yesterday, i finished the revision of my complete idiot's guide to buddhism (begun july).  it will hit stands around june, meanwhile, here's a sidebar with fun facts about the brain, of possible interest [the last portion i find particularly so] :

         The human brain takes up 2% of the body's weight yet requires about 25% of its oxygen. The number of states the brain is capable of at any given moment is 1 followed by a million zeros. It contains more cells (neurons) than stars in the Milky Way, and each has app. 1,000 points of interconnection (synapses) with other brain cells, 100 trillion such path-points in all, each firing from 1-100 times/second, simultaneously, and with built-in feedback loops, enabling it to learn from experience and change its structure (neuroplasticity). This adaptive process is dependent on interaction with other brains, from early childhood development on throughout life, thus confirming our inextricable and profound interdependence.