Inside the Devil's Workshop

My sister's Facebook status messages are thought provoking to say the least. Following one such message that said "Seems brain is most active when left idle", we had a healthy discussion on why there is more than just junk in the devil's workshop?

My realization was that all the junk in the workshop, was never the devil's handiwork. It was the devil's waste product. By the very process of being 'idle', the brain filters out irrelevant information. So as to confirm the relevance of the information, we think what we think and do what we do, when 'idle'. The assimilation of data, collected by the process of learning, when not in this 'idle' state, occurs, to my belief only in the 'idle' state.

However, the statement is perhaps logically debatable. According to the foregoing discussion, it is quite clear, that the brain is actually functioning (doing something) when left 'idle'. So how is the brain 'idle' then? Here, I believe, is the need for a proper definition for 'idle brain'. The best definition to suit the discussion, would be a state where the brain only stops its function of information gathering, active and passive both. The reader may note the use of the word 'only' in the previous statement.

The term 'assimilation' used previously needs a proper definition, at this point in the discussion. By assimilation, I am referring to a process of transferring information from the sense organs to the brain's long term memory. The process may have any number of steps, some, may not involving the brain at all, but for our discussion, the details of the process are irrelevant.

However, the discussion would be incomplete, without some reference, to a brain which is not allowed any idle time. My guess would be, the brain would still be able to assimilate, but the process of filtering out data, would be less than perfect. More precisely, one can expect irrelevant data in the long term memory and relevant data being lost.

The devil perhaps is not all evil!!!