To (ironically) aid me a little bit, along comes Denyse O'Leary, a creationist talking about evolution of the nervous system.
We have, we are told, three brains - reptilian, mammalian, and primate. Here is a conventional science explanation, and here is the pop psychology that results.Ah yes, the triune brain model. While mostly a relic, it is not totally without utility. I think it gives a nice compartmentalization of the nervous system, is easy to understand, and has a place in the history of neuroscience. Of course, the brain is more complicated than that, which is why this model has been, for the most part, archived by neuroscientists. Ms. O'Leary should know that; the link she used explains the brain at a beginner level. The more in depth level does not give any reference to the reptilian brain. I have some excuse for thinking about the brain this way since my Physio Psych professor, who was approximately 142 years old at the time, taught the brain using this model back in 19mumblemumble. I don't know what Ms. O'Leary's excuse is.
I suspect she has none. It is not an excuse but a technique, similar to the straw man. Simplify, then ridicule. It is not unlike a presentation I saw years ago by a creationist making the entropy argument whilst using a very odd definition (entropy is increasing disorder).
Turned out, he got the definition from a children's dictionary.
Image via Rockefeller University
* No, I am not actually teaching a course. But I thought having a prepared syllabus and at least a few well thought out lectures would be good in the event I actually get a chance to teach such a course in the near future.
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