Thought

Thought (or thinking) encompasses a flow of ideas and associations that can lead to logical conclusions. This is biological or artificial, and can be achieved by entities that display sentience and/or sapience.

Biologically, a neuron is a cell in the nervous system network that processes and transmits information by electrochemical signaling. Neurons are the core components of the brain and the nervous system. Neurons respond to stimuli, communicate with the central nervous system, which processes that information and sends responses to other parts of the body for action. The accumulation of these messages are then called thoughts which are contained in, processed and controlled holistically by the mind rather than just physical biological organs. Advanced thinking, wisdom, comprehension, rationality, emotion and self-awareness all arise from complex thought associations and processes in the mind. Thoughts are intrinsic (arising from within) or extrinsic (arising from the environment) and the process of thinking mediates between inner activity and external stimuli. The mind includes consciousness and thoughts extend to imagination, memory and will.

A sentient but non-sapient creature like an animal that is not capable of advanced thinking would use these neural messages (thoughts) for basic existence, instinct and survival, such as "flight or fight" responses and searching for food via gathering or hunting.

A sapient creature such as a human would use thought to make sense of, interpret, represent, or model the world they experience, and to make predictions about that world, in order to accomplish goals. Because thought underlies many human actions and interactions, understanding its physical and metaphysical origins and its effects is a goal of many academic disciplines including philosophy, psychology, logic, sociology and many sciences.

An android or cyborg would use artificial intelligence to transmit thoughts via a neural network or positronic brain.

Advanced sapient beings can use telekinesis to move objects by sheer thought. Mind reading is the use of neuroimaging techniques to read human minds.

The ultimate in thinking are the thought constructs created by the Eye and the Brain. These are layers of existence created by the manifestations of advanced thought.

See also:

Thought