# A Comparison of Mental Dwarves

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-comparison-of-mental-dwarves/643345>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [December 7, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-comparison-of-mental-dwarves/643345 "2012-12-07T20:44:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-comparison-of-mental-dwarves/643345/1 "2012-12-07T20:44:39Z")

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Let us compare [the Master’s 12/7/12 article](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3083/do-you-burn-more-calories-when-you-think-hard), something about the brain’s use of energy . . .

> [@](#):
>
> Another way of putting it is that the brain is the home base of the self, the construct of memories, conclusions, and desires that constitute our personalities. All that energy goes to feed the\*\* crew of pipe-smoking dwarves \*\*between our ears who rummage through the accumulated input of our senses, ponder its significance, and plot our next move.

(bolding mine)

. . . to an earlier story submitted by Scylla on [The Horror of Blimps](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=160851&highlight=blimps).

> [@](#):
>
> Somewhere in the control room of my mind a fat little dwarf in a security outfit was paging through a Penthouse while smoking a cigar with his feet up on the table, watching the security monitors of my brain with his peripheral vision. Suddenly . . .

Can you see a resemblance? Is this not proof that the great Cecil lurks?

And if you haven’t read The Horror, do it now. It’s a classic.

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**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-comparison-of-mental-dwarves/643345/2 "2012-12-10T20:25:02Z")

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Could both be referring to the same source material, namely a mental homunculus. Such an entity would have to be smaller than the skull encasing it and short people have been known to smoke pipeweed on occasion (in fact, a pipe is different enough from a cigar that I’d be hesitant to call it a direct lift).

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-comparison-of-mental-dwarves/643345/3 "2012-12-12T04:43:12Z")

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> [@Yllaria](#):
>
> Can you see a resemblance? Is this not proof that the great Cecil lurks?

You need not go to that much effort, I can speak with authority that Cecil reads the board very frequently.