The Mind

The brain is a very powerful thing.

Human beings use their brains, or minds, to build skyscrapers,

and make airplanes,

and write millions of books.

But what is the mind? What does it do?

The most basic thing the mind does is to see,

hear,

touch,

taste,

and smell.

Those are called the five senses, or perception.

Perception is something the mind does.

But the mind does not just perceive. It also forms concepts, remembers, imagines, and reasons.

When we see many things that are all alike, we get an idea, or concept.

These are all the same kind of animal. What are they?

They are all kittens! So we get the idea of kittens.

We see many different things all of the same color. What color?

Red! We get the concept of red.

The drums make a lot of noise. What do we call it?

Loud! So we get the idea of loudness.

Can you think of something that happened yesterday?

Your mind is remembering what happened.

Do you remember what you had for breakfast?

Do you remember your name?

Sometimes, you can think up things you have never seen before.

No one has ever seen a horse with wings.

Your mind imagines it.

Can you think up, or imagine, a dog with antlers?

Did you imagine something like this? Everyone imagines differently!

Now look at this picture. Can you guess how many dots there are?

There are 20 dots. If you didnt count, your mind made a guess!

Guessing, or estimating, is another thing the mind can do.

Look. Fido is smaller than Rover. Fido Rover

But Rover is smaller than Rex! Rover Rex

Now think: who is bigger, Fido or Rex?

Rex is bigger. Fido Rex

How did you know? Your mind used reasoning. Rex is bigger than Rover, and Rover is bigger than Fido. So Rex is bigger than Fido!

To reason is to think things out, to draw conclusions.

To go on the ride, a child must be four feet tall.

This child is not four feet tall. She is still small.

So can she go on the ride?

No! We used reasoning to answer the question.

The more you use perception, memory, imagination, and reasoning, the more you learn!

When you learn, you get knowledge.

When you have a lot of knowledge, then you are educated.

If you use your knowledge to make good choices, then you are wise.

The End