Brain Circuits

The attached image comes from Gerald M. Edelman’s Wider Than the Sky (reading for Prof. Mallgrave’s seminar).  The book looks at the structure of the brain and attempts to explain human consciousness. The image diagrams brain functions and suggests that multiple pathways enable similar outputs.   Very rhizomatic, no?

? Identifiying rhizomes

Considering the key properties D+G identify for qualifying rhizomatic conditons, what are some examples of things or systems, found in our lives or the world around us that act as rhizomes and how would you qualify them as such.

Comments on the First Reading

It was interesting to hear that the reading by Deleuze and Guattari could or should be read non-linearly.  I found it difficult to read it from beginning to end.  It is very dense so I had to skip in order to piece it together.  The metaphors were helpful.  For example, they used the metaphor of an animal burrow to define the concept of the rhizome with its multiple entryways and lines of flight. 

 

The link below is a YouTube video which is a 3Dvisualization of the Blogosphere.

 

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=rhizome&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7DAUS&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#