The Heart lies in your Brain

It is never explicitly stated .. and people have started believing and relating to the opposite, as good as the sunrise from the east... in short they do not like the very idea of it.

Few days back I was discussing with a close friend about how she felt when I told her that heart doesn't think and neither hold any emotions. She was surprised first as to how stupid I could be so say such weird thing. But after some explanation using an example ( where heart transplant not changes how a person thinks, feels or loves but a brain transplant would, if it was possible) I was able to prove I was not being too illogical. But then, she still didn't like the idea and resented it, as it spoils the romantic perception of the heart. I agree with her.

Whenever we mention heart in a non-biological way we are actually referring to seat of emotions , compassion, love. Are these really originating from the heart?
On closer examination we realize that our heart is just another organ (though most vital) which helps us live by gushing oxygen rich blood through our arteries. And that's it.
It doesn't help us develop and display our emotions.

This is what I found when I went online to search the meaning of heart.

Apart from the biological meaning thefreedictionary.com defines heart as

a. The vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities.
b. The repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs: an appeal from the heart; a subject dear to her heart.
c. The seat of the intellect or imagination: the worst atrocities the human heart could devise.
d. Emotional constitution, basic disposition, or character: a man after my own heart.
e. One's prevailing mood or current inclination: We were light of heart.
f. Capacity for sympathy or generosity; compassion: a leader who seems to have no heart.
g. Love; affection: The child won my heart.
h. Courage; resolution; fortitude: The soldiers lost heart and retreated.
i. The firmness of will or the callousness required to carry out an unpleasant task or responsibility: hadn't the heart to send them away without food.

I'm not surprised reading this as literature need not be scientific.

Our brain is the only place these thoughts; logical and emotional (not so logical) occur. Brain has separate regions for each kind of processes. It acts as a CPU (for processing) and also as a RAM and Hard Drive (for memory). The complex structure of brain still puzzles us in many areas.

So what surprises me is how did we land up symbolising heart as passion and everything non-logical. This sheer contrast is not just true for one culture, religion or belief. Almost everywhere I look, I see this 'confusion'.

Celine Dion's 'My Heart will go on' is what comes to my mind first when I think of any artistic creation based on the 'Dil' (Urdu for heart). It will sound so unpoetical, unromantic if it was to be sung as 'My Brain will go on'. Celine would have long been out of market :)
Or imagine guys giving their girlfriends brain shaped chocolates and pillows. Hilarious.

I guess this way of looking at it has developed over centuries. This may have been helped by our religious philosophers and priests when they said .. 'Behold !! The God is in your heart'.

Well in the end it doesn't really matter how we take it if this adds some beauty around us and as long as we don't get carried away by believing that we think from the brain and emote from the heart.

To this, I know, my close friend will say how does it matter even if we did.. :)