Developing ‘Robot Brain’: The Disease, Cause, Prevention & More

Side note: I revel in weirdness sometimes, so, let’s just have some fun and see where this takes us…

The Disease: Robot Brain

I recently traveled to see extended family, and during the course of it, I developed “Robot Brain.” I tell you this cautionary tale in the hopes that you may avoid it.

I realized very early into the trip that I was thinking very differently than I do on a normal, day-to-day basis. I’m not saying that I’m a genius everyday, but I can at least have a decent (sarcastic/lewd/snarky, but it’s coherent English) conversation. Usually. Some days are better than others.

On this trip, I turned into a robot capable only of functional thinking; part of my brain seemed to go into hibernation, only to wake up once I returned to my normal routine back at home.

Had my brain permanently died off while I was traveling? Felt that way but fortunately the effects lasted less time than our most recent election’s damage might yield.

So, what was this dreaded mind number, this muddler of mind and killer of complexity? What were its causes and when might we expect to encounter it again?!

Cause: Robot Brain Sets in When High-Level Functioning Declines

During the trip, I was a mother traveling with a young toddler.

My official title and role: Toddler Wrangler. Level 4.

So, no, I wasn’t going to be reading in-depth scientific literature while driving to the airport or while on the swerving bus, clutching my child to keep her flying from her seat on the way from the parking to the terminal.

Nor was going to read Emily Dickinson’s poetry (fascinating and complex, requiring high-level thinking) while frantically trying to get through security and surviving the wait near the gate before boarding a flight that turned out to be not that bad actually but I-just-want-to-get-through-this-so-please-don’t-cry,-Gwen.-Let’s-play-for-the-entire-two-hours-yay.

And I was not even going to be analyzing the news beyond the skimpy headlines (wtf is up with Russia right now btw?) when I had to endure all of this travel awesomeness on the return way home, during which my daughter had had enough of all the excitement and stress of travel and broke down into tears and several tantrums.

Somehow my brain was not focused so much on higher level thinking so much as doing something to address immediate problems during the trip. How silly of me, right?

Yeah, right.

Locating the Source of the Source (the sub-cause. cause we needed to go there): Why Does Functioning Decline?

This trip was about survival during the going and coming back. But, why did this kind of thinking extend to the portion of the trip in between?

I can count on one hand how many times someone asked me during the trip how I was doing, in the general sense. There were several young children running around the house during this period and more than a dozen people total in the house. The need to just survive and keep the children from killing themselves and others was so strong that I didn’t even want to think to myself very much in very complex ways.

Part of the reasons the brain shut down in this way was to wrangle children, including but not limited to my own, but it was also to keep the peace during the holidays with family members who may not see each other but a few times a year. Do others do this, consciously or unconsciously? I’m convinced that it happens to a degree.

Effects: If Robot Brain Persists, Effects May Be Permanent

What if that state is more enduring than just a short time like during the holidays? What if a person is in this state for longer than just a few days?

The onset of this condition was a little relaxing, and I didn’t realize how far I’d slipped at first. I was more willing to go along with the crowd and follow the leaders in the group.

If this had persisted, maybe I would have lost the drive to do much, to explore, to question, to wonder, to be my own person and pursue individual development wherever the road takes me!

Or, maybe I would have been happier as a drone.

Prevention: Reject Robot Brain. Actively Engage. Rinse. Repeat If Necessary.

The first thing I did when I returned home was to jumpstart my brain by going out and having conversations with adults who didn’t need me to just run after a toddler or prep food but who wanted me to actively engage in the conversation and have a voice, an opinion.

If you do not have people like this in your life, find them. Go to a bar and hope that people don’t think you’re totally nuts. At least chat up a bartender. They’re interested in tips and will chitchat with anything with a wallet, the sluts.

Side Problems Associated with, but Not Caused by, Robot Brain

As bad as holiday fights can be, I wonder if the potential of them occurring may still be preferable if people are thinking for themselves, asking each other questions, and recognizing the individuality of others around.

At least at the holiday gathering this year that I attended, there was little conversation beyond surface-level chitchat, and honestly, that was unfortunate for the adults. The children at least had a fantastic time, but I feel that something important was missed for deeply engaging with other human beings by not trying to set aside time to ask personal questions and to give opportunities for more give and take.

Robot Brain: Looking Ahead

(ha. a-’head.’ pun. maybe ‘parental humor’ has set in as well. No cure for that, I’m afraid.)

Robot brain was a temporary condition which required stimulating treatment with complex, or at least adult-level, conversation and engagement. I returned to full functionality this time. But what happens if there is a recurrence? What if the evil of avoidance does produce more people unwilling or unable to engage with each other on a meaningful level? Stay tuned…