Hey there, Steemit. The computer is rebooted to a new OS and things seem to be back to a high level of efficiency when it comes to this machine I type on...Woohoo!
Chapter one is kind of dry with the main focus on brain anatomy. Once again asymmetry rules the day.
For me the most salient point was that the brain developed hemispheres in part to cope with two necessary primary functions: specificity, or the ability to categorize numerous objects which, of course, is very much the function of science and modernity. The second is large scale abstraction capabilities; the need to understand complex interactions and machinations at the holistic level--so the hemispheres seem developed to help us cope with the micro and the macro; with the mundane and the sublime, for the ability to focus on the task at hand while still having awareness of the larger environment--a necessary precondition for survival throughout the ages of human hunter-gatherer development.