Historical views of the brain reflect the biases of the time.

The industrial age spawned mechanical explanations for the brain.

Today, a new concept of the brain is well adapted to explaining and responding to 21st-century challenges.

Displayed on a wall in my study is a diagram taken from a children’s encyclopedia dating from the 1930s. It’s labeled “The Central Control Station of Your Body,” and consists of a cutaway view of the skull, which houses a series of rooms occupied by one or more well-dressed men in the business suits popular at the time.

In the different rooms, the workings of the brain are illustrated by drawings of the men carrying out various tasks. The caption reads, “Imagine your brain as the executive branch of a big business. It is divided into many departments. Seated at the big desk in the headquarters office is the General Manager—Your Conscious Self—with telephone lines running to all departments.”

Today, it’s easy to ridicule such a simplistic, sexist view of how the brain works. Why are only men depicted? Nor do most of us experience ourselves as a general manager issuing orders to compliant underlings. In addition, our “conscious self” is not always in control, delegating orders to other areas of the brain. For instance, just a moment ago, I walked across the room to pour myself an iced tea. I was conscious of wanting the cooling beverage, but can’t provide anything but the most elementary description of how my nerves and muscles enabled me to walk to the pitcher.

Despite the amusement kindled by the children’s diagrams depicting the brain as a corporate organization, it nonetheless illustrates an accepted principle of brain operation: localization (specific brain areas dedicated to designed tasks).

Severe damage to the occipital lobes, for instance, results in a form of........

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