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« on: June 21, 2007, 02:42:46 pm »
Bill Said:
"But I don't know, I'm not as sure as you seem to be. Could be all sorts of things, but two things are sure, the numbers don't add up - and we won't find the answer by pretending they do."
Hoo boy. Ok, you're assuming a one to one correlation between brain and computer. My brain is not a computer, my computer is not a brain. You say the numbers don't add up, what numbers? Apples plus Oranges equals what? A fruit smoothie? What does this have to do with anything?
If I seem to be sure, it's because I've seen nothing to support a different solution. I don't remember everything I've seen, heard, touched, thought, experienced, et al ad naseum. I remember that I had cereal for breakfast yesterday, because I have cereal for breakfast every day, except weekends, when I may have waffles or eggs, or both. Perhaps the brain only remembers patterns, and only ones that deviate from the norm; until we really understand how it works, this is all idle speculation. Gibabytes of pixels equates to what in the human brain? The brain doesn't see pixels, for one thing. The brain may be analog, it's probably not digital, why would it be? Maybe it's something else entirely. Because a square peg doesn't fit in a round hole, how is this proof of a mysterious non-physical receptacle for square pegs?
In the middle ages, the liver was thought to be the seat of conciousness, now of course, we know better. Or do we? The nervous system is an all pervasive system that encompasses the entire body, not just the brain, some people speculate that memory is contained throughout the body, not just in one location in the brain. But until we have a better understanding of the brain and it's attendant systems, this is just speculation.
Sorry, Bill, but your "numbers" just don't "add up."
Xodarap said:
"...it sure seems like my thoughts, ideas, and emotions are not simple material concoctions. Whether or not they are CAUSED by material processes, I certainly wouldn't argue, but happiness doesn't FEEL much like chemicals and electricity sloshing around a skull cavity to me..."
Hee hee, happiness, a very subjective feeling, is definitely chemicals sloshing around in my skull, because I am on anti-depressants. If I don't take them, I feel desperate and helpless, I have huge mood swings, the meds help keep me on an even keel, so to speak.
Everything we know, everything we feel, everything we experience, is entirely subjective. We are alone in our thoughts. I can't get inside you, you can't get inside me. We communicate via these abstract symbols called language, with it's imprecision and arbitrary values. We choose to agree that a certain color is "red," and most people agree. Those who are colorblind see it differently. Are they wrong? What's right for me may not be right for everyone else. Does that make me wrong? compared to what?