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!

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

This is my attempt to connect a few different people's words/thoughts into Bakker's Blind Brain Theory.

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.

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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..

If someone grew up in a cubicle as Plato once suggested
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

Now the one inside the cubicle can't comprehend his measurements
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

If I grew up in a cubicle the walls are in my universe
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

And the brain equals a cubicle we'll never think outside it
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

Realizing the brain ticks at six billion signals per second
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

The mind's job is to recieve the signals
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

It makes a map of the territory that gives us the gives us
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

We dont know the rules of our heads
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?

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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,

@drpuffnstuff