A Conscious Universe

[Surgenator]

[bennyboy]

I said a thought is a series of electrochemical reactions. We've only seen thoughts occuring in brains. A single thought involves thosands to millions of neurons interacting.

I have a question about this. Why is it that multiple (VERY multiple) processes manifest as single experiences (like for example the taste of chocolate)?

[Mudhammam]

I have a question about this. Why is it that multiple (VERY multiple) processes manifest as single experiences (like for example the taste of chocolate)?

Could you elaborate further? What would be an example of multiple experiences?

[Surgenator]

I said a thought is a series of electrochemical reactions. We've only seen thoughts occuring in brains. A single thought involves thosands to millions of neurons interacting.

I have a question about this. Why is it that multiple (VERY multiple) processes manifest as single experiences (like for example the taste of chocolate)?

Short answer: I don't know.

Longer answer: I'm making the assumption that brain states are mental states which isn't a big assumption. We can view brain activity via fMRI and deduce (on order of magnitude) how many neurons are involved when having a single expericence or thought. The high number of neurons involved is likely due to the difficulty of the task when working with limited processing speed. There also can be some redundancy built in that might be correlated to the intensity of the experience.

[Neo-Scholastic]

I said a thought is a series of electrochemical reactions. We've only seen thoughts occuring in brains. A single thought involves thosands to millions of neurons interacting.

I have a question about this. Why is it that multiple (VERY multiple) processes manifest as single experiences (like for example the taste of chocolate)?

Because the experience is also highly complex: high- and long- notes, texture, nostalgia, pleasure, etc.

[bennyboy]

I have a question about this. Why is it that multiple (VERY multiple) processes manifest as single experiences (like for example the taste of chocolate)?

Because the experience is also highly complex: high- and long- notes, texture, nostalgia, pleasure, etc.

No doubt, but that's not the question. What is the unifying mechanism? What causes all that complexity to be coordinated into a singular experience?

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I have a question about this. Why is it that multiple (VERY multiple) processes manifest as single experiences (like for example the taste of chocolate)?

Short answer: I don't know.

Longer answer: I'm making the assumption that brain states are mental states which isn't a big assumption. We can view brain activity via fMRI and deduce (on order of magnitude) how many neurons are involved when having a single expericence or thought. The high number of neurons involved is likely due to the difficulty of the task when working with limited processing speed. There also can be some redundancy built in that might be correlated to the intensity of the experience.

Right, that's what I'm getting at. It seems to me each brain area has a separate task. So does each area have an "output" that is sent to a coordinating unit? And if not, why would redness in part A, apple-taste in part B, and "crunch sound" in part C be experienced as a single experience, rather than having 3 homunculi, each doing its own specialized task? What is the principle, or mechanism, of unity?

[Angrboda]

Right, that's what I'm getting at. It seems to me each brain area has a separate task. So does each area have an "output" that is sent to a coordinating unit? And if not, why would redness in part A, apple-taste in part B, and "crunch sound" in part C be experienced as a single experience, rather than having 3 homunculi, each doing its own specialized task? What is the principle, or mechanism, of unity?

I suspect short term memory has something to do with it, along with some self-delusion (what tells us that it's a singular experience and is it lying?). I don't really know though. It's a mystery.

[bennyboy]

Right, that's what I'm getting at. It seems to me each brain area has a separate task. So does each area have an "output" that is sent to a coordinating unit? And if not, why would redness in part A, apple-taste in part B, and "crunch sound" in part C be experienced as a single experience, rather than having 3 homunculi, each doing its own specialized task? What is the principle, or mechanism, of unity?

I suspect short term memory has something to do with it, along with some self-delusion (what tells us that it's a singular experience and is it lying?). I don't really know though. It's a mystery.

I'm going to spend about about 30 minutes trying to catch my brain tricking to me. Is it really possible to experience more than one sense at one time, or are we switching back and forth at nano speeds without even realizing it? Hmmmm. . .

[IATIA]

When an electron is not interacting, it appears as a wave. When this wave interacts, it appears as a particle.

Ahhh ... no. That is incorrect. A guassian-wave-packet is a good representation of an electron out in free space. When the wave-packet interacts with a barrier, it still remains a gaussian-wave-packet (techniquely two superpositioned gaussain-wave-packets). At no point did it go from wave to particle or back.

The gaussian packet describes the probability distribution of the particle. And note that I did use "appears" rather than "is".

[Surgenator]

Ahhh ... no. That is incorrect. A guassian-wave-packet is a good representation of an electron out in free space. When the wave-packet interacts with a barrier, it still remains a gaussian-wave-packet (techniquely two superpositioned gaussain-wave-packets). At no point did it go from wave to particle or back.

The gaussian packet describes the probability distribution of the particle. And note that I did use "appears" rather than "is".

Electron scattering experiments show the electron "appears" as a point particle, not a wave. So saying the electron "appears" as wave when we aren't measuring it is only half right.