4 ms·

Until we fully understand the human body, down to the level that we can decode thought by observing brainwaves, we don’t really know that bodies are biological

Until we fully understand the human body, down to the level that we can decode thought by observing brainwaves, we don’t really know that bodies are biological machines. For all we know the body could be a form of antenna for energy/physics we don’t yet perceive or understand. It’s important not to assume our current understanding of science defines reality. It’s our best estimate.

ReaLNero 5y ago
1) Modern machine learning models like GPT-3 exhibit properties of human-like intelligence despite using no magic. Occam's razor would tell you that human intelligence is also due to the enormous number of neurons and their connections. 2) This hacker news article is relevant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30350261 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30350261
Teever 5y ago
If we're going to compare human beings to radios, I'd say it's far more likely that some part of the body is the case of the radio while the radio is contained within it. If the body is acase for the radio it makes no difference if you swap it out. I'm willing to accept that my brain is an antenna for consciousness from another dimension but I find it hard to swallow that my toe nails are as well.
- willmadden 5y ago
  Primarily the brain, absolutely. I’ve read the illusion of conscious will and similar books. They struck me as overconfident drivel. We do not understand the universe on a macro or micro scale, and there are just to many oddities for me to dive head first into contemporary explanations of consciousness presented as “fact” by narrow minded “experts”. A physical computer view of the brain could just as easily be an antenna, and damage to either could still cause the observed issues from brain damage, psychological disorders, etc. A great example to dive into is the phenomenon of crystal polymorphism; specifically, how the primary crystalline form of a chemical changes simultaneously at labs on the other side of the world with no cross contamination. It’s a huge problem for pharmaceutical companies, but the interesting part is that there is no rational explanation for the phenomenon presented by modern science. Science is based on observable fact, but where humans go off the rails is making the assumption that everything is observable, that observations are sufficiently precise, or by dismissing new ideas out of the narcissism of being an “expert” in a competing theory. It’s a theme that repeats over and over again throughout history. I think it is entirely possible consciousness could be a related to a force we do not understand or even perceive, similar to crystal polymorphism.

ReaLNero 5y ago

1) Modern machine learning models like GPT-3 exhibit properties of human-like intelligence despite using no magic. Occam's razor would tell you that human intelligence is also due to the enormous number of neurons and their connections. 2) This hacker news article is relevant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30350261 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30350261

Teever 5y ago

If we're going to compare human beings to radios, I'd say it's far more likely that some part of the body is the case of the radio while the radio is contained within it. If the body is acase for the radio it makes no difference if you swap it out. I'm willing to accept that my brain is an antenna for consciousness from another dimension but I find it hard to swallow that my toe nails are as well.

willmadden 5y ago
Primarily the brain, absolutely. I’ve read the illusion of conscious will and similar books. They struck me as overconfident drivel. We do not understand the universe on a macro or micro scale, and there are just to many oddities for me to dive head first into contemporary explanations of consciousness presented as “fact” by narrow minded “experts”. A physical computer view of the brain could just as easily be an antenna, and damage to either could still cause the observed issues from brain damage, psychological disorders, etc. A great example to dive into is the phenomenon of crystal polymorphism; specifically, how the primary crystalline form of a chemical changes simultaneously at labs on the other side of the world with no cross contamination. It’s a huge problem for pharmaceutical companies, but the interesting part is that there is no rational explanation for the phenomenon presented by modern science. Science is based on observable fact, but where humans go off the rails is making the assumption that everything is observable, that observations are sufficiently precise, or by dismissing new ideas out of the narcissism of being an “expert” in a competing theory. It’s a theme that repeats over and over again throughout history. I think it is entirely possible consciousness could be a related to a force we do not understand or even perceive, similar to crystal polymorphism.