The Brain: Editorial

Brains, brains, brains. No, this is not a zombie apocalypse, fortunately, this is Motley's theme for this month. As the spooky season has just come and gone, and am sure you have had plenty of time to soak in all the gorey brain content for this year. Time to give you some more to ponder on one’s mind. (Okay I will stop with the puns now).  

In all seriousness, the brain is a much more diverse topic than I expected. I was unsure what my team and you fellow students would come up with for this issue.I was astounded with the range that was covered in this issue. But you must wonder why the brain?  Well, the brain is a pretty cool thing if you really think about it. It is this organ, a clump of cells, slotted together into our skull. But this organ is complex, it controls all other organs in our body, it controls whether we feel happy, angry, or sad, it decides if we are hungry, it allows us to move and to speak. It holds memories in its tiny cells. Like deep in this organ there is a memory of you dropping your ice cream in Paris when you were three  (this is definitely not biographical). If this organ can do nearly everything we need to survive as a human being, then of course there will be a hundred topics regarding this theme. 

The brain is such a powerful thing within our lives, mental health makes it such a necessity for us to take care of it. If it means talking to someone twice a week, going for a walk, taking medication if needed, even if you just need to watch a “switch off the brain" tv show like Nobody Wants This (my current obsession I had to include it in some shape or form). In this modern age there is an emphasis on taking care of your mind, because looking at what it controls, it controls the entirety of ourselves. And when you put into that context you can see that it is a physical health problem that people should focus on as well. Think of your abs and your mind in the same context and how they are both so important to keep fit and healthy within your life.

Tech today is trying to conquer the complexities of the Human mind through Artificial Intelligence (AI). I am not the biggest fan of AI, in my opinion it scares me how developed it is getting at such a fast speed. Have you ever seen IRobot… But in all seriousness, AI has an uncanny ability to act like a human brain, but it does have its limitations. It has a lack of understanding and common sense which we humans develop as we grow older and wiser. They lack ethics and moral decision making. Meaning they lack a conscience, the voice in her head that tells us what is right and wrong. Yes an AI can write a review of a book for class, but they cannot hold a true opinion of the book. They do not feel the emotions that the author targets with their words. AI today is impressive but it does not compete with the complexity of the human brain. 

Throughout this issue the topic of the brain is conquered in so many different ways. We get a glimpse into unique experiences of the brain through our Deputy Features and Opinions Editor Luca Oakman’s piece on their experience reevaluating life as someone who is Neurodivergent. Contributing writer Caia Hope lets us see into her personal experience of coping with Epilepsy. We are allowed to experience what they experienced in their daily lives through their beautiful words. 

This issue is also overflowing with interviews with people in all different fields of media and the arts. Myself and Brayden got to sit down with tech content creator Nikias Molina about AI and his career for this issue. Our Entertainment editors, Tess O Regan and Darren Keogh both got to speak to the mind that brought Pokemon to Ireland, Brian Lacey of Lacey Entertainment. The up and coming fashion Designer Oran j Aurelio O’Reilly also chatted with our own Fashion Editor Stephen O’ Brien. We are really grateful to have such amazing people to be involved and to  contribute to Issue two of this magazine

So relax your brain, grab a cup of tea and enjoy The Brain issue. 

Lisa Ahern