An Ode to Brains
[Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash]
Today is No Brainer Day, and while it may be a day which celebrates the simple and obvious, sometimes these things are not the same for everyone.
In order for something to be a no brainer, the person involved in the situation must have the requisite brains to deal with the problem to begin with. This means that what may be a difficult situation for some, may be the simplest of things for another. Consider just briefly that the murders which took place in France’s Rue Morgue would never have been solved if not for the power of Auguste Dupin’s deduction. It was always so clear that the ape did it all along.
The Death which happened traveling down the Nile River was easy to understand only after the great Hercule Poirot broke down the every move of the nefarious fiend who thought he or she could get away with it. How many times has Sherlock Holmes saved a life in his usual rude fashion?
Speaking of life saving, Harry Potter had better start giving more credit to Hermione Granger for her help. If not for the wild haired brainiac, the first Harry Potter book would have been Harry Potter and His Untimely Death.
Not all of those with smarts are the kindest of sorts. Sometimes a high IQ can cause a less than shining disposition. The braniac of all braniacs is, well…Braniac, the evil green alien driven to see the end of Superman. A census taker once attempted to test Hannibal Lecter and ended up having his liver eaten. Killers seem to always be driven by a cold distance of terrifying intelligence. Cormac McCarthy knew well that it would take more than just an extreme predatory nature to make his boogie man Anton Chigurh give his readers nightmares. Chigurh is so intelligent that his killings have an extreme philosophy to them. Still, to tie intelligence to the horrific is to vilify intellectual pursuit. So back to happier things.
The Ninja Turtles would be nothing more than a handful of martial arts fanatics without the inventions of Donatello. Batman is so smart that he had determined a way to stop all of the heroes in the DC Universe. After all, isn’t it a no brainer that at least one of those heroes is going to over step his or her bounds one day? These two though, seem to get the praise they deserve for their use of brain in conjunction with brawn.
There is, however, one comic book character who has worked for decades in the shadow of his more famous brethren, Forge. The X-Man spends most of his time cooped up in a lab building most of the machines that the rest of the team will be using in battle. Sometimes he doesn’t even get a thank you for his hard work.
In the end, the power of the brain comes down to what is done with it. Like any natural talent, if it isn’t used, it is lost. In order to keep a brain functioning at a high rate, it must be constantly stimulated or it will atrophy much like a muscle. Therefore, the next time a no brainer comes along, it is important to remember that the only reason it is a no brainer is because the heavy lifting was done prior to the incident.
