Post by Yvette Garcia on Nov 13, 2015 2:07:44 GMT
Week 7 & 8
1. Explain the virtual simulation theory of consciousness.
“Consciousness is a fantastic virtual simulator and because of its inclusivity and insular engineering it has an inherent tendency to believe its own machinations as exterior to itself and not as the byproduct of its own interiority.” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 75)
Both of the assigned readings this week share a similar idea: thanks in part to the new discoveries or modern science, the world we see, hear, touch, and feel around us is NOT as it appears in our minds. In the Our consciousness - a sense of one's personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual; special awareness – is a virtual simulator inside our head that perceives and believes in the things our senses help us determine and understand the world around us. Our mind simulates the situations we experience on a daily basis and we act accordingly based on our understanding of accepted human behaviors, rules, and experiences.
In reading “Is the Universe an App?” the theory of consciousness as a virtual is discussed extensively. Gerald Edelman in an interview with Discover Magazine describes humans as having two fundamental forms of awareness. The primary, he explains is a state of awareness held by animals that allows them to live only within their present state of being and not having any consciousness of the past or present. In contrast, Edelman explains that humans are “conscious of being conscious” as we can recall past memories, ideas, or experiences while also being capable of planning or deciding future decisions and experiences. Edelman describes our “consciousness of being conscious” as the second form of awareness and it is our “evolutionary advantage” that has taken humankind to where it is today.
“Arguably, consciousness is a virtual simulator, apparently evolved over eons of time to enable mammals with higher brain functions to “in source” varying options of how to respond to a disparate array of problems before “out sourcing” them (hence the Darwinian advantage).” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 107)
Another interesting topic involving consciousness is the description of the Chandian Effect – the experience of certainty. (is the Universe an App, Pg. 109) The Chandian Effest relates to our ability to make plans, decisions, and have hopes and dreams for what we want in our lives. The Chandian Effect allows our minds to accept the world around us for what it is. The Chandian Effect has different levels and expressions tha make up our reality such as being awake or dreaming. The Chandian Effect can best be described as “a pattern of awareness we can see that our lives are simply natural progressions of consciousness from various boundaries within.” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 110)
Another interesting topic in this week’s reading was the contrast in opinion of the state of consciousness between Richard Feynman and John Lilly. Lilly held a point of view about consciousness in our own minds as that what “we believe to be true is true or becomes true” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 119) He believes that there are no limits to how we see the world in our own state of minds. Feynman argues this point by providing the idea that “the imagination that things are real does not represent true reality.” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 116) Both of their beliefs lead to the idea of a Neural Paradox where we as individuals do not do not judge or interpret our experiences for what they are, but instead by what we believe in or the opinions we have about our own experiences.
In conclusion, the virtual simulation theory of consciousness is something humankind is beginning to scratch the surface on in terms of philosophical and psychological concepts and ideas based on our understanding or consciousness and the world around us. As we continue in our pursuit to fully understand the world around us, it seems that there are many things we cannot comprehend at this time and our state of consciousness may not be what it appears to be or what it has been accepted a for many years. As technology and further research develop in the future, humans already have and will continue to make progress in understanding the reality of what are consciousness is.
2. How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
I think the brain tricks us by stimulating virtual realities. For example, when we see an illusion we can suddenly believe in it when it is actually only an illusion not a reality. The benefit to our brain is that it will always keep our body stay alive long enough so that the genetic codes can be passed down. Another interesting thing about our brain is that brain actually tricks people so they can live another day. In the film "Brain Burn: Consciousness as a Virtual Simulator", it explains that “…most of our awareness is ‘in’ our head, it doesn’t have to face the very real and empirical and deathly consequences of being ‘without.’” This indicates that people got a better chance to survive than animals because animals do not have consciousness like normal people do.
The brain can sometimes trick us into perceiving something as reality and real when really it is not. This is stated in the book the Universe an App,"the brain tricks us into believing its own machinations as something that is not. A prime example would be in the short film the The Disneyland of Consciousness discusses how the conscious of a human being has a process that it follows and we may not have as much control of it as we may think. We tend to perceive things the way they appear at first and then once we “realize” things are not as they seem, we have difficulty accepting such. As this short film brings to light, animatronics are so humanly simulated that this is a great example of such by “tricking the eye and mind” to believe the robot is an actual human being. ” The brain does this to keep us alive long enough to reproduce. The brains trickery benefits us, so we last long enough to continue our genetic line so we do not go extinct.
1. Explain the virtual simulation theory of consciousness.
“Consciousness is a fantastic virtual simulator and because of its inclusivity and insular engineering it has an inherent tendency to believe its own machinations as exterior to itself and not as the byproduct of its own interiority.” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 75)
Both of the assigned readings this week share a similar idea: thanks in part to the new discoveries or modern science, the world we see, hear, touch, and feel around us is NOT as it appears in our minds. In the Our consciousness - a sense of one's personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual; special awareness – is a virtual simulator inside our head that perceives and believes in the things our senses help us determine and understand the world around us. Our mind simulates the situations we experience on a daily basis and we act accordingly based on our understanding of accepted human behaviors, rules, and experiences.
In reading “Is the Universe an App?” the theory of consciousness as a virtual is discussed extensively. Gerald Edelman in an interview with Discover Magazine describes humans as having two fundamental forms of awareness. The primary, he explains is a state of awareness held by animals that allows them to live only within their present state of being and not having any consciousness of the past or present. In contrast, Edelman explains that humans are “conscious of being conscious” as we can recall past memories, ideas, or experiences while also being capable of planning or deciding future decisions and experiences. Edelman describes our “consciousness of being conscious” as the second form of awareness and it is our “evolutionary advantage” that has taken humankind to where it is today.
“Arguably, consciousness is a virtual simulator, apparently evolved over eons of time to enable mammals with higher brain functions to “in source” varying options of how to respond to a disparate array of problems before “out sourcing” them (hence the Darwinian advantage).” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 107)
Another interesting topic involving consciousness is the description of the Chandian Effect – the experience of certainty. (is the Universe an App, Pg. 109) The Chandian Effest relates to our ability to make plans, decisions, and have hopes and dreams for what we want in our lives. The Chandian Effect allows our minds to accept the world around us for what it is. The Chandian Effect has different levels and expressions tha make up our reality such as being awake or dreaming. The Chandian Effect can best be described as “a pattern of awareness we can see that our lives are simply natural progressions of consciousness from various boundaries within.” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 110)
Another interesting topic in this week’s reading was the contrast in opinion of the state of consciousness between Richard Feynman and John Lilly. Lilly held a point of view about consciousness in our own minds as that what “we believe to be true is true or becomes true” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 119) He believes that there are no limits to how we see the world in our own state of minds. Feynman argues this point by providing the idea that “the imagination that things are real does not represent true reality.” (Is the Universe an App, Pg. 116) Both of their beliefs lead to the idea of a Neural Paradox where we as individuals do not do not judge or interpret our experiences for what they are, but instead by what we believe in or the opinions we have about our own experiences.
In conclusion, the virtual simulation theory of consciousness is something humankind is beginning to scratch the surface on in terms of philosophical and psychological concepts and ideas based on our understanding or consciousness and the world around us. As we continue in our pursuit to fully understand the world around us, it seems that there are many things we cannot comprehend at this time and our state of consciousness may not be what it appears to be or what it has been accepted a for many years. As technology and further research develop in the future, humans already have and will continue to make progress in understanding the reality of what are consciousness is.
2. How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
I think the brain tricks us by stimulating virtual realities. For example, when we see an illusion we can suddenly believe in it when it is actually only an illusion not a reality. The benefit to our brain is that it will always keep our body stay alive long enough so that the genetic codes can be passed down. Another interesting thing about our brain is that brain actually tricks people so they can live another day. In the film "Brain Burn: Consciousness as a Virtual Simulator", it explains that “…most of our awareness is ‘in’ our head, it doesn’t have to face the very real and empirical and deathly consequences of being ‘without.’” This indicates that people got a better chance to survive than animals because animals do not have consciousness like normal people do.
The brain can sometimes trick us into perceiving something as reality and real when really it is not. This is stated in the book the Universe an App,"the brain tricks us into believing its own machinations as something that is not. A prime example would be in the short film the The Disneyland of Consciousness discusses how the conscious of a human being has a process that it follows and we may not have as much control of it as we may think. We tend to perceive things the way they appear at first and then once we “realize” things are not as they seem, we have difficulty accepting such. As this short film brings to light, animatronics are so humanly simulated that this is a great example of such by “tricking the eye and mind” to believe the robot is an actual human being. ” The brain does this to keep us alive long enough to reproduce. The brains trickery benefits us, so we last long enough to continue our genetic line so we do not go extinct.