Get Happy, Be Happy, Stay Happy

thanks for this lana, it is pretty good, not too much to complain about from the mystic’s point of view.

the mystic would go a bit further, and say that all matter, including body and brain, is a progessive condensation of consciousness from subtle to gross, and this article is certainly a good step in communicating that possibility from the western science point of view

there is a blog that i take a lot of abuse on, all neuroscientists, it is called the neurologica blog, (i am without my bookmarks at this public computer), and those guys all are addicted to the view that consciousness comes from meat… so funny how the guys in the system are the last to know… applies to economists and politicians too

ok, i printed it out here in the bangalore cybercafe, and will read it at leisure

i am skeptical of skeptics, which keeps me from seeing that magazine very often

enjoy, gregory

Skeptical of skeptics - a good posture, but whom do you trust?

A good article. I especially like the closing;

“Thus, it will probably take a lot longer to realize that the conscious inner life that so fascinates us may be nothing more than a learned repertoire of verbal (and/or imaginal) behavior than it did to realize that the earth is not flat, that it is not the center of the universe, and that life on earth was not designed by a Creator”

I have no idea what comprises our consciousness. Even the simple fact of our self-aware existence seems mystifying. I don’t want to surrender to the reductionists, however, I can not side with folks like Deepak who wander into the realm of wishful thinking.

gregory,
I hope you’re enjoying the article. I think (!) it’s a great contribution to consciousness studies.

I’m cynical about some so-called skeptics But I like reading from a wide variety of sources so that I can see things from different viewpoints.

CD,
I know what you mean — self-awareness is mindboggling. Schlinger may think his theory isn’t all that sexy, but holy cow…

reading your links on concsiousness, i am reminded of the eastern thing, that it is unknowable, like the eye trying to see the eye

It seems like a bit of a woolly article to me, with narrow and imprecise thinking and incosistent use of language.
He can’t seem settle on a clear definition of consciousness, for a start, even though he must have a decent dictionary with lots of meanings for hm to use. I find this so much in writings by people on psychology that I begin to wonder if these people have a problem with language.

As to consciousness coming from meat, I assume this meaning of consciousness refers to thoughts.
Obviously, there is an interaction between the mental world and the world of brain meat.
However…
I have yet to hear about anyone who has isolated a thought, put it on scales, weighed it , measured it, told me what elements it is made of etc. etc.
You can do that with brain tissue, how can you do that with what I would call (in one meaning) consciousness- which is really mental objects of consciousness?
What do they suggest, at neurologica, that thoughts are made of?

I shall go see.

Of course, thoughts may be made of very fine, insubstantial particles.
Is it possible to divide a thought so that one gets down to its constituent particles, in the same way that matter has been reduced in physics labs?

The eye seeing the eye, good one. It would indicate that we have yet to develop the proper mirror.

HHH, Report back your findings! I think what you’re asking is the crux of the matter (no pun intended).

“Thoughts are things.” They really are. Scientists can measure what the brain is doing when we think. But what are thoughts themselves? Information. Charles Seife explains how information is everything in “Decoding the Universe.”

From Amazon.com:

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In a book that’s all but impossible to put down, science journalist Seife (Alpha & Omega) explains how the concepts of information theory have begun to unlock many of the mysteries of the universe, from quantum mechanics to black holes and the likely end of the universe. Seife presents a compelling case that information is the one constant that ties all of science, indeed all of the universe, together. His skill with language permits him to do what many have tried and few have accomplished—making complicated concepts of quantum mechanics accessible to the average reader. Seife demonstrates how quantum oddities so alien to classical physics actually are consistent with the same physical laws that govern the world we see. For example, the fact that entangled particles half a universe away can instantaneously communicate with one another (what Einstein called “spooky action” at a distance), apparently violating the law that nothing can exceed the speed of light, can be understood through information theory. Seife takes all of this to a most bizarre, but logical, conclusion reached by many cosmologists: the universe as we know it is but one of an infinite number of universes, all brought into being through information transfer. (Feb. 6)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Bit by bit, cutting-edge physicists are acclimatizing themselves to the notion that the universe is like a computer, its events akin to information processing. Seife treks through the thinking that implies humanity’s final demotion from emanation of godhead to binary digits. An excellent popular science author (Alpha and Omega, 2003), Seife opens with the history of thermodynamics and the equation of entropy. This equation is the foundation of information theory, which was formalized in 1948 by Claude Shannon, who also coined the term bit. The author then delves into why the idea of the universe-as-information appeals to theorists, resting his presentation on the weirdness of wave-particle duality. Challenging but rewarding fare for attentive general science readers, who might also be interested in Programming the Universe (2006), by information theorist Seth Lloyd. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

And how or why or who is behind Information, is the million dollar question! All claims aside, no one knows.

Closing in on our Ron Paul bet. I note his book is up to number 1 on Amazon. But nothing in the news…

Maybe we should wait until people have read the book!