Yin::Yang/Ping:: . . .
James Austin notes that auditory filtering alters depending on the novelty of the stimulus. Expected and predictable content filters through a presumptive measure of judgment before registering. In other words, we're more subjective with cliches and conventions, "as though the brain had been making quasi-mental, reflexive associations at several different levels." We "see it coming," which is an interesting phrase, given that the brain's context for the predictable is primarily within the parietal regions, committed to place--where it's coming from.

With novel stimulus, however, the auditory cue seems to bypass some of the subjective processing, and the waveform actually shows potential earlier. It leaps right up and kicks out the steady, predictable mindset, registers potential primarily within the frontal lobes, and provokes a "what" response as opposed to a "where."

Where Austin leaves off is where I'm interested in following. That is, what about the content that is both unexpected and inevitable? This is a motif in my aesthetic theory, and the neurological angle makes a perfect opportunity to look for facts that support what I assumed all along. OK, so what I mean by "unexpected and inevitable" (a phrase I picked up from a screenwriting book, I think) is that the most striking aesthetic satori makes us respond, simultaneously, "Wow, I didn't expect that" and "Oh, of course, that's exactly what I should have expected." If it merely meets our expectations, we're not impressed. If the content is only novel, with no context of expectation, then it's simply non-sequitur. Granted, I'm a huge champion of the non-sequitur, but anyone who's read Mark Leyner at a stretch knows it can become exhausting. Potato salad.

So when we hear an ingenious joke or "mind-bending twist" in a story, it provokes a visceral reaction, be it laughter, tears, chills, heart murmurs, or spontaneous tap dancing. We feel moved. Meanwhile, inside the brain, I imagine a nanosecond pingpong match between the frontal and parietal lobes, where the predictive and novel stimuli strike, respectively. A sort of, "Ah, wait, what, oh, yes, ha, oh, of course, but then, tada!" all condensed into a split second "awwoyhoocbtt!"