Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Release Day! Transcendence by Shay Savage

Transcendence Summary:
Important Author’s Note: Broca’s Area
Located in the left hemisphere, Broca's Area is the part of the brain associated with the comprehension of both verbal and non-verbal language.  It’s what allows you to understand English, learn to speak Chinese, use sign language to communicate across the room, or even to play Pictionary.
Yeah, Pictionary.
Reading the words on this page also uses Broca’s area to take symbols and transform them into words your mind recognizes and comprehends.  This part of the brain is completely responsible for how Homo sapiens communicate.
So what if someone has no Broca’s Area in their brain?
Meet Ehd the caveman.  Ehd is a completely fictitious form of human-like primate (we'll call him Homo savage, m'kay?), who is pretty much exactly like modern humans except he lacks Broca's Area in his brain.
What does that mean?
What it means is Ehd CAN'T learn to speak.  He just doesn't have the ability.  He's still highly intelligent and capable of learning; he'll just never associate the sounds someone makes with any objects or actions.  He might learn to associate a sound with a desired behavior - that is, he can figure out that if he makes a certain sound he can influence the reactions of others, but he'll never truly associate the sound with the action like your two-year-old will.
It is very much like your dog who might learn a whole bunch of commands, but s/he doesn't actually know the word "walk."  That doesn't mean the dog isn’t smart – it will still pick up the leash and carry it to the front door - it just means they don't have the capacity for language.
So, no matter what, Ehd's never going to speak English or French or COBOL.  It's just not within his capabilities.  He's still a bright boy, though - he'll come around in many ways.
If this doesn't make sense, or you happen to be a neurologist and you're mumbling "BS" under your breath, just remember while you're muttering that, I'm muttering "artistic license." ;)

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