Right around the time I had decided to become a neuroscientist, but hadn’t admitted it to myself, I heard a lecture by Murray Sherman that left a strong impression. I appreciated the irreverent comparison between the shape of the Thalamus and the shape Michelangelo had painted God sitting on in the Sistine Chapel as He reached out to Adam in Cortex, and (with the other hand, usually ignored) back to deeper output structures. I appreciated the clarity of the “Interactive” model of the brain, supported by decades of detailed anatomical work Sherman had done with his friend Ray Guillery.
Once I had done enough neuroscience to be frustrated by discussions of Consciousness, I was approached through a friend (Deniz) by Ray Guillery, who was struggling with the final chapters of his final book, where he had hoped to get insights into Consciousness by relating the “Interactive” model to engineering ideas about an information system becoming its own programmer. I had some interesting exchanges with Ray, but often failed to respond well or promptly, which has left me with a heavy feeling.
Ray died in 2017, and his book, The Brain as a Tool, was published posthumously. I am listed in the acknowledgements as someone “involved in the preparation of this book in one of many different ways”, which strikes me as incredibly generous. I am currently reading the book, which is great and contains specific and surprising connections to my current work. Halfway through the book, I do not know how or when I will interact with the final chapters, so am writing this now, knowing I can modify it at any time.