The Blind Brain Theory. The creation of consciousness : A (mostly) simple explanation.
My favorite fiction author R Scott Bakker also like to dive into the deep parts of thought. He runs the threepoundbrain blog that more often talks about neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology than fantasy or science fiction. R. Scott Bakker was getting his PHD in philosophy and found success in his 'prince of nothing' fantasy book series. Now he is a full time author writing all of my favorite books. Mostly fantast books but he has written some great thrillers too!
He spends a lot of time talking about a concept called BBT (Blind Brain Theory). It's very deep, and mostly too complex for me to understand. I will try my best to simply explain it, and you can go get deep into it afterwards if you would like!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/02/13/14/14/head-2062723_960_720.png)
The Blind Brain Theory states basically that our brain has a job to understand everything around us, creating information, running through history, analyzing. Trying to better understand everything, everyday. For the most part it is great at this. There is one thing that the brain cannot look at and reflect on.. Itself. Its job is to understand everything though, so it gives itself it's best shot, and on the other end comes out consciousness and the ego. These are the abstract things that it creates when it tries to look inward. He has many examples he thinks prove this. The amount of signals our brain sends vs the amount of signals our brain receives being a prominent argueing point.
His paper called the last magic show, can be found here
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRdHjhdSRnA8r3eYC1FDted5UdkDaLBhFAQTGVoTT43Px/steemydivider.png)
Plato's Allegory of Cave when applied to the brain says that our brain is bound to a wall, seeing shadows of itself. So if the brain were to get out and see what was real. What would it find? A layer of reality that makes what we se more shadows than real..? I insist that our brains are in fact bound to a chain staring at shadows on a lit wall in regards to itself. All those neurons firing, most of them never make it out into thought at all or into what we then call 'consciousness'.. Because Bakker argues, consciousness is a shadow.
My favorite Musician has 2 songs that also connect. I will share the lyrics of one but you may ask for the other if you really want it.. Here are the lyrics of Eyedea - Powdered water too part 1..
They would only know the cubicle and not the world outside it
And they wouldn't view the cubicle as something geometric
We only know it's a cubicle because we live outside it
Because measurements are models made up for and by observers
Relative to their position on the outside of the cubicle
Though understand objectively so they can study further
I have no knowledge of the entirety like the outsiders do
If you follow what I say and can swallow the powerdered water
Close your eyes and open your minds, this one's for you
Now inside wanna try to tie a diagram to modify them
I'm there as a hybrid of a body of a pirate
Of a soul that can fly without control
And most of hidden and not given to the senses
Whether to do a few futile primitive tools to perception
livin in a universal pool of first hand deception
And block the ones out that coincide with imprinted symbols
That way the information you obtained is recognized
Reality is thinkable and comparable to space and time
The topic of the Copenhagen interpretation of modern quantum
Physics which states we dont know the meal
We only know the menu that our brains tell us is real
From inside these cubicles we cant see the truth
No one really knows exactly what happens when we think
Therefore we can never really ever know anything
In my eyes R Scott Bakker, Eyedea, and Plato are all referencing the same things. They are on the right track. R Scott Bakker is just saying that neuroscience will get there eventually and prove the truth. Not that our brains will be able to do anything with that proof. We may just end up killing the messenger like in the allegory of the cave!! What do you guys think about the concept that maybe our brains blindness creates the 'I' in us?
Are we seeing something more real than shadows, and less real than truth?
Thoughts, comments, or concerns? Feel free to send me conflicting arguments. Only if they are strictly based on logic and fact though please! I am interested in expanding my knowledge. I have a daily goal to at least learn one thing. So if this article brought anything to mind, that maybe I could learn from. Comment that SH*T below, I would appreciate it!
Thanks for taking the time, to read. Look forward to any dialogue that comes afterwards!
Stay safe and enjoy yourself,
Pretty intense.
Our consciousness is supported by a froth of concepts, emanating from neuronal and dendritic activity. IIRC, recently the spines of dendrites were discovered to also be initiating thought, rather than just transmitting it. The algorithms that surf this sea are affected by our conscious concerns, just as walking we might dodge a pothole innately, so our beliefs inform our perceptions, with which we assemble ourselves.
And so we assemble also the world. As it is our belief alone in our perceptions which differentiates them from dreams or hallucinations, the brain, at that subconscious level, cannot tell the difference.
We respond in our dreams and fantasies knowing they are unreal, yet our brains do not, and this is a value of dreaming - that our brains react to them as if they are real, and we can learn how to both plan action intending to achieve our given expectations, as formed in imagination, and to 'remodel' our dreams, in what is known as lucid dreaming.
I reckon.
I reckon, your reckoning is close. I don't know if fantasy is up your alley. But r Scott bakker has a game of thronesish book filled with enough philosophy to give you a lot to think about. My favorite books
I haven't read much lately, but having just made a library, I might take it up again.
Yes, this is why the three paths to spiritual awareness are all attempts to get yourself outside of yourself.
In meditation, you are not trying to control your thoughts because the words that filter your thoughts are not the full you so you let the words go.
In yoga we twist our bodies around so that energy and feeling can flow through us instead of egoic judgments and control.
The third path is psychedelics which fmri's now show that they spread the activity of the brain out, while down regulating the repetitious pattern making part of the brain that gets hijacked and filled with negative patterns instead of helpful survival ones as was originally intended.
The main point is that we must find ways to step outside of the logic and patterns that we were raised with. Yes, in some manner or another we have all been rubbed the wrong way by society and have become less than productive due to it. We must use proven tools and techniques to get our appropriate non ego flow back.
I was a sensitive child and I probably have ptsd due to the loudness of our society...
I am open to any and all suggestions on how to get my flow back.
I concur yo! I have not done much yoga, but I meditate once in awhile and try a psychedelic from time to time.. I will give yoga a try one of these days
and again , darkness retreat and kundalini yoga with water fastings is a natural way to just grab the intensity of all senses ....as we are receptor and projector in the grand scheme of unlimited , infinit creation ...love it >>thank you for the sharing <3
Awesome quote
ahahah that is my quote of the day then ..and so it is :D
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STOP
How much money did you lose when steem is down right now to $1 ? Nothing? oh yea right because u dont have a dime in it, u got little in it, when i got over 200k in it, how much is my acc value now? 150k. upvote myself now.
My guess is you also have other cryptos, prolly BTC. Were I you I'd sit out Aug. 1. What do you do when BTC tanks? Do you mine the rewards pool then?
This is why we need to change how VP is calculated. When you, and plenty of other folks do this, those rewards content creators would otherwise receive from the pool don't encourage them to produce, and Steemit's growth is constrained.
Steem is attributed value because of Steemit. When Steemit grows, Steem increases in value.
BTC was recently at $3k. If Steemit was just 1% of that, that would increase the value of your Steem by 30 fold. You would make $4,350,000 (before taxes). If I was you, I'd defend that rewards pool with my life.
Edit: to make sure it went to authors.
I havent look at ur wallet but im pretty sure you are another broke person try to tell the guy with more sp than you what to do in your favor. Why dont you try to put 200k in there and see if u say the same thing u are saying.
I don't think the thickness of my wallet determines my ability to do math.
You do you.
I would not think steem would be where it is now without people that put in money like me, if steem would not give out vp why would i be in here? they lock my money up for 3 month, if steem go down i have to go down with it, woth other coin if their coin is down i can put a stop and get out, this is why the reward is valid. Im taken a risk and its need to be rewarded.
Sure are buddy. And doubling the risk by abusing the platform and making it a shittier place for the people who actually give it value. I thought you were busy. You've spent all day justifying why you are a piece of shit. I don't have anymore time to waste on your skewed logic. Other posts, and other people actually have things to contribute.. as I said. I hope you get what you put out in the world..
Sure. That's why BTC has no value.. Oh, wait.
Maybe, just maybe, there's such a thing as capital gains, and that's why people invest in vehicles that provide them, like Steem.
Do what you need to man. Your an adult who knows what's best for the community that you invested in.. you don't act like you know. But you do. I seen that you upvoted other people's comments in your post. That is a nice first step
What happened here? A flag war or something?
Why yes, yes it did