. First book in physiology and hygiene . the Brain Answers.—You touch your handto a hot stove. At once a message is sent alongthe nerves from your hand to your brain. Quick asa flash the brain sends a messaoe down the nervesto the muscles of your arm and hand. It makesthe muscles contract and so pull your hand away 139 140 — from the hot stove. Bat this is done so quicklythat jou say you do it ^ without thinking. When, however, you aredrawing a picture, yourbrain guides your hand onlyas you wish it to. You seethe paper and the penciland the shape you wishto copy; but you do notbegin to draw th
. First book in physiology and hygiene . the Brain Answers.—You touch your handto a hot stove. At once a message is sent alongthe nerves from your hand to your brain. Quick asa flash the brain sends a messaoe down the nervesto the muscles of your arm and hand. It makesthe muscles contract and so pull your hand away 139 140 — from the hot stove. Bat this is done so quicklythat jou say you do it ^ without thinking. When, however, you aredrawing a picture, yourbrain guides your hand onlyas you wish it to. You seethe paper and the penciland the shape you wishto copy; but you do notbegin to draw the lineuntil your brain ordersthe muscles of your handto move. Memory and Thinking.—The brain keeps a record ofnews that it gathers. Youremember your last lesson,do you not? Why? Be-cause your last lesson is re-corded in your brain. Thebrains ability to keep suchrecords and to use themwhen it wishes, we call memory. It is with ourbrains, also, that we think. The power to thinkand to reason makes us different from the The Nervous System of a Man. — 141 — What the Brain Can Do.—The brain can receivenews of the outside world or of the body itself. Itcan direct the body how to move and how to takecare of itself It can keep a record of the news itgets and can store it up as memories. It can usethese memories over again in different ways so thatit can think out new things. Habit and the Brain.—The first time that youtried to braid your own hair or to tie your own neck-tie, you found it hard to do. You had to teachvour finsrers how to move to make the braid or thebow; but if you have done either of these thingsoften, you are now able to do it nicely, withoutmuch thought or care. Why? Because when yourbrain has given out the same directions to yourmuscles many times, it can do so again withouteffort. That is, vou do not have to think aboutwhat vou are doins:: vou act from liahit. Habits are hard to change. Therefore we shouldbe verv careful what habits we fo
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