Post by benjaminenriquez on Nov 11, 2015 11:25:48 GMT
1. Explain the virtual simulation theory of consciousness.
There are a few ideas that support the virtual simulation theory of consciousness. The brain can be described as a virtual simulator because “Neuroscience has more or less established that the brain is a simulator par excellence and that what we see, hear, touch, and smell are the results of how our central nervous system processes both external and internal stimuli and then reconstructs a virtual environment in which we react accordingly.” What we experience is a simulated reality that our brain interprets and is unique to each person. Dreams are another example of how the brain is a virtual simulator. When awake, we receive external queues that the brain interprets into a reality for us, but even while asleep and no external queues are present, the brain creates hallucinations, known as dreams, without us being aware. Imagining is another way the brain simulates. “Imagining what another person may consciously intend does indeed have dramatic consequences on how we may or may not react to a given situation.” Also imagining an activity before partaking in said activity improves one’s ability. In “Is the Universe An App?” Faqir Chand, a famed sage of Hoshiarpur, even states that religious vision feel real but are “illusory projections” of one’s faith. The brains virtual simulation has evolved over time to allow us to “in source” different options of responding to a variety of problems before “outsourcing them.”
2. How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
The brains ability to be a proficient virtual simulator is the basis of how it tricks us. Dreaming is one method of the brains virtual simulation and it’s so good at it that most of the time we believe everything that is happening in the dream state. Religious apparitions are also illusions created by the brain that feel extremely real at the time they’re experienced. In the case of religious visions, “apparitions of Jesus only appear to Christians, and Buddha only to Buddhists, and Guru Nanak only to Sikhs, and Krishna only to Hindus.” This shows us that the brains ability to trick is unique to each person, but it doesn’t want us to know that. If we knew the tricks were unique to each then it would be harder to believe they were reality. They’d be easy to see through. The brain also tricks us during near death experiences. Near death experiences “are not about a purported afterlife but rather about the brain's amazing ability to create a reason or purpose to continue living.” This reason to live is unique to the person based on past experiences. This ties into why the brain tries to trick us in the first place. The brain is trying to keep us alive long enough to “recapitulate.”
There are a few ideas that support the virtual simulation theory of consciousness. The brain can be described as a virtual simulator because “Neuroscience has more or less established that the brain is a simulator par excellence and that what we see, hear, touch, and smell are the results of how our central nervous system processes both external and internal stimuli and then reconstructs a virtual environment in which we react accordingly.” What we experience is a simulated reality that our brain interprets and is unique to each person. Dreams are another example of how the brain is a virtual simulator. When awake, we receive external queues that the brain interprets into a reality for us, but even while asleep and no external queues are present, the brain creates hallucinations, known as dreams, without us being aware. Imagining is another way the brain simulates. “Imagining what another person may consciously intend does indeed have dramatic consequences on how we may or may not react to a given situation.” Also imagining an activity before partaking in said activity improves one’s ability. In “Is the Universe An App?” Faqir Chand, a famed sage of Hoshiarpur, even states that religious vision feel real but are “illusory projections” of one’s faith. The brains virtual simulation has evolved over time to allow us to “in source” different options of responding to a variety of problems before “outsourcing them.”
2. How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
The brains ability to be a proficient virtual simulator is the basis of how it tricks us. Dreaming is one method of the brains virtual simulation and it’s so good at it that most of the time we believe everything that is happening in the dream state. Religious apparitions are also illusions created by the brain that feel extremely real at the time they’re experienced. In the case of religious visions, “apparitions of Jesus only appear to Christians, and Buddha only to Buddhists, and Guru Nanak only to Sikhs, and Krishna only to Hindus.” This shows us that the brains ability to trick is unique to each person, but it doesn’t want us to know that. If we knew the tricks were unique to each then it would be harder to believe they were reality. They’d be easy to see through. The brain also tricks us during near death experiences. Near death experiences “are not about a purported afterlife but rather about the brain's amazing ability to create a reason or purpose to continue living.” This reason to live is unique to the person based on past experiences. This ties into why the brain tries to trick us in the first place. The brain is trying to keep us alive long enough to “recapitulate.”