Brain Dead can be taken a few different ways. There’s the actual, medical definition of a complete loss of brain function, including involuntary, life-sustaining functions, but unless you’re in the medical or legal fields, that’s probably not something you’d encounter very often. Then, you have the linguistically colorful way to refer to someone or something as unintelligent, which seems like it would be fairly self-explanatory, but is actually something that needs to be unraveled a little bit.
The colloquial usage of brain dead isn’t a straight swap with stupid; there is a pejorative element to it, which draws on the technical definition. Calling someone or something brain dead implies a lack of brain activity involved, making something that only a flawed individual could enjoy.
But if you took seriously every time somebody cried brain dead, you would probably have to wind back civilization to copying scholastic manuscripts by hand with quill pens. So who cares what they have to say?
This winter, take a cue from the seasonal surroundings, and luxuriate in the freedom of emptiness. Redefine brain dead. The ever-present chill in the air, the short days, grey skies, and sparsely populated streets are a blank canvas, free of distractions. You’ll just have to fill it in yourself.
