Another aspect to morphing besides thoughts?

[Chad32]

You morph by thinking about what you want to morph. Despite not being able to keep a host from thinking about things, a Yeerk can keep them from morphing. There must be some other aspect to morphing than just thoughts that allows a Yeerk to interfere with that. Am I missing something? Has anyone considered this? Or is it actually a bit of fridge logic that doesn't have a good explanation?

[DinosaurNothlit]

That's a really good point, and you're right, there must be something to it besides just 'thinking.'  Actually, now that I'm thinking about it (heh), the same logic applies to thought-speak.  Why can't an infested person use thought-speak, if all you'd have to do is think at people to have them hear you?

With thought-speak, I've often considered the fact that the Animorphs never 'accidentally' thought-speak (except Jake, one time, can't remember which book), so it must be something more than just 'think at person x' because that would happen all the time by accident (I know I don't have that much control over my thoughts, at least).  Therefore, I believe that, to thought-speak, you have to actually activate the speech centers of your brain, but somehow without physically speaking.  This, a Yeerk would be able to block.

Morphing must be similar.  There must be some region of the brain that controls it, to where it becomes more like flexing a muscle than simply 'thinking.'  Therefore, a Yeerk can prevent it from happening.

P.S. And, yeah, those Auxiliaries who managed to 'accidentally' morph in #50 were probably a KASU.  Or at least had neurological conditions that gave them less control over their actions than the average person (Tourette's, perhaps?)

[Sorunome]

I always thought of it that way if you only morph if you actively think about, let's say, a tiger, to morph into it, to be it, so that would be different from just looking at a tiger in a zoo and thinking about it.
Same applies IMO to thought speak

[RYTX]

I think you have to think about what thinking is (somebody stop me) and what is that Yeerks really control.

You can think about raising your arm without actually doing it, but when you do it, you're no really keyed into the neuromuscular actions that make it happen, and I figure that's the type of things Yeerks control more than "thought"
My thought is that Yeerks tie into the somatic nervous system, and that by whatever weird biology lets them do that, they are privy to the cellular nuances that make things move and detect.

Now that begs the question of how the hell morphing is coordinated by the brain. (Thought-speak makes no sense to be controlled by the brain imo, as an organism without the ability in it's own body can use it in an animal that doesn't have that ability either).
My favorite theory actually is that there is a hormone element to morphing. Perhaps the morphing tech. creates a endocrine line in the somatic nervous system that can be invoked by thinking about it, the way you "think" about moving, and the Yeerk also has possession of that ability

This is hard because Animorphs did like to dance with idea that the mind, the soul, whatever is beyond the biology of a creature. Thoughts a host had might be manifest by something beyond the neurology that a Yeerk controls for more mystic reasons, while the actions are a function of the crude matter the slug commands.

[Tim Bruening]

That's a really good point, and you're right, there must be something to it besides just 'thinking.'  Actually, now that I'm thinking about it (heh), the same logic applies to thought-speak.  Why can't an infested person use thought-speak, if all you'd have to do is think at people to have them hear you?

With thought-speak, I've often considered the fact that the Animorphs never 'accidentally' thought-speak (except Jake, one time, can't remember which book), so it must be something more than just 'think at person x' because that would happen all the time by accident (I know I don't have that much control over my thoughts, at least).  Therefore, I believe that, to thought-speak, you have to actually activate the speech centers of your brain, but somehow without physically speaking.  This, a Yeerk would be able to block.

Morphing must be similar.  There must be some region of the brain that controls it, to where it becomes more like flexing a muscle than simply 'thinking.'  Therefore, a Yeerk can prevent it from happening.

P.S. And, yeah, those Auxiliaries who managed to 'accidentally' morph in #50 were probably a KASU.  Or at least had neurological conditions that gave them less control over their actions than the average person (Tourette's, perhaps?)

How is it that a cape buffalo morphed Vice Principal Chapman and Visser Three?  I had assumed that the buffalo did so by accident.  I had figured that the buffalo wouldn't do it on purpose, since it would have no conception that morphing was even possible!  Ditto for the ant that morphed Cassie.

[Chad32]

That was a weird book that kind of broke my concept of how morphing worked. It makes no sense. You're telling me that the buffalo was concentrating so hard on Chapman that it managed to morph, and continue to completion? And forget about the ant. How would it have any concept of what Cassie is, or looks like, to even start morphing her? That's basically twilight zone levels of wtf.

[Tim Bruening]

That was a weird book that kind of broke my concept of how morphing worked. It makes no sense. You're telling me that the buffalo was concentrating so hard on Chapman that it managed to morph, and continue to completion? And forget about the ant. How would it have any concept of what Cassie is, or looks like, to even start morphing her? That's basically twilight zone levels of wtf.

Where is it established that an Animorph has to KNOW what the animal he is morphing looks like before he can acquire or morph it?

[Chad32]

That was a weird book that kind of broke my concept of how morphing worked. It makes no sense. You're telling me that the buffalo was concentrating so hard on Chapman that it managed to morph, and continue to completion? And forget about the ant. How would it have any concept of what Cassie is, or looks like, to even start morphing her? That's basically twilight zone levels of wtf.

Maybe morphing works on a higher level. We see many condrictions to the rules of morphing threw out the series.

When it says you have to concentrate on what you're morphing in your mind when trying to morph.

[Chad32]

Still a weird book, though...

[Tim Bruening]

That was a weird book that kind of broke my concept of how morphing worked. It makes no sense. You're telling me that the buffalo was concentrating so hard on Chapman that it managed to morph, and continue to completion? And forget about the ant. How would it have any concept of what Cassie is, or looks like, to even start morphing her? That's basically twilight zone levels of wtf.

Maybe morphing works on a higher level. We see many condrictions to the rules of morphing threw out the series.

List of condritions:
(The Encounter) It's explicited stated that the Animorphs stayed over the time limit a few minutes. They were able to get out of wolf morph.

I thought that one of the clocks they had used was merely fast!  So did the Animorphs.

(The Reaction)I know that the book says that it is because Rachel's allergy. But going from morph to morph without morphing back was stated to be impossble.

I predict that Andalite scientists will go ape when they learn about Rachael's morphing directly between animals.

(The Diversion) Loren simpley picked up the cube. She got morphing powers.

If a cape buffalo can become morph capable by simply touching the cube, then so can Loren!

(The Arival) Estrid was able to morph fully clothed! She says she can do that because she morphs on a higher level.

Did Estrid try to show the Animorphs how to morph while clothed?

(The Hidden) The obivious problem.
There are more problems. I'll post them when I find them.