: I've heard about methods like you describe, ways to distract the mind from the overload and try to get it back under control. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

Now to the topic at hand.

I've heard it said by some in the autism field that the Autistic brain has a lower processing capacity than NT brains. Well, that may be the case with severe, classic Autism, particularly those completely shut down cases that are more akin to severe mental retardation. However, I'm going to look at it differently and will work on the following assumption:

That the Asperger's Brain has roughly the same processing capacity as the NT brain, that is 200 bits per second, more or less. The variance will probably have to do with intelligence, a smarter brain either having a larger capacity or it uses what it has more efficiently, or a well trained or focused brain, which can be either caused by education and study or the natural inclination some brains show for things like mathematics, music, etc.

Now, if the AS brain has the same operational speed as the NT brain, what causes the overloads? I think that could be two main reasons.

1. The filter/barrier that protects the 200 bit limit is faulty, sometimes allowing too much data through.

2. The background systems that process the 11 million bits behind the scenes is faulty and sometimes send noisy or corrupted data up to the conscious mind which then has to labor to make sense of it.

Let's start with Point 2 first. If the brain takes in 11 million bits per second and can nearly instantly process it all running it through raw understanding, identification, factual memory, emotional memory, threat assessment, comparison to previous stimuli of a like kind, etc., all in the blink of an eye to send up a much less than 200 bit answer to the conscious mind, that's a lot of power. Since the majority of the answers sent up are clear and neat, that's very impressive, given all the content each packet can contain.

Now suppose something is faulty in that long chain. The stimuli aren't cleanly processed, and so less clean results are sent up instead. Simply, instead of a 10 bit package it could be 20, 30 or more, maybe even a "live feed" of raw data because the brain simply isn't processing it. Perhaps only a portion of the data is corrupted, like the memory content is off meaning the conscious mind has to stop and think about what it is being told. An example of that might be someone jumping out at you and screaming. For the vast majority of people that's something completely new. Since the brain has little past reference, it dumps a lot of data on the conscious mind causing it to be overloaded and freeze up, scream, curl up in a ball, run around, etc. This can be seen with soldiers going into combat for the first time. Poorly trained troops tend to freeze when they are shot at the first time and many are killed, which is what caused so many of the casualties in WWII and Vietnam. It is only after they have survived a couple of contacts that their brain learns the stimuli and can react as instantly as the civilian mind my react to a bird singing in a tree. The difference here is that in the Autistic Mind, this could be a permanent state to whatever individual degree.

So, If the AS brain is still running at 200 BPS but the subconscious keeps sending up a larger than standard amount of sensory data, let's say 100 BPS rather than 50 BPS, that's a lot less brain power available for other tasks like social interaction, observing the surrounding consciously, etc. By the same token, certain stimuli can scream. That could be cloth textures, certain noises, light, etc. This could be a broad range or very narrow depending on the individual. By scream I mean the subconscious processors fail to edit this stimuli much if at all, or perhaps misinterpret it as a danger signal. Either way, the raw data or warning signal is slammed through and takes up a larger portion of the 200 BPS crowding out other functions until the stimulus is either avoided or otherwise dealt with. Since this internal noise keeps building and consuming more of the 200 BPS, eventually it causes a melt down because there is nothing left to do because the conscious mind is all blocked up dealing with the stimulus that it can't think anymore. All it can do is lash out in some way to burn off the energy of that stimulus, smash it or get away from it.

The barrier is also faulty. If the barrier were functioning correctly, it could more effectively limit the amount of data flowing into the Conscious Mind (CM). The barrier probably works rather well on the NTs since they don't often experience the same overloads and usually are better able to ignore the same stimuli that would drive and Autistic nuts. That is why we see a flickering florescent bulb (their brain and barrier cuts out the flicker but ours doesn't for whatever reason), hear a whiney fan, hear the buzz of voices in the next room, etc., and can't shut them out. Perhaps the NT mind can understand what those things are or perhaps it doesn't see them as a threat. However, the Autistic brain, because its filters are barriers are faulty, doesn't correctly interpret it or things it might be a hazard and so dumps it on the CM in such a way that it can't be ignored no matter how hard we might try.

Now, perhaps the barrier can also be overtopped, like a dam after a heavy rain or even a landslide upstream. This is a heavy pulse of data that runs over the barrier either as overflow from the subconscious (just too much raw data) or the subsystems see so many threats and relevant data that they all chaotically shout at the same time. To explain: Every Friday evening at military school, the routine was to have a clean up call to quarter where everyone spent about 2 hours cleaning their rooms and the barracks to make ready for Saturday inspection. One night my freshmen year, I saw the platoon sergeant who was monitoring the hall just stop and scream. You see, several rooms on the hall were calling for him at the same time, sometimes more than one occupant, and he was overloaded (he was also quite NT). He had each of us replace him for a few minutes on the hall and we had to do his job. As the people kept calling from the rooms it was easy to get overwhelmed and more than a little angry at the people calling you from behind while you were listening to the person in front of you explain what they needed. he then set it up for the rest of the year that if we needed something during clean up CQ, that we stand at attention outside out room in the hall, quietly, until he or someone else came to see what we needed. The first part of the example is what I mean by overtopping the barrier. Each individual thought only about their case and called for attention NOW and didn't consider the sergeant's (the CM's) limited capacity to listen and respond. The second part is the establishment of an orderly barrier to effectively allow the leadership to handle the data flow.

Granted in the brain this typically happens in an instant. Sometimes this gets messed up when totally new stimuli (the screaming attacker, and auto accident, gunfire, etc.) happens and the CM needs to make sense of the new thing, or when stimuli aren't properly processed.

Well, that's the gyst of it. It could be that the AS mind has the same 200 BPS as the NT mind, just that the background processors and barrier are faulty. This would explain why so often the AS mind can swiftly reach insights as well or better than NT minds, but get crushed by stimuli. This could also explain why Autistics sometimes zone out, or shut down external stimuli, because this the only way to make full use of their 200 BPS, nearly completely slamming the barrier shut. I know in my case that I have "turned off" hearing and sight at times to focus on my thoughts, as well as ignoring things like hunger (and since I find eating an annoyance anyway that is a little too easy to do).

Any comments or see a way to maybe refine these points or another take on them?

"Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.Yep makes sense and is interesting, hope you get chance to finish up later.

[Guest guest]

Thanks , RL. I've had a little more time to think about it all and will put the point a little differently.

RL: I've heard about methods like you describe, ways to distract the mind from the overload and try to get it back under control. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

Now to the topic at hand.

I've heard it said by some in the autism field that the Autistic brain has a lower processing capacity than NT brains. Well, that may be the case with severe, classic Autism, particularly those completely shut down cases that are more akin to severe mental retardation. However, I'm going to look at it differently and will work on the following assumption:

That the Asperger's Brain has roughly the same processing capacity as the NT brain, that is 200 bits per second, more or less. The variance will probably have to do with intelligence, a smarter brain either having a larger capacity or it uses what it has more efficiently, or a well trained or focused brain, which can be either caused by education and study or the natural inclination some brains show for things like mathematics, music, etc.

Now, if the AS brain has the same operational speed as the NT brain, what causes the overloads? I think that could be two main reasons.

1. The filter/barrier that protects the 200 bit limit is faulty, sometimes allowing too much data through.

2. The background systems that process the 11 million bits behind the scenes is faulty and sometimes send noisy or corrupted data up to the conscious mind which then has to labor to make sense of it.

Let's start with Point 2 first. If the brain takes in 11 million bits per second and can nearly instantly process it all running it through raw understanding, identification, factual memory, emotional memory, threat assessment, comparison to previous stimuli of a like kind, etc., all in the blink of an eye to send up a much less than 200 bit answer to the conscious mind, that's a lot of power. Since the majority of the answers sent up are clear and neat, that's very impressive, given all the content each packet can contain.

Now suppose something is faulty in that long chain. The stimuli aren't cleanly processed, and so less clean results are sent up instead. Simply, instead of a 10 bit package it could be 20, 30 or more, maybe even a "live feed" of raw data because the brain simply isn't processing it. Perhaps only a portion of the data is corrupted, like the memory content is off meaning the conscious mind has to stop and think about what it is being told. An example of that might be someone jumping out at you and screaming. For the vast majority of people that's something completely new. Since the brain has little past reference, it dumps a lot of data on the conscious mind causing it to be overloaded and freeze up, scream, curl up in a ball, run around, etc. This can be seen with soldiers going into combat for the first time. Poorly trained troops tend to freeze when they are shot at the first time and many are killed, which is what caused so many of the casualties in WWII and Vietnam. It is only after they have survived a couple of contacts that their brain learns the stimuli and can react as instantly as the civilian mind my react to a bird singing in a tree. The difference here is that in the Autistic Mind, this could be a permanent state to whatever individual degree.

So, If the AS brain is still running at 200 BPS but the subconscious keeps sending up a larger than standard amount of sensory data, let's say 100 BPS rather than 50 BPS, that's a lot less brain power available for other tasks like social interaction, observing the surrounding consciously, etc. By the same token, certain stimuli can scream. That could be cloth textures, certain noises, light, etc. This could be a broad range or very narrow depending on the individual. By scream I mean the subconscious processors fail to edit this stimuli much if at all, or perhaps misinterpret it as a danger signal. Either way, the raw data or warning signal is slammed through and takes up a larger portion of the 200 BPS crowding out other functions until the stimulus is either avoided or otherwise dealt with. Since this internal noise keeps building and consuming more of the 200 BPS, eventually it causes a melt down because there is nothing left to do because the conscious mind is all blocked up dealing with the stimulus that it can't think anymore. All it can do is lash out in some way to burn off the energy of that stimulus, smash it or get away from it.

The barrier is also faulty. If the barrier were functioning correctly, it could more effectively limit the amount of data flowing into the Conscious Mind (CM). The barrier probably works rather well on the NTs since they don't often experience the same overloads and usually are better able to ignore the same stimuli that would drive and Autistic nuts. That is why we see a flickering florescent bulb (their brain and barrier cuts out the flicker but ours doesn't for whatever reason), hear a whiney fan, hear the buzz of voices in the next room, etc., and can't shut them out. Perhaps the NT mind can understand what those things are or perhaps it doesn't see them as a threat. However, the Autistic brain, because its filters are barriers are faulty, doesn't correctly interpret it or things it might be a hazard and so dumps it on the CM in such a way that it can't be ignored no matter how hard we might try.

Now, perhaps the barrier can also be overtopped, like a dam after a heavy rain or even a landslide upstream. This is a heavy pulse of data that runs over the barrier either as overflow from the subconscious (just too much raw data) or the subsystems see so many threats and relevant data that they all chaotically shout at the same time. To explain: Every Friday evening at military school, the routine was to have a clean up call to quarter where everyone spent about 2 hours cleaning their rooms and the barracks to make ready for Saturday inspection. One night my freshmen year, I saw the platoon sergeant who was monitoring the hall just stop and scream. You see, several rooms on the hall were calling for him at the same time, sometimes more than one occupant, and he was overloaded (he was also quite NT). He had each of us replace him for a few minutes on the hall and we had to do his job. As the people kept calling from the rooms it was easy to get overwhelmed and more than a little angry at the people calling you from behind while you were listening to the person in front of you explain what they needed. he then set it up for the rest of the year that if we needed something during clean up CQ, that we stand at attention outside out room in the hall, quietly, until he or someone else came to see what we needed. The first part of the example is what I mean by overtopping the barrier. Each individual thought only about their case and called for attention NOW and didn't consider the sergeant's (the CM's) limited capacity to listen and respond. The second part is the establishment of an orderly barrier to effectively allow the leadership to handle the data flow.

Granted in the brain this typically happens in an instant. Sometimes this gets messed up when totally new stimuli (the screaming attacker, and auto accident, gunfire, etc.) happens and the CM needs to make sense of the new thing, or when stimuli aren't properly processed.

Well, that's the gyst of it. It could be that the AS mind has the same 200 BPS as the NT mind, just that the background processors and barrier are faulty. This would explain why so often the AS mind can swiftly reach insights as well or better than NT minds, but get crushed by stimuli. This could also explain why Autistics sometimes zone out, or shut down external stimuli, because this the only way to make full use of their 200 BPS, nearly completely slamming the barrier shut. I know in my case that I have "turned off" hearing and sight at times to focus on my thoughts, as well as ignoring things like hunger (and since I find eating an annoyance anyway that is a little too easy to do).

Any comments or see a way to maybe refine these points or another take on them?

"Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.Yep makes sense and is interesting, hope you get chance to finish up later.

[Guest guest]

Suppose the autistic brain's wiring is different in part because it allows more of the sensory data to flood into the conscious portion of the mind. If the processing power stays at the same 200 bits, but instead of say 50 bits of body sensory data coming through, 100 bits come through. That's 50 bits less per second for the conscious mind to deal with everything else. Now suppose the barrier is weak enough that a sufficiently strong signal, such as texture of clothing, smells, noise, etc., intrude more heavily on that 200 bit sector due to the strength of the signal. Say maybe even 150 bits of that particular data or sets of data (wearing scratchy clothing in the middle of a screaming mob), leaving only 50 bits for everything else.

Small wonder it might cause a meltdown, no? The brain is simply overwhelmed to the point of collapse because there is nothing else it can focus on. Perhaps even other senses will shut down, like visual sense under the force of a heavy sonic intrusion.

Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.

It makes sense. One thing I've read/learned about Einstein however, was that there were more connections between one half of the brain and the other. This means that his mind was more capable of extrapolating outcomes and imagining more possible and probable outcomes of whatever his mind happened to be focused on at the moment. It also enabled him to focus on more than one thing at once. This may explain why it is autistics can perseverate on something while still keeping a foothold in the "real world."

I also feel that the autistic mind can run at variable speeds, and that autistics have control over those speeds, and also where the brain is focused. If we MUST concentrate on the real world, we can. At the same time, it is exhausting due to all the sensory input we may be receiving from the real world when we are focusing on it,=

Administrator

[Guest guest]

Thanks.

Some people do indeed favor one side or the other of the brain in the way they think. There was a story about a banker in the US who was extremely left brained. By that I mean he did everything the same way every day, was all about the banking business and its numbers and tables. He never read anything but bank industry material and the like. When he died his brain was autopsied and the right hemisphere was found to be significantly atrophied.

Some of this could be innate while it could also be learned behavior. Since the brain is a changeable organ, it would make sense that those aspects that get the most use would be favored and the brain would restructure itself to support those activities. Supporting that, I have read accounts of people who were at one time brilliant tinkerers and engineers but who were moved into management or had to take other lines of work. Years later, they would look back at their own engineering work and barely be able to make sense of it. It is like the brain, which had been geared toward engineering, once it was redirected toward interpersonal skills or other skill sets that didn't involve engineering, rebuilt itself in favor of the new demands on it and erased some of the old structure supporting the old skills. Since many skills do degrade if not constantly practiced and that practice can make once difficult tasks much easier, this does make sense.

I mention in my second post how this can happen, the changing speed of the brain and shutting out stimuli. I once told a friend that I could, while waiting at a train stay say, block the memory from forming. I would be aware of the time passing as it happened and could remember certain highlights if I focused on what was happening, but otherwise once the train arrived, it would seem as if little or no time passed at all. This was easiest to do with minimal stimuli and a distraction such as reading. Alas it wasn't so easy to do while actually on the train because the movement caused too much stimuli to enter that state of mind.

In a message dated 11/2/2010 11:57:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

It makes sense. One thing I've read/learned about Einstein however, was that there were more connections between one half of the brain and the other. This means that his mind was more capable of extrapolating outcomes and imagining more possible and probable outcomes of whatever his mind happened to be focused on at the moment. It also enabled him to focus on more than one thing at once. This may explain why it is autistics can perseverate on something while still keeping a foothold in the "real world."

I also feel that the autistic mind can run at variable speeds, and that autistics have control over those speeds, and also where the brain is focused. If we MUST concentrate on the real world, we can. At the same time, it is exhausting due to all the sensory input we may be receiving from the real world when we are focusing on it,=

Administrator

[Guest guest]

" 1. The filter/barrier that protects the 200 bit limit is faulty, sometimes

allowing too much data through. "

The professor that diagnosed me with Asperger's explained to me that people with

Aspergers often have difficulty with filtering things out. So basically all

input goes in (without filtering) which can lead to overload. I know if I have

too much input in a day I find it hard to sleep because when I go to bed I am

still processing it all. I find it extremely hard to filter out background

noise, smell, sights, etc.

I have noticed with most NT's that if they are spoken too and other people

nearby are talking, or even if two people speak to them at once they can often

somehow filter out the majority of voices/noises and zone in on one person. If

more than one person speaks to me at once or there are people speaking nearby I

find it incredibly hard on picking one voice out of the many - sometimes I am

not able to. It is like all the voices reach my ears at once, but the filter

doesn't seem to work, so I can't seem to pick one out of the many (hope I

explaining this adequately enough).

I know often sounds I hear and can't filter out, many others do filter out, as

often when I have pointed the noise out they haven't consciously noticed it

until I mentioned it. I am also wondering if autistic/sensitive people can hear

higher/lower range of sound? I suspect that might be the case. Certain pitches

of noise, particularly high pitches also feel extremely uncomfortable, causing

me to just want to get away from the sound and yet I have noticed that most

around me just filter them out.

Visual Input. Some colours and patterns I have problems with. For example in one

meeting I attended someone had put red and pink notebooks next to one another on

a table. Now I guess manny NT's would consider the colours to be clashing,

however it was actually making me feel sick, that and the table cloth was a

fussy pattern with quite a few colours as well and I found it hard to focus on

the meeting because I could not filter the visual stuff out. Certain patterns I

have problems with too, the only way I can think to describe it is when on TV

certain patterns don't come out right, like they seem to be moving (or is that

just me?). I am not sure if such is an aspie thing, or do I just have very

sensitive eyes? I also have trouble with too much brightness and contrast. I

really have trouble reading reverse text, as in light bright colours out of a

dark background (on TV on and computer screens), I quickly begin to feel sick

and dizzy - almost like motion sickness.

I am not too bad with dark text out of light, however again depends on

brightness and contrast, because at High School the classrooms had a lot of

windows in and also got very bright with the sun and if the sun bounced off a

white piece of paper, I felt almost blinded, my eyes would water and I ended up

with eye infections. As a result I was allowed (had a note from doctor) to wear

sunglasses in class, I am guessing most other students didn't find such as

difficult as no-one else (to my knowledge) was wearing sun glasses in glass. I

did get a lot of stick for such off the other pupils though and the timing

coincided with the original series of 'V', so I had some pupils asking me if I

was an alien (sigh).

" This would explain why so often the AS mind can swiftly reach insights as well

or better than NT minds, but get crushed by stimuli. This could also explain why

Autistics sometimes zone out, or shut down external stimuli, because this the

only way to make full use of their 200 BPS, nearly completely slamming the

barrier shut. I know in my case that I have " turned off " hearing and sight at

times to focus on my thoughts, as well as ignoring things like hunger (and since

I find eating an annoyance anyway that is a little too easy to do). "

I have noticed compared with many NT's I often think very fast and reach

connections a lot quicker - especially like you mentioned if not 'crushed by

stimuli'. Often when I enthusiastic about something my mind can seem to almost

race and often most people cannot keep up with my trains of thoughts/ideas -

interestingly enough I have found other aspies usually can.

When I am engrossed in something I do tend to hyper focus and loose track of

time and do forget other things - it can be quite alarming and uncomfortable to

be roused out of this state (as others on this site have also mentioned).

However if in situations where there is too much sensory input that I cannot

handle I do tend to zone out, or my brain tends to shut down, I seem to have

problems with congnitive abilities when I get overloaded, so often my verbal

abilities take a nose dive, which is really annoying because I cannnot

adequately explain to those around me what is wrong at the time it is wrong for

me.

Well I think I have wrote quite a lot - so better leave it there.

>

> Thanks , RL. I've had a little more time to think about it all and

> will put the point a little differently.

>

> RL: I've heard about methods like you describe, ways to distract the mind

> from the overload and try to get it back under control. Sometimes they work,

> sometimes they don't.

>

> Now to the topic at hand.

>

> I've heard it said by some in the autism field that the Autistic brain has

> a lower processing capacity than NT brains. Well, that may be the case with

> severe, classic Autism, particularly those completely shut down cases that

> are more akin to severe mental retardation. However, I'm going to look at

> it differently and will work on the following assumption:

>

> That the Asperger's Brain has roughly the same processing capacity as the

> NT brain, that is 200 bits per second, more or less. The variance will

> probably have to do with intelligence, a smarter brain either having a larger

> capacity or it uses what it has more efficiently, or a well trained or

> focused brain, which can be either caused by education and study or the

natural

> inclination some brains show for things like mathematics, music, etc.

>

> Now, if the AS brain has the same operational speed as the NT brain, what

> causes the overloads? I think that could be two main reasons.

>

> 1. The filter/barrier that protects the 200 bit limit is faulty, sometimes

> allowing too much data through.

>

> 2. The background systems that process the 11 million bits behind the

> scenes is faulty and sometimes send noisy or corrupted data up to the

conscious

> mind which then has to labor to make sense of it.

>

> Let's start with Point 2 first. If the brain takes in 11 million bits per

> second and can nearly instantly process it all running it through raw

> understanding, identification, factual memory, emotional memory, threat

> assessment, comparison to previous stimuli of a like kind, etc., all in the

blink

> of an eye to send up a much less than 200 bit answer to the conscious mind,

> that's a lot of power. Since the majority of the answers sent up are clear

> and neat, that's very impressive, given all the content each packet can

> contain.

>

> Now suppose something is faulty in that long chain. The stimuli aren't

> cleanly processed, and so less clean results are sent up instead. Simply,

> instead of a 10 bit package it could be 20, 30 or more, maybe even a " live

feed "

> of raw data because the brain simply isn't processing it. Perhaps only a

> portion of the data is corrupted, like the memory content is off meaning the

> conscious mind has to stop and think about what it is being told. An

> example of that might be someone jumping out at you and screaming. For the

vast

> majority of people that's something completely new. Since the brain has

> little past reference, it dumps a lot of data on the conscious mind causing

it

> to be overloaded and freeze up, scream, curl up in a ball, run around,

> etc. This can be seen with soldiers going into combat for the first time.

> Poorly trained troops tend to freeze when they are shot at the first time and

> many are killed, which is what caused so many of the casualties in WWII and

> Vietnam. It is only after they have survived a couple of contacts that

> their brain learns the stimuli and can react as instantly as the civilian

mind

> my react to a bird singing in a tree. The difference here is that in the

> Autistic Mind, this could be a permanent state to whatever individual degree.

>

> So, If the AS brain is still running at 200 BPS but the subconscious keeps

> sending up a larger than standard amount of sensory data, let's say 100 BPS

> rather than 50 BPS, that's a lot less brain power available for other

> tasks like social interaction, observing the surrounding consciously, etc. By

> the same token, certain stimuli can scream. That could be cloth textures,

> certain noises, light, etc. This could be a broad range or very narrow

> depending on the individual. By scream I mean the subconscious processors

fail

> to edit this stimuli much if at all, or perhaps misinterpret it as a danger

> signal. Either way, the raw data or warning signal is slammed through and

> takes up a larger portion of the 200 BPS crowding out other functions until

> the stimulus is either avoided or otherwise dealt with. Since this internal

> noise keeps building and consuming more of the 200 BPS, eventually it

> causes a melt down because there is nothing left to do because the conscious

> mind is all blocked up dealing with the stimulus that it can't think anymore.

> All it can do is lash out in some way to burn off the energy of that

> stimulus, smash it or get away from it.

>

> The barrier is also faulty. If the barrier were functioning correctly, it

> could more effectively limit the amount of data flowing into the Conscious

> Mind (CM). The barrier probably works rather well on the NTs since they

> don't often experience the same overloads and usually are better able to

> ignore the same stimuli that would drive and Autistic nuts. That is why we

see a

> flickering florescent bulb (their brain and barrier cuts out the flicker

> but ours doesn't for whatever reason), hear a whiney fan, hear the buzz of

> voices in the next room, etc., and can't shut them out. Perhaps the NT mind

> can understand what those things are or perhaps it doesn't see them as a

> threat. However, the Autistic brain, because its filters are barriers are

> faulty, doesn't correctly interpret it or things it might be a hazard and so

> dumps it on the CM in such a way that it can't be ignored no matter how hard

> we might try.

>

> Now, perhaps the barrier can also be overtopped, like a dam after a heavy

> rain or even a landslide upstream. This is a heavy pulse of data that runs

> over the barrier either as overflow from the subconscious (just too much raw

> data) or the subsystems see so many threats and relevant data that they

> all chaotically shout at the same time. To explain: Every Friday evening at

> military school, the routine was to have a clean up call to quarter where

> everyone spent about 2 hours cleaning their rooms and the barracks to make

> ready for Saturday inspection. One night my freshmen year, I saw the platoon

> sergeant who was monitoring the hall just stop and scream. You see, several

> rooms on the hall were calling for him at the same time, sometimes more

> than one occupant, and he was overloaded (he was also quite NT). He had each

> of us replace him for a few minutes on the hall and we had to do his job.

> As the people kept calling from the rooms it was easy to get overwhelmed and

> more than a little angry at the people calling you from behind while you

> were listening to the person in front of you explain what they needed. he

> then set it up for the rest of the year that if we needed something during

> clean up CQ, that we stand at attention outside out room in the hall,

> quietly, until he or someone else came to see what we needed. The first part

of

> the example is what I mean by overtopping the barrier. Each individual

> thought only about their case and called for attention NOW and didn't

consider

> the sergeant's (the CM's) limited capacity to listen and respond. The second

> part is the establishment of an orderly barrier to effectively allow the

> leadership to handle the data flow.

>

> Granted in the brain this typically happens in an instant. Sometimes this

> gets messed up when totally new stimuli (the screaming attacker, and auto

> accident, gunfire, etc.) happens and the CM needs to make sense of the new

> thing, or when stimuli aren't properly processed.

>

> Well, that's the gyst of it. It could be that the AS mind has the same 200

> BPS as the NT mind, just that the background processors and barrier are

> faulty. This would explain why so often the AS mind can swiftly reach

insights

> as well or better than NT minds, but get crushed by stimuli. This could

> also explain why Autistics sometimes zone out, or shut down external stimuli,

> because this the only way to make full use of their 200 BPS, nearly

> completely slamming the barrier shut. I know in my case that I have " turned

off "

> hearing and sight at times to focus on my thoughts, as well as ignoring

> things like hunger (and since I find eating an annoyance anyway that is a

> little too easy to do).

>

> Any comments or see a way to maybe refine these points or another take on

> them?

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oops, spotted a typo; this;

'..., I am guessing most other students didn't find such as difficult as no-one

else (to my knowledge) was wearing sun glasses in glass.'

ought to read,

', I am guessing most other students didn't find such as difficult as no-one

else (to my knowledge) was wearing sun glasses in class.'

> >

> > Thanks , RL. I've had a little more time to think about it all and

> > will put the point a little differently.

> >

> > RL: I've heard about methods like you describe, ways to distract the mind

> > from the overload and try to get it back under control. Sometimes they work,

> > sometimes they don't.

> >

> > Now to the topic at hand.

> >

> > I've heard it said by some in the autism field that the Autistic brain has

> > a lower processing capacity than NT brains. Well, that may be the case with

> > severe, classic Autism, particularly those completely shut down cases that

> > are more akin to severe mental retardation. However, I'm going to look at

> > it differently and will work on the following assumption:

> >

> > That the Asperger's Brain has roughly the same processing capacity as the

> > NT brain, that is 200 bits per second, more or less. The variance will

> > probably have to do with intelligence, a smarter brain either having a

larger

> > capacity or it uses what it has more efficiently, or a well trained or

> > focused brain, which can be either caused by education and study or the

natural

> > inclination some brains show for things like mathematics, music, etc.

> >

> > Now, if the AS brain has the same operational speed as the NT brain, what

> > causes the overloads? I think that could be two main reasons.

> >

> > 1. The filter/barrier that protects the 200 bit limit is faulty, sometimes

> > allowing too much data through.

> >

> > 2. The background systems that process the 11 million bits behind the

> > scenes is faulty and sometimes send noisy or corrupted data up to the

conscious

> > mind which then has to labor to make sense of it.

> >

> > Let's start with Point 2 first. If the brain takes in 11 million bits per

> > second and can nearly instantly process it all running it through raw

> > understanding, identification, factual memory, emotional memory, threat

> > assessment, comparison to previous stimuli of a like kind, etc., all in the

blink

> > of an eye to send up a much less than 200 bit answer to the conscious mind,

> > that's a lot of power. Since the majority of the answers sent up are clear

> > and neat, that's very impressive, given all the content each packet can

> > contain.

> >

> > Now suppose something is faulty in that long chain. The stimuli aren't

> > cleanly processed, and so less clean results are sent up instead. Simply,

> > instead of a 10 bit package it could be 20, 30 or more, maybe even a " live

feed "

> > of raw data because the brain simply isn't processing it. Perhaps only a

> > portion of the data is corrupted, like the memory content is off meaning

the

> > conscious mind has to stop and think about what it is being told. An

> > example of that might be someone jumping out at you and screaming. For the

vast

> > majority of people that's something completely new. Since the brain has

> > little past reference, it dumps a lot of data on the conscious mind causing

it

> > to be overloaded and freeze up, scream, curl up in a ball, run around,

> > etc. This can be seen with soldiers going into combat for the first time.

> > Poorly trained troops tend to freeze when they are shot at the first time

and

> > many are killed, which is what caused so many of the casualties in WWII and

> > Vietnam. It is only after they have survived a couple of contacts that

> > their brain learns the stimuli and can react as instantly as the civilian

mind

> > my react to a bird singing in a tree. The difference here is that in the

> > Autistic Mind, this could be a permanent state to whatever individual

degree.

> >

> > So, If the AS brain is still running at 200 BPS but the subconscious keeps

> > sending up a larger than standard amount of sensory data, let's say 100 BPS

> > rather than 50 BPS, that's a lot less brain power available for other

> > tasks like social interaction, observing the surrounding consciously, etc.

By

> > the same token, certain stimuli can scream. That could be cloth textures,

> > certain noises, light, etc. This could be a broad range or very narrow

> > depending on the individual. By scream I mean the subconscious processors

fail

> > to edit this stimuli much if at all, or perhaps misinterpret it as a danger

> > signal. Either way, the raw data or warning signal is slammed through and

> > takes up a larger portion of the 200 BPS crowding out other functions until

> > the stimulus is either avoided or otherwise dealt with. Since this internal

> > noise keeps building and consuming more of the 200 BPS, eventually it

> > causes a melt down because there is nothing left to do because the

conscious

> > mind is all blocked up dealing with the stimulus that it can't think

anymore.

> > All it can do is lash out in some way to burn off the energy of that

> > stimulus, smash it or get away from it.

> >

> > The barrier is also faulty. If the barrier were functioning correctly, it

> > could more effectively limit the amount of data flowing into the Conscious

> > Mind (CM). The barrier probably works rather well on the NTs since they

> > don't often experience the same overloads and usually are better able to

> > ignore the same stimuli that would drive and Autistic nuts. That is why we

see a

> > flickering florescent bulb (their brain and barrier cuts out the flicker

> > but ours doesn't for whatever reason), hear a whiney fan, hear the buzz of

> > voices in the next room, etc., and can't shut them out. Perhaps the NT mind

> > can understand what those things are or perhaps it doesn't see them as a

> > threat. However, the Autistic brain, because its filters are barriers are

> > faulty, doesn't correctly interpret it or things it might be a hazard and

so

> > dumps it on the CM in such a way that it can't be ignored no matter how

hard

> > we might try.

> >

> > Now, perhaps the barrier can also be overtopped, like a dam after a heavy

> > rain or even a landslide upstream. This is a heavy pulse of data that runs

> > over the barrier either as overflow from the subconscious (just too much

raw

> > data) or the subsystems see so many threats and relevant data that they

> > all chaotically shout at the same time. To explain: Every Friday evening at

> > military school, the routine was to have a clean up call to quarter where

> > everyone spent about 2 hours cleaning their rooms and the barracks to make

> > ready for Saturday inspection. One night my freshmen year, I saw the

platoon

> > sergeant who was monitoring the hall just stop and scream. You see, several

> > rooms on the hall were calling for him at the same time, sometimes more

> > than one occupant, and he was overloaded (he was also quite NT). He had

each

> > of us replace him for a few minutes on the hall and we had to do his job.

> > As the people kept calling from the rooms it was easy to get overwhelmed

and

> > more than a little angry at the people calling you from behind while you

> > were listening to the person in front of you explain what they needed. he

> > then set it up for the rest of the year that if we needed something during

> > clean up CQ, that we stand at attention outside out room in the hall,

> > quietly, until he or someone else came to see what we needed. The first

part of

> > the example is what I mean by overtopping the barrier. Each individual

> > thought only about their case and called for attention NOW and didn't

consider

> > the sergeant's (the CM's) limited capacity to listen and respond. The

second

> > part is the establishment of an orderly barrier to effectively allow the

> > leadership to handle the data flow.

> >

> > Granted in the brain this typically happens in an instant. Sometimes this

> > gets messed up when totally new stimuli (the screaming attacker, and auto

> > accident, gunfire, etc.) happens and the CM needs to make sense of the new

> > thing, or when stimuli aren't properly processed.

> >

> > Well, that's the gyst of it. It could be that the AS mind has the same 200

> > BPS as the NT mind, just that the background processors and barrier are

> > faulty. This would explain why so often the AS mind can swiftly reach

insights

> > as well or better than NT minds, but get crushed by stimuli. This could

> > also explain why Autistics sometimes zone out, or shut down external

stimuli,

> > because this the only way to make full use of their 200 BPS, nearly

> > completely slamming the barrier shut. I know in my case that I have " turned

off "

> > hearing and sight at times to focus on my thoughts, as well as ignoring

> > things like hunger (and since I find eating an annoyance anyway that is a

> > little too easy to do).

> >

> > Any comments or see a way to maybe refine these points or another take on

> > them?

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I am also wondering if autistic/sensitive people can hear higher/lower range of sound? I suspect that might be the case. Certain pitches of noise, particularly high pitches also feel extremely uncomfortable, causing me to just want to get away from the sound and yet I have noticed that most around me just filter them out.

I can hear sounds that others cannot. Mostly high pitched ones.Certain patterns I have problems with too, the only way I can think to describe it is when on TV certain patterns don't come out right, like they seem to be moving (or is that just me?). I am not sure if such is an aspie thing, or do I just have verysensitive eyes?

I notice that and also flickering. But once you get a high definition TV, most of that will go away.

When I am engrossed in something I do tend to hyper focus and loose track oftime and do forget other things - it can be quite alarming and uncomfortable tobe roused out of this state (as others on this site have also mentioned).However if in situations where there is too much sensory input that I cannothandle I do tend to zone out, or my brain tends to shut down, I seem to haveproblems with congnitive abilities when I get overloaded, so often my verbalabilities take a nose dive, which is really annoying because I cannnotadequately explain to those around me what is wrong at the time it is wrong forme.It's the same for me. I actually find the zoned out state very addictive and pleasurable.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

wrote, excerpted:

I also feel that the autistic mind can run at variable speeds, and that autistics have control over those speeds, and also where the brain is focused. If we MUST concentrate on the real world, we can. At the same time, it is exhausting due to all the sensory input we may be receiving from the real world when we are focusing on it,=

My comment: Thorought the years I have been told that I excell at 'multi tasking', my point of view is at multi tasking is exhausting, frustrating, and I am more likely to make mistakes.

A recent article in Reader's Digest spoke of the downside of muti tasking, and claims that people don't really multi task, just rapidly change focus.

When i concentrate on the real world, i try to focus on one or two 'inputs' and try to tune other inputs out, no always do able.

rl

'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'

adapted from a poem by Smart

From: environmental1st2003 <no_reply >To: FAMSecretSociety Sent: Tue, November 2, 2010 9:57:37 AMSubject: Re: The brain's processing ability

Suppose the autistic brain's wiring is different in part because it allows more of the sensory data to flood into the conscious portion of the mind. If the processing power stays at the same 200 bits, but instead of say 50 bits of body sensory data coming through, 100 bits come through. That's 50 bits less per second for the conscious mind to deal with everything else. Now suppose the barrier is weak enough that a sufficiently strong signal, such as texture of clothing, smells, noise, etc., intrude more heavily on that 200 bit sector due to the strength of the signal. Say maybe even 150 bits of that particular data or sets of data (wearing scratchy clothing in the middle of a screaming mob), leaving only 50 bits for everything else.

Small wonder it might cause a meltdown, no? The brain is simply overwhelmed to the point of collapse because there is nothing else it can focus on. Perhaps even other senses will shut down, like visual sense under the force of a heavy sonic intrusion.

Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.

It makes sense. One thing I've read/learned about Einstein however, was that there were more connections between one half of the brain and the other. This means that his mind was more capable of extrapolating outcomes and imagining more possible and probable outcomes of whatever his mind happened to be focused on at the moment. It also enabled him to focus on more than one thing at once. This may explain why it is autistics can perseverate on something while still keeping a foothold in the "real world."

I also feel that the autistic mind can run at variable speeds, and that autistics have control over those speeds, and also where the brain is focused. If we MUST concentrate on the real world, we can. At the same time, it is exhausting due to all the sensory input we may be receiving from the real world when we are focusing on it,=

Administrator

[Guest guest]

While what I'm about to post in response doesn't speak one way or the other

about the divide between subconscious/conscious brain, well, I've seen everyone

seems to have their theory to posit, and this is one I posted elsewhere in late

December 2004 online.

StrictNon-Conformist Explains Neurophysics as Applicable to the Autistic Mind

The question comes up as to why things most people find pleasurable are painful

to others, and vice versa. Well, it all comes down to tuning. " Tuning? What are

you talking about? Are people TV sets? " Of which I reply, " yes, with massively

gnarled antennae! "

By changing the length of your rabbit ear antenna on the TV, you change what

stations you most readily received. This is because electromagnetic waves have

dimensions, and if they intersect an electromagnetically conductive medium of

the right size that is a certain pattern of length of the waveform, the waveform

is amplified. However, if it intersects the wrong length of material, the

waveform will not set up a proper oscillation, because the harmonic frequency is

not attained, and if the length of the material is correct, the waveform will

cancel itself out by reflection, through a process known as destructive

interference, where the wave bounces off one end as well as the other end, and

they change polarity during the flip, such that they are equal and opposite

versions of the same wave.

The most visible way of demonstrating destructive or constructive interference

is with a pool of water. If you drop two stones in at the same time, close

enough that they send ripples that intersect the ripples caused by the other

stone, you will see both constructive interference (where the waves add in

amplitude) and destructive interference.

" But Strict, how does this relate to neurophysics? " I hear someone asking. Our

nervous system uses a combination of electrical and chemical means of sending

signals from synapses and neurons. This takes time, because each synapse has a

certain length, and it takes some time to process things in the neurons as well.

Unlike our simple TV antennas, our brain has a huge (billions or trillions, I'm

not sure of the number) collection of antennas all intertwined. Furthermore,

they connect in very intricate patterns, such that you may get a reflected wave

from a signal sent somewhere come back on itself, if you are lucky. Because it

is possible for things to be wired in such a way, the number of frequencies and

which frequencies they are become difficult to predict.

Unlike the TV antenna that has limited adjustments, the brain adjusts itself

quite often, to change what signals get reflected back or end up getting

ignored. This is done via loops in the neural circuitry, and these loops are

formed and destroyed chemically and/or electrically. If you apply a stimulus

often enough, the brain will wire itself to deal with that stimulus most

efficiently, within limits. This is how we memorize everything. Where things get

very interesting is the fact that each bit of circuitry is part of multiple bits

of circuitry for memory or processing. If you took out a given area of the brain

that was small enough, there's enough redundant brain tissue that the

functionality won't be lost to one thing completely, but many things at the same

time will be weakened in the ability to process or recall. Also, if you don't

use something you've trained (wired) your brain to do, the other things that

your brain has been asked to do are reinforced at the cost of weakening the

connections and responses needed to do something you've been trained to do. If

you don't use it, you lose it!

Synapses conduct signals between neurons, and are the antennas, if you will.

They are switched like a phone system by the neurons, which act as analog

switches that trigger output to the other neurons based on how much input they

get from all the incoming synapses. The strength of the output of a neuron is

also variable, based on physical properties that are congenital and/or

electrically or chemically changed from what's normal for them. That is how the

various drugs do their voodoo: they mutate the normal response of the brain by

altering its physical characteristics. If you do this long enough, the brain

won't change back to what it was before the induced effects.

Perhaps you know why soldiers aren't supposed to march in lockstep across

bridges, perhaps you don't, but I'm going to explain why, because it is relevant

to this discussion. When someone walks across a bridge, they set up oscillations

if they keep a consistent pattern. One person walking across a bridge at a

constant cadence, even if they have found the harmonic (the natural resonant

frequency of the bridge) is not likely to have enough energy to do any real

damage. A thousand soldiers walking across the bridge at a constant cadence,

however, have enough kinetic energy to potentially get the bridge bouncing to

the point where it starts tearing itself apart, from constructive interference,

as the wave bounces back and the energy from the last bounce hasn't completely

dissipated, while the energy from the new bounce adds to it. Soldiers walking

across the bridge in tight formation can destroy a bridge through oscillations

and material fatigue alone, because the energy builds up over time in one or

more spots.

The same thing happens when someone has the correct neurology: if the right

amount of force is applied for the right amount of time, the equivalent of the

neural resonant frequency is achieved, and any input that's even multiples of

that frequency will add in amplitude to the effect. Neurons trigger at a given

amplitude of input, and anything equal or greater to that keeps them triggered.

Like the bouncing bridge, the feedback of the new energy has the signal get

stronger and stronger over time. If there's enough inputs all synchronized for a

sufficient period of time that enters a region of the brain that's tuned to that

frequency and the signals keep on bouncing back and forth, you will eventually

run into overload. You interpret this as some form of pain. Thus, a short, hard

sensory input may cause less pain than a longer, gentler sensory input that

involves a greater amount of the neural circuitry.

Have you noticed that autism and epilepsy are together more than epilepsy and

the " normal " neurology? My theory is that there's a very fine line for neurology

between epilepsy and what is seen in the autistic brain that often causes

overload. It appears that we get stuck in loops of various durations in our

thought processes, and the output feeds back into the input. When it happens too

long, we go into overload. If it is too severe and systemic in certain portions

of the brain, we lose complete conscious control over various functions. This

appears to me to be simply a variation of overload. If an epileptic has too many

uncontrolled seizures, the brain will adapt to optimize the process of having

seizures: it is trained on how to reproduce that all too well. At some point,

the side effects of that training will reduce the proper response of the brain

to bodily maintenance functions, such as breathing and heart rhythm.

The short lesson on neurophysics is over!

>

> I was halfway watching a program the other night when they made a comment

> about the processing ability of the brain. They said that the brain takes in

> something like 11 million bits of information per second but that the

> conscious part of the brain can only process about 200 bits. That means the

> majority of the brain's function take place behind the scenes and is why the

> brain works on generalizations, bias, etc. At 200 bits, the brain doesn't

> have the power to decide if that movement to the left is a bear or a just a

> bush in the breeze, but the subconscious does and can and thus could save

> ones life and also spare a lot of wasted time in daily life overthinking

> everyday things trying to figure out what they are, etc.

>

> Still, the conscious mind can cause us trouble in that the mind will still

> sometimes try to process impressions or even the direct messages from the

> subconscious mind. That's one reason humans will often scream at another

> human when they attack, wear face paint or masks, etc. Those things rattle

the

> brain of the victim causing a delay in response, and adding the mask or

> things that disrupt the expected, causes the brain to delay longer. Animals

> attacking other animals don't do this because they will just react at the

> first instance of a threat and so screaming first then attacking would only

> give the target a chance to run away, so most animal attacks come in

> silence.

>

> Back to my point though. That is a point about sensory issues. Suppose the

> autistic brain's wiring is different in part because it allows more of the

> sensory data to flood into the conscious portion of the mind. If the

> processing power stays at the same 200 bits, but instead of say 50 bits of

body

> sensory data coming through, 100 bits come through. That's 50 bits less per

> second for the conscious mind to deal with everything else. Now suppose the

> barrier is weak enough that a sufficiently strong signal, such as texture

> of clothing, smells, noise, etc., intrude more heavily on that 200 bit

> sector due to the strength of the signal. Say maybe even 150 bits of that

> particular data or sets of data (wearing scratchy clothing in the middle of a

> screaming mob), leaving only 50 bits for everything else.

>

> Small wonder it might cause a meltdown, no? The brain is simply overwhelmed

> to the point of collapse because there is nothing else it can focus on.

> Perhaps even other senses will shut down, like visual sense under the force

> of a heavy sonic intrusion.

>

> Have to run and can't finish up. I hope this makes sense thus far.

>

>

>