Story · Ajahn Brahm
The maths graduate with almost no brain
Content note: contested scientific interpretation
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
professor John lber about the boy with no brain an honored student in mathematics at Sheffield University sorry an Honor Graduate who had a slightly misshaped skull the doctor gave him a a brain scan a CT scan and it was only 1% cortex was there everything else was missing basically as professor lber said he had no brain to speak of and there's no way that that small amount left could actually compensate for everything which was missing and at that time when I tell that story I also want to do research and I ask people CU his whole head was just filled with cranial fluid there's no brain there no gray matter so I asked people if you can do an experiment and help me can you move your head from back to forth cuz if you can hear any slushing inside that must be you as well you've got no brain it's just cranial fluid but that fellow was an honest student in mathematics brilliant normal had a girlfriend in every which way you wouldn't know he had no brain
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 17:34 (to 18:45)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
Ajahn Brahm uses this case, with a joke about shaking your head to listen for sloshing, to argue that the mind may be more than the brain. Scientists still debate what such cases show. Either way it invites some humility: whatever the mind is, it can do more than we assume, so don't sell yours short.
In brief (our summary)
Ajahn Brahm retells Professor John Lorber's case of a Sheffield University mathematics honours graduate whose brain scan showed about 1% cortex, the skull filled with fluid — yet he lived a brilliant, normal life. Ajahn Brahm jokes that listeners should shake their heads to check for sloshing.
Teaching point
Cognition may not be wholly dependent on the brain (Ajahn Brahm's interpretation).
When this story may help
Themes
- mind and brain
- science and Buddhism
- humour
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in What Happens After You Die? | Ajahn Brahm | 08-04-2011 · 2011-04-09 · ▶ watch from 17:34 to 18:45 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
3 other tellings of this story
- The Mind and Brain | Ajahn Brahm | 1st April 2022 · 2022-04-01 · ▶ watch from 53:27 to 53:43 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaApr 2022 telling: Lorber-type case — skull full of fluid, ~1% cortex; doctor confirms seeing the scans.
- Mind Made Worlds | Ajahn Brahm | 20 January 2023 · 2023-01-20 · ▶ watch from 52:29 to 53:09 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaJan 2023 telling: Lorber Sheffield case — maths graduate with ~1% cortex / fluid-filled skull.
- Word of the Buddha (Part 11) | Ajahn Brahm | 28 January 2024 · 2024-01-28 · ▶ watch from 41:57 to 44:50 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaJan 2024: Lorber / Sheffield 1980; a Sydney doctor (Prince Alfred) later tells him they have copies of the scans, filed away as an anomaly.
Caption notes: 'lber' = Lorber (caption mis-hearing; not changed).
The narrative is Ajahn Brahm's own telling, quoted from the talk captions. The summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk. Markdown version