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Once upon a time, i thought of myself not as a brain with its roots stretched far into this pile of chemicals, but a person who was only defined by a face and an arbitrary set of opinions. Then i learned this body has nothing to do with thought, that the only thing i experienced was calculated in a mass of neurons in my head. The rest of my body is nothing but an already-dead shell slaved to what i really was: A brain. The only thing tying it to who i am as a person is the fact it has my DNA. And my exact DNA sequence is what i now use to define myself. It gives me my sense of person back. If it's organic and replicates with my DNA, it's a "part" of me regardless of whether or not it's attached to the pink mass of neurons in my cranium. (not really, but it is "me" because it's my DNA.) And then i found out about Split Brain Syndrome. No, i don't have it. But it told me i was not, in fact, a single brain. I was a divided mess joined only by a single conscience that resulted from their reaction. This scares me because i used to think i was a single, unified brain operating a mindnumbingly complex biological machine with a SINGLE OPINION OF EVERYTHING, that could only change based on events. I used to think i was a single dictator who had total control over my body (except for the parts of me that handled involuntary actions.) Now i'm split? I'm not sure what to define myself as, with my only refuge being good ol' DNA and faces. I know, i'm still the same person; this knowledge changes nothing. But the knowledge leaves me with these many questions: What am i? Am i a specific hemisphere, a neutral conscience taking charge of both or the reaction between the two? And what are the hemispheres? Do they have their own complex opinions and emotions and relations, or are they only partially sapient and need to be combined to achieve complete 'person-ness' (Me)? What is the nature of identity?
