Page 72 - The Evil Called Mockery

70 THE EVIL CALLED MOCKERY

lation on the retinas we perceive the world of objects, and this is noth-
ing short of a miracle. 1
The same applies to all our other senses. Sound, touch, taste
and smell are all transmitted as electrical signals to the brain, where
they are perceived in the relevant centers.
The sense of hearing proceeds in the same manner. The auricle in
the outer ear picks up available sounds and directs them to the mid-
dle ear; the middle ear transmits the sound vibrations to the inner ear
by intensifying them; the inner ear translates these vibrations into
electrical signals and sends them to the brain. Just as with the eye, the
act of hearing takes place in the brain's hearing center. The brain is in-
sulated from sound just as it is from light. Therefore, no matter how
noisy it may be outside, it is completely silent inside the brain.
Nevertheless, the brain perceives sounds most precisely, so
that a healthy person's ear hears everything without any atmos-
pheric noise or interference. Your brain is insulated from sound, yet
you listen to the symphonies of an orchestra, hear all the noises in a
crowded auditorium, and perceive all sounds within a wide fre-
quency, from the rustling of leaves to the roar of a jet plane.
However, were a sensitive device to measure the sound level in
your brain, it would show complete silence prevailing there.
Our perception of odor forms in a similar way. Volatile mole-
cules, emitted by vanilla extract or a rose, reach receptors in the del-
icate hairs in the olfactory epithelium and become involved in an
interaction that is transmitted to the brain as electrical signals and
perceived as smell. Everything that you smell, be it pleasant or re-
pugnant, is only your brain's perception of the interactions of
volatile molecules transformed into electrical signals. The scent of a
perfume, a flower, any delicious food, the sea, or other odors you
like or dislike, you perceive entirely in your brain. The molecules