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Ask HN: Could subjective experience arise via matter hidden in extra dimensions?
And so whether an animal has subjective experience depends on whether it has matter to support it in those extra spatial dimensions?
But since we can't access those dimensions, it would be impossible for us to check.
- giardini 4y agoMaybe those extra dimensions can explain one exorcist's claims that: - a "possessed nun climb(ed) up a wall like a squirrel", - she required "six large men" to restrain her and that - the exorcist "met the devil twice", etc., etc.. https://tdpelmedia.com/exorcist-reveals-chilling-encounters-with-the-devil-and-possessed-individuals/ https://tdpelmedia.com/exorcist-reveals-chilling-encounters-... There's a lot (subjective experience, Satan, lost socks, dark matter & energy, Jimmy Hoffa's body, etc.) we could stuff into "hidden dimensions" but "the Devil is in the details!"8-))
- joebiden2 4y agoSounds like the shrooms were worth it
- undershirt 4y agoIf by “extra spatial dimensions” you mean the parts of reality beyond our access, then I think I can follow what you’re suggesting. I see matter as reality’s “tip of the iceberg” that consciousness sees. But the stuff beyond matter is probably not just more invisible material (i.e. not just “stuff” all the way down). All signs point to the invisible not being dead stuff, but spirit, process, pattern; like a source or spring of “aliveness”. This is not impossible to check if we find the mysticism already latent in our beliefs that we aren’t accustomed to critically evaluating. Then from there, evaluating what we trust and why, then leaning more on traditions which have accumulated wisdom on how best to connect to that mysticism. Anyway, it’s a very mystical question you asked. We don’t have to insist that the amazing tools we have for ascertaining material reality are universal to understanding all parts of it. By analogy, sure, subjective experience might arise from invisible material. But I prefer the top-down view of reality, where life is just presumed first. Disclaimer: I’m an orthodox christian
- joebiden2 4y agoHow did you discover HN? Genuinely interested, because your comment seems to be quite the opposite of what I expect here.
- undershirt 4y agoWell I’m still the technologist I was when I found this site. I’m not sure of the religious make-up of people here, but I was atheist and materialist when I found it— and only changed recently, but honestly I’m still shedding it.
- codingtest 4y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34648206#34659373 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34648206#34659373