Behold an Anatomically Correct Replica of the Human Brain, Knitted by a Psychiatrist

"Our brains dic­tate our every move. They're the ones who spur us to study hard, so we can make some­thing of our­selves, in order to bet­ter our com­mu­ni­ties. They name our babies, choose our clothes, decide what we're hun­gry for. They make and break laws, orga­nize protests, frit­ter away hours on social media, and give us the green light to binge watch a bunch of dumb shows when we could be read­ing War and Peace."

"They also plant the seeds for Fitz­car­ral­do-like cre­ative endeav­ors that take over our lives and gen­er­ate lit­tle to no income. We may describe such endeav­ors as a labor of love, into which we've poured our entire heart and soul, but think for a sec­ond. Who's real­ly respon­si­ble here? The heart, that mus­cu­lar fist-sized Valen­tine, con­tent to just pump-pump-pump its way through life, lub-dub, lub-dub, from cra­dle to grave?"

"Psy­chi­a­trist Dr. Karen Nor­berg's brain has steered her to study such heavy duty sub­jects as the day­care effect, the rise in youth sui­cide, and the risk of pre­scrib­ing selec­tive sero­tonin reup­take inhibitors as a treat­ment for depres­sion. On a lighter note, it also told her to devote nine months to knit­ting an anatom­i­cal­ly cor­rect repli­ca of the human brain. (Twelve, if you count three months of research before cast­ing on.)"

Brains direct a wide range of human behaviors and motivations, from studying and career ambition to naming children, clothing choices, and food preferences. Brains influence civic actions, social media use, and leisure decisions such as binge-watching instead of reading classics. Brains also inspire consuming creative undertakings that often yield little income yet feel like labors of love. The contrast between the passive, rhythmic heart and the complex, directive brain is emphasized. Psychiatrist Dr. Karen Norberg explored topics like daycare effects, youth suicide, and antidepressant risks, and she spent a year knitting an anatomically correct brain replica after months of research.

Read at Open Culture