Radio Brains

I had a friend named Monica once, who believed human brains were like radios in that they emanated electromagnetic waves and could tune into electromagnetic waves, which is to say: thoughts. So, she believed thoughts could travel, essentially, from human skull to human skull. She got that idea from someone who didn’t know any better, and it sounded like something that makes sense, so she believed it.

I never thought it made sense, even though I couldn’t explain why. I can explain why now, and that makes me sure that I was right all along.

But also, I was once lying next to a girl. We were both very sleepy and falling asleep, and I wanted to say something, but I didn’t have the energy. So I think I dreamed or imagined my thoughts beamed into her skull, and she thought or imagined she picked them up and understood me. And that’s how we’ve communicated for the thirty years we were married, sleepy or not.

Monica, on the other hand, died young. I hope she felt good in her belief in radio brains, and I hope whatever it evolved into, it gave her mostly joy.

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk