On Mon, 8 Jul 2002 08:04:24 -0400, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>...I will often have to
>spend long hours reading and analyzing them.  The work is
>demanding because the papers are often very similar to each
>other, and it's easy to blur them together.  When I am doing this
>work I will get powerful cravings for carbs.

Your experience testifies that brains can get into different states of
energy consumption. From somewhat 25 Watts at rest, up to nearly 100 Watts
as has been reported by some books.
25 W * 24 hours *60 Minutes * 60 seconds = 2.16 or MJoule = 519 kcal
100W would be the 4-fold ...   2000 kcal

As the brain in ketosis should be able to derive up to 50% of it's energy
from ketones this would leave 1000 kcal which must come from carbohydrate
(consumption of blood cells and some glands not counted).
That is 1 kg (2 lbs) of sweetpotatoes - while in ketosis.

I suppose that a brain can't be so active for 24 hours, but on the other
side very concentrated work might consume even more than the 100 Watts.
For you students' work like for Wittgenstein.
:-)

Amadeus