Weird. If you don't think so, then I suggest you consider this scenario:

What would happen if you gradually replace each one of your biological neurons (brain cells) with artificial ones (Don't ask me why. Be creative - maybe you've been lucky enough to contract a kind of virus which just so happens to have a fetish for your brain cells, or something like that), without disrupting your psychological makeup, until you end up with a fully synthetic brain?

"Sure," you say. "No biggie," probably because "I wouldn't really change." In addition, you could even say "I would still be me even if I get an artificial heart or limb, won't I?" Well, yes and no. You may still feel that "you are yourself," but by "commonsense" standards, you are no longer human. Hold that thought for now.

The above scenario belongs to science fiction - at least, you'd like to think so. So did I until I read this article.

And now back to you being inhuman. Yes, that's a pun. Sorry. Apparently, neurons aren't as magical as we would like to think so. There is nothing really special about cells, which carry information by sending electrochemical impulses over to other cells, which carry electrochemical impulses to other cells, which carry electrochemical impulses to other cells, ad infinitum. That's all they do, aside from occasionally adjusting the strength of the transmitted impulse depending on the strength and source of the one previously received. This is now the human brain works, it also goes for animals. And that, boys and girls, is all there is to thinking.

But what happened to the "special dignity" of being human? What about our place in the universe? What about our soul? Sorry, science cannot answer those questions, although as a consolation, it might be comforting to know that humanity currently holds the title of "most complex brain structure." You are free to speculate, though.

Okay, so we know that neurons aren't special, and that there is no verifiable "soul" inside our brains. That simply means that whatever makes us tick is in the activity of those little cells, and replicating this function, albeit using different material, should yield the same results (I could just as well use a shotgun instead of a poisoned arrow to kill a person - the results would stay the same).

"What happened to the topic of me not being human in the above scenario?" No need to be impatient, I'm getting to that. Here's the thing: you are 100% machine. Would you consider a toaster oven as human? How about a washing machine? A computer? But don't worry, if what was once human could be turned into machine, what is now machine could also be turned into human someday. The question is, do we really want that to happen?

Currently feeling: weird

Dolsot Bibimbap (Mixed Veggie Rice in Hotpot)

The cow in me was especially hungry tonight, and wanted - nay, demanded - to be treated to some special food. I've been working hard these past few days, and so I decided that I deserve a treat. I went to this small Korean restaurant named "Hodori" - meaning "tiger" (at least, according to some Korean friends) and ordered one of the stranger-sounding names on the menu. Well, as you see, here's what I got. Apparently, Korean restaurants serve free (refillable) side dishes, and you can see five of them surrounding the main dish: (starting clockwise from the top) Egg Soup, Kimchi, Sweet Potato, tastesgoodbutihavenoideawhatitis, and Cucumber, and Radish Kimchi. I downed everything in a little under 30 minutes. Lucky cow.

Currently feeling: satisfied