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## Archive for May, 2009

May 25th, 2009 by Sean Do Dogs Have Souls?

I’m (still) grappling with the concept of consciousness. Not just for fun (even though it is fun), but to conjure up methods for investigating OBEs.

There are some obvious questions about the idea of a “soul” and life after death. The largest evidence against the soul is that we can alter consciousness by altering the brain. An amazing demonstration of that is in experiments with people who have a severed corpus callosum, which is the part of the brain that connects the left hemisphere with the right hemisphere. In this video, a man without hemisphere communication has the word “phone” flashed to his left eye (which gets processed by his right hemisphere), and doesn’t know the actual word until he draws a phone on a piece of paper, and recognizes the picture on the paper.

We can do our own experiment. Drink a twelve pack of beer, and tell me if your consciousness is altered :-).

If consciousness exists as an entity separate from the body, we would expect it to be unaffected by physical and chemical fluctuations in the brain. However, if consciousness arises from the complex neural network in the brain, then we would expect consciousness to be altered by physical and chemical intrusions. The evidence shows that altering the brain alters consciousness. So the conclusion is that consciousness arises from the neural network… the soul doesn’t exist.

If consciousness can exist outside the body, then we are forced to confront the question: why does altering the brain alter consciousness?

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I was debating with my friend about the difference between the human mind, and the bird mind. He argued that our human mind was better in some way… that we were doing something different that made us more intelligent, or more conscious, or self-aware. I argued that our minds were equivalent - the only difference being the number of neurons. More neurons, more processing power.

Do dogs have souls? How different are we really from any other animal? And where do you draw the line — chimps? Fish? Insects? Cells? Atoms?

If consciousness exists outside the body, then aren’t atoms capable of consciousness, even though they may not be able to exercise their awareness in the physical world?

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Is it one or the other? Is there no middle path?

Posted in Consciousness | 15 Comments »

May 15th, 2009 by Sean Non-existent Existence

A brief update: Thank you to everyone who has e-mailed me concerning the call for volunteers. We’re working on getting something going, so stay tuned. With that said…

A lot of what I think about is abstract and without evidence. Forgive me if this is yet another post that indulges my hypothetical self.

I’ve been thinking about life after death, along with emergence, and the problems of Atheism. I had a thought: what if emergent properties, which don’t exist in their own right, actually do exist?

Let me give you an example. Suppose you take a rubik’s cube, and mix it up. After about a hundred random spins, it’s reached the maximum “mix” - you could mix it more, but it doesn’t really add complexity. In this mixed up state, there exists a certain sequence of moves that will solve it in the least amount of steps. Perhaps you are only 15 spins away from the solution. The problem is that you don’t know what those 15 spins are. The point is that those 15 spins exist.

In order to find those 15 spins, you would have to do quite a bit of calculation. It’s not a simple problem. A brute force strategy (where you try every possible combination) might take you a couple thousand years on a modern computer. Of course, at the end of that 5,000 year period, you would be certain the final solution is the fastest possible sequence… you’ve tried every possibility! (There are smarter ways to go about solving this problem, but we’ll save that for another day :-P)

When you hold a mixed up rubik’s cube in your hand, a fastest solution does exist. Not in reality, though… you can’t grab it. It’s a numbers game. It exists as a concept, independent of reality. If we imploded the universe, the mathematical concept still exists. There may not be any minds around to understand the concept, but it still exists, as a mathematical truth.

…Now for the real question:

Can a mathematical concept be conscious?

It doesn’t really make sense, at first. Math is abstract. Consciousness is an emergent property of organized brain cells (right?). Math exists in the sense that the idea exists in our head… but it doesn’t exist like a rock does. Math is intangible - not physical. Immortal. No beginning or end.

Let’s take it from another angle: We know that consciousness exists, because we are conscious, and we exist. So there must be a mathematical model for consciousness. Even if you believe in a magical unexplainable soul, you still have to recognize that we can do some cool neural-net stuff with artificial intelligence, and it’s only a matter of time before we make a computer program smart enough to simulate more advanced forms of awareness. The math is there.

The mathematical concept of consciousness exists. The numbers, and their movement, exist as a concept. If the universe implodes, the concept still exists… it isn’t dependent on physical reality. It’s a self-contained, independent, idea. That idea can be implemented in carbon-based lifeforms, or electrical circuitry of a computer, or rocks in sand, or any Turing-complete system.

So am I this immortal concept? Is reality?

8-|

Posted in Philosophy | 16 Comments »

May 1st, 2009 by Sean New Way Forward

The time has come…

ALW has served as an open meditation for me. It has allowed me to express bizarre theories, test them against reality, share interesting information, and preach a little bit too. It has been a nice corner for myself and a solid group of members to talk about weird stuff. The members have shown patience in entertaining my thoughts, and expressed themselves honestly, whether to show agreement, or challenge my ideas on their merit alone, without special treatment. For that, I am profoundly grateful.

But we know where this is going… it’s time for an upgrade in collective purpose.

I hereby announce my intention to organize and create a coalition of passionate individuals, focused on one primary goal:

Proof.

What does “proof” mean? It means intelligent research into paranormal phenomenon, focused on collection of evidence (whether that evidence is in support of the phenomenon, or not). If possible, this also means providing demonstrations (online, or in person), and/or instructions for reproducible experiments.

I am seeking volunteers willing to join me in leading this effort. I only want serious, passionate leaders, who have a history of honest, intelligent, and open experimentation with the paranormal. I also recommend the volunteer has a long history with a particular phenomenon they plan on investigating, in order to give them a good starting point. I personally will be focusing primarily on out-of-body experiences (but may branch into other skills as well).

I cannot stress enough that - while I definitely plan on having fun - this is a seirous venture. You must be 18+ to volunteer as a leader. As a leader, you will be held to high expectations. With that said, I have a full-time job just like everyone else, so I don’t expect daily updates. But I do expect progress to be made.

What can I offer volunteers? 1. A platform for posting results. 2. Equipment. 3. Research material. 4. Possibly further funding in the future. 5. A community of like-minded people, passionate about discovering truth.

If you have questions about this effort, feel free to ask in the comments, on the forum, or e-mail me directly (via the “Contact” button). If you would like to volunteer, please contact me with your history, and what areas you would like to investigate.

I plan on creating a new site for this, but would first like to get a list of volunteers to discuss details with.

I ask my friends reading this that, even if you don’t want to volunteer, but know someone who might, please pass this invitation along to them. Thank you! More to come.

Posted in Website | 22 Comments »

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