"It is the latter pole which embraces such phenomena as contemplation, daydreams, fantasies and free associative thinking, that has been the focus of attention within traditional narratology." (Palmer 88)
Can the mind really be considered "functional" if it works within such a broad range of feeling and emotion?
It is very interesting that at the same time, our minds can be the most helpful object and the largest distraction at times. The quote above really, really interested me because the different ideas that the mind can provoke is extremely interesting. Daydreaming is an extremely dangerous thing for the mind because it can create problems within productivity.
Contemplation is an interesting idea as well. This can lead to an idea of productivity, but it can also force an individuals to run circles around in their own head. Contemplation can mean thinking of a way to start a project or it can also mean, thinking about life and other things in general. There is such a broad spectrum that the mind can reach out to and there are so many possibilities. Is it really functional if you are never allowed to turn your mind off.
Free associative thinking can become dangerous because there are constant connections and associations made between ideas. One thing leads to the next and there is a never-ending pathway of thought within the mind. There are too many ideas running around.
Such phenomena as these ideas can really just lead to too many ideas and emotions. Although this might be functional for some, it only works if one really and truly knows how to control their thoughts and emotions.
"It is a basic, operational, working assumption of cognitive scientists that the mind is an information processing device." (Palmer 89)
Within the article, it changes to state the brain is a cognitive device (which obviously it is) but there is an idea of control and informational ideals held within the brain. Therefore, there are two elements to the mind which stimulates different sides of personality. There is the control central idea but there is also the free thinking creativity that is stimulated as well. These ideas come together to create the mind as one. So although the brain is supposed to be functional, I don't think that there can be one definition of functionality within the brain because it can do so many different things for a human.
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