John Light – Medium

John Light

Why doesn’t olfaction pass through the thalamus when all the other senses do?

First I’ll explain why the olfactory sense is different from the others, then I will show how it works differently in the limbic system.

5 min readFeb 22, 2024

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Why doesn’t olfaction pass through the thalamus when all the other senses do?

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John Light

What is the nature of consciousness, and can it be fully explained by neuroscience?

Of course neuroscience can explain consciousness, but who will believe it? Just as biology is hampered by the fact that much of it is held…

5 min readDec 24, 2023

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What is the nature of consciousness, and can it be fully explained by neuroscience?

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John Light

What are emotions in the 21st century?

What is the relationship between emotions and the brain? Which brain structures are involved in the generation and regulation of emotions

4 min readNov 7, 2023

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What are emotions in the 21st century?

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John Light

The Unconscious Neanderthal

We outcompeted the brilliant Neandertals with our ability to share.

6 min readOct 19, 2023

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The Unconscious Neanderthal

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John Light

Nothing happens at age 25

In the brain, that is…

7 min readMay 24, 2021

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Nothing happens at age 25

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John Light

Why can we imagine things that don’t exist?

The Löwenmensch (Lion Man) and various Venus figurines are evidence of human symbolic thinking around 40,000 years ago. It is unlikely any…

3 min readAug 3, 2020

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Why can we imagine things that don’t exist?

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John Light

How does the body integrate our disparate senses?

I will provide a new explanation for this important issue, but it will turn the brain upside down. Hang on.

5 min readAug 3, 2020

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How does the body integrate our disparate senses?

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John Light

How much of remembering is unconscious?

Retrieving a memory is an example of an unconscious process of the brain.

3 min readJun 22, 2020

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How much of remembering is unconscious?

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John Light

What does blindsight say about free will?

What I will describe is based on A collicular visual cortex: Neocortical space for an ancient midbrain visual structure, published in 2019.

3 min readJun 1, 2020

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What does blindsight say about free will?

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John Light

Is there really a thing like the sixth sense?

There is a largely undisputed sixth sense, and then there are lots of others that are more controversial.

4 min readMay 13, 2020

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Is there really a thing like the sixth sense?

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John Light

John Light

I write about the brain and the mind. Early degrees in Math and Psychology preceded extensive experience with software engineering and visualization research.

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