Cerebrum Vulgaris.

No, not one of my belovéd walnuts, but a human brain.

This is what separates us from all other animals; a brain that allows us to invent, create, and destroy. In one person's body it can be the power of good, in another's the power of evil. It can command the hand to paint like Rubens or Rembrandt, or it can command the wholesale slaughter of our fellow man.

For some it will make all waking hours a pleasure, for others a nightmare. Some will be driven to hard-work wealth and power, others will be satisfied with sloth. For some it will invent gods and devils, for others it will provide common sense and logic.

All brains are initially much the same, but when given different stimuli, different nourishment, and different arenas; these amalgamate to forge the difference between us. It is thus that we become who, and what, we are.

Each morning when I face the world anew, I have inestimable choice. I can complete my tasks without complaining, or I can do the minimum and moan. I can be honest in my actions, or I can be a cheat, a liar, or a thief. I can think and say pleasant things about, and to, others, or I can be negative, critical, and foul-mouthed.

The human brain weighs an average of 1.5 kilos (20% less for women), and is, until now, the world's greatest computer. One day there will certainly be 'Brain Downloads'; for the price of a beer we will be able to speak Japanese like a native, recite all the works of Shakespeare verbatim, or maybe even sing pitch-perfect.

It should also be noted that a mere Wren, or Blue Tit, has a brain the size of half a pea, but can build a nest that resembles exactly the one in which she was born. Try asking most humans to do that (unless, of course, they've had the 'Housebuilder' download)!