As I have delved into several times in this space, there really are some rare kernels of wheat among the silos full of chaff that air across our commercial television networks. One of the very best, newly discovered by me, is a series that recently concluded its premier season on the Fox Network called "Fringe". It is (if I may be allowed to give a summary after only watching 5 or 6 of the episodes) about a (presumably) fictitious branch of the F.B.I. that investigates paranormal events and tries to keep the nation safe (and, not surprisingly) unaware of the evil that surrounds them, manifested in some really bizarre ways. It is another "out there" creation of J.J. Abrams (of "X-Files" fame) but it is an advancement of that particular sci-fi genre. Suffice it to say, it is "fluff" but it is awfully good fluff which does earn points with me.

It merits mention because it gives rise to some interesting "what ifs" and, importantly, an occasional segue into a rousing BLOG rant. Such was the case with episode #12 of "Fringe", titled "The No-Brainer". The plot involves a deranged computer genius who sets out to kill those who have harmed his career by sending a complicated audiovisual program over the internet that turns their brains, quite literally, into mush. [Ironically - or maybe not so ironically - it is reminiscent of the commercial Hulu.com themselves did with Alec Baldwin during the Super Bowl in January; strange but true.]

Since I am no conspiracy theorist by nature, it takes a leap of faith for me to start seeing plots in banal statistics but I can’t help but make the following jump. To whit:

1. On average, children and adolescents spend more than 6 hours a day with media (television, internet, computer gaming, et cetera). Two-thirds of our youth have a television set in their bedrooms, half have a VCR or DVD player, half have a video game console and one-third have access to the internet. (1)

2. There is increasing evidence that the frontal cortical function of this age group is being inhibited and possibly permanently damaged in the brains of our young.

Only the second statement can be questioned; the first is based on universally-accepted and verifiable statistics. It is my hypothesis that the first statement of fact directly impacts and is perhaps the primary cause of the hypothetical second statement. Please allow me to elaborate.

What if, as in the "Fringe" episode, the brain can be slowly degenerated by prolonged exposure to the visual and auditory signals our society subjects it to with frightening regularity? Further, what if the primary effect of the damage occurred in the frontal cortex, the primary center for human reason. If true, it would explain much.

As you may or may not know, the frontal cortex is the area of the brain whose function can be most simply explained as "it directs the decision-making processes of the brain to do the harder thing". When the limbic system, that primitive part of the lower brain that says "Shoot that asshole who just cut you off in traffic" or "Just knock the crap out of your boss for not appreciating your hard work" or any of the thousands of socially-prohibited ideas that run through your brain daily, starts demanding action, it is the frontal cortex that reminds you that if you actually do these things, there will be repercussions.

Developmentally, the picture becomes more worrisome. What effects does constant irradiation have on the undeveloped frontal lobes? The frontal cortex is not fully developed until the early-to-mid 20s, which explains a lot of fraternity behavior and the popularity of Johnny Knoxville with the 18-25 demographic . Until we have reached about a quarter-century in age, we are - to varying degrees - slaves to our limbic "if it feels good, do it!" dictator. When the frontal cortex finally comes fully on-line, we begin to exhibit some (admittedly, within a wide range from individual to individual) degree of self-control. We become able to reign in the thousands of impulsive behaviors that we are err to ("Damn, dude! That’s the ugliest shirt I have ever seen!") and start being more "socialized". Which is to say, we bite our tongues and keep most of our real opinions to ourselves. We eschew the truth for the polite. In brief, we stop acting like cavemen.

Now, one could argue until the earth suffers the heat death that discretion trumping truth is an "improvement" in our behavior or simply the less contentious thing to do when one lives in society with others. I will leave that point to those who have expertise in the area but it is my opinion that without the constraints of the frontal cortex on our child-like limbic system, we would all be riding skateboards, wearing jeans with holes in them and living under highway overpasses and robbing little old ladies. But that is simply one man’s opinion.

Another control the frontal cortex exerts on the primitive carpe diem limbic system is the concept of delayed gratification. I know, I know. I have discussed the demise of this once hallowed virtue elsewhere in this BLOG. But, again, to my aged eyes, the decline of the willpower to postpone what feels good now for what will feel infinitely better tomorrow is the greatest hallmark of the 21^st Century behavior. After all, monkeys do not have any concept of savings accounts, social security, IRAs, home equity or retirement planning. Their biggest concerns are where can they find their next banana and is that a stick or a snake lying on the ground below them. They are limbic-driven creatures, through and through. It is only Homo sapiens that, once upon a time, thought about the future and developed these concepts. And it is due to our more fully-developed frontal cortices, unique to the animals of the world.

In recent times, our electromagnetic field-impaired (damaged?) frontal lobes have surrendered their singular human purview for contemplating "how should I best prepare for my future?" and reduced us to the barnyard animals. To whit: we have now achieved, for the first time since 1933 (think "The Great Depression") the virtually impossible: a negative savings rate. The limbic system, now in the driver’s seat, cries out "What the hell! Buy that Mercedes and worry about paying for it later, if al all. Charge what you can’t afford because, well, you can!" And we merrily swim into the morass of debt, bankruptcy and financial ruin. We are a society run, not by our higher brains, but by the tiny amygdala, the same seat of emotional behavior that drives the apes, wildebeests and pigs. If you can remember it, which I have strong doubts, think of Aesop’s parable of the ant and the grasshopper. For those who need a hand, we are the grasshoppers; the Chinese and the Indians (think New Delhi not Native Americans) are the ants.

I can’t help but believe that it is all somehow related to our gluttony for media. When we are presented, hour after hour, with hedonistic, pleasure-driven and egocentric pseudo-celebrities, the higher functions of the minds are overwhelmed, besieged and, eventually, silenced. We forget the lessons of our forefathers that hard work, discipline and persistence are the paths to success and, instead, are inundated with images that the more bizarre you act and the more attention you can draw to yourself, the more successful - the more "happy" - you can be. Think Oprah Winfrey versus Joan Rivers, think Warren Buffett versus Mark Cuban, think Nolan Ryan versus Roger Clemens, think Morgan Freeman versus Will Ferrell, think....well, the list could go on ad infinitum.

With the atrophy (functionally if not structurally) of our singularly human frontal cortex, all the world is a stage. The loudest, most outrageous and imbecilic acts of depravity and gracelessness garner the prize: fame. And fame has become the sine qua non of success in our upside-down world. The catchphrase of the 21^st Century is "famous for being famous" - not talent, not intelligence, not creativity, not benevolence and certainly not boring, tedious hard work. The goal of the modern-day American is to win the lottery, not work 30 years, save your money and build a virtuous and happy life. If the 1970s were the "Age of Aquarius", the new millennium is the "Age of the Limbic Man": self-centered, ego-centric, addicted to the attention of others and oblivious to all else.

If the images we subject our minds to, night after night, are those of depravity and antisocial behavior and, in turn, these acts are rewarded with what with have come to covet and value most (attention and at least a form of "fame"), is it any wonder we sink, like the wooly mammoth in the tar pits, to societal suicide? Excite the limbic system, time after time, with ephemeral promises of easy success, glitz and glamour - no talent required - and the prehistoric conquers evolutionary progress every time.

It seems we have devolved to the phrase we once applied only to our cousins, the primates: "Monkey see, monkey do".

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(1) JAMA, June 3, 2009 - Volume 301, number 21, pp. 2265-6.