Deep within the brain lurks the secret to thought and creativity. Until recently, the inner workings of the mind were a mystery, seemingly indecipherable. It was not until Edelman proposed a revolutionary theory that the brain began to reveal itself. His Theory of Neuronal Group Selection, proposes an explanation as to how we perceive and conceptualize. Edelman has constructed a biological architectonic.

First, he carefully addresses, and then discards, the machine model of the mind. By showing that the world is not a ticker tape with instructions, and that the brain is not hard wired to follow these instructions, Edelman exposes the inadequacies of the computer model.

The first tenet of his Neural Darwinism is strictly grounded in neural biology. This "Developmental Selection" states that populations of neurons are in topobiological competition with each other as the brain is being formed. Neurons wander freely in the brain, making some connections, breaking others. Specifically, there is no exact preordained wiring, rather, a set of constraints within which neurons must compete with each other in forming connections. It is through this process that even identical twins differ.

Gradually, the complex interplay of connections begins to stabilize, and brain's basic circuitry emerges. Groups of circuits then bind together to form maps. Through this mechanism, seemingly unrelated neural circuits become linked. After birth, this process slows and the second component, "experiential selection" begins to dominate.

Experiential Selection is the process by which certain connections between neurons are strengthened, and others are left to die. Those connections that are used often, because they more aptly help interact with the surroundings, are strengthened. The driving force behind the strengthening is based on the satisfaction of certain inhereted values, selected through evolution. For example, light is preferred to dark. When these values are fulfilled, those neuron connections are selectively reinforced. Thus, from a great number of possible neuronal connections, only some pathways are selected to dominate.

It is the third component, "reentry" that forms the bridge between physiology and psychology. Although it is somewhat difficult to understand, it can be explained as follows. Whether through a stimulus, or an internal source, many different maps are stimulated at the same time. As a result, millions of neurons fire in parallel, signaling each other, back and forth, producing a coherent pattern of neural activity. It is the constant circulation of impulses that gives rise to perception and thought. This is the fundamental process that governs the vast genius and creativity of the brain.

"We no longer need appeal to mysteries or to inconsistencies with science to explain what we already know to be the case: the endless creativity of artistic expression and the universal resonance on the part of the beholder to that expression. Both are based on the development of our bodies and brains as they give rise to thought and feeling. The fundamental biological notion of selection from diversity is at the center of these processes, and it provides the basis for the wordless metaphors that are so powerful in works of art."