Mind = Brain?

[theVOID]

Me, Well everyone who knows me here should be able to guess, for all else I'm on the Mind = Brain bandwagon because i see no function of the mind that cannot be explained by the brain.

Then please explain to me how neurons firing in the brain constitute a mathematical thought, like say a simple one that everyone encounters at school, the Pythagorean theorem.

I'm not well versed in Neurology so don't hold what i'm about to say with any level of certainty, but it was my understanding that there are two specific circuits in the brain that represent numbers in two different ways, #1 defines numbers with a combination of variables and gives them a name this allows the brain to store x number of potential combinations allowing the brain to deal with large numbers - the numbers in this circuit are whole numbers and decimals, are always defined in the same unique way and is directly linked to our sense of scale and context. #2 is more of a pattern seeking circuit and is used to estimate answers, rounding of numbers and establishing relationships between numbers.

Reaching any conclusion in mathematics requires that circuit 1 has the numbers you require and circuit 2 understands what relationship between the numbers you wish to seek.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...N28876.DTL

An interesting insight into mathematics in the brain is the comparison between Chinese and English people and how they use different areas of the brain for certain parts of the process - the English methodology is largely addition based (reflecting our structure of words and combinations) while the Chinese methodology is focused more on the appearance of the numbers visually.

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/003550.html

If you disagree with the aforementioned then do you want to explain how a non-physical (non brain) process is supposed to do mathematics? What does it use as variables if not electrical signals?