back to Mig's question. since environmental destruction is caused by a civilization which doesn't know itself, nor its relationship to its surounding; then a healthy dose of conscious evolution would enable the "New Deal/Apollo" program of renewable energy to be not supported, but demanded by the general population. Skennah Kowa
But there's a whole 'nother side to him and his work. Some of his insights he got while doing the grunt work for Abdus Salaam's Nobel. That Sarfatti worked for Salaam doesn't invalidate his Nobel. Brian Josephson remains in constant contact with him, despite sarfatti's sentient computer. That doesn't invalidate the Josephson Junction. and for what it's worth, Sarfatti is a center of the physics consciousness world.
Full disclosure. I can't argue physics, because i'm not, nor ever will be one in this lifetime. Sarfatti is a close friend of mine for nearly 30 years. I stayed at his house in November, so i'm prejudiced. I have seen him at his most brilliant, and i have seen him at his most manic. But as Jack himself often says, it doesn't matter if he's crazy, it matters if the equations check out.
And i do have personal knowledge of how much equation checking is being done at high levels around the world. Skennah Kowa
The real point was not about Sarfatti, but about the physical roots of consciousness, and the possible effect of the now common "paradigm shift" in human thinking. And how that shift would affect every aspect of civilization. Skennah Kowa
Preconceived ideas are always the hardest to give up.
People in general do not change views easily, as there's always some extra attachment. "No, we have to take Little Round Top, said Lt. General Pickett." or perhaps, "No, Pope, the sun does not move around the earth." Skennah Kowa
I don't worry about where my insights come from, only whether they're any good.
Sadly, I'm sure people would rather believe a sentient computer than Sarfatti himself.
you are the media you consume.
I'm immediately skeptical of Crazy Horse on this: his comment has dualism written all over it, with the material/immaterial mapping to the microscopic/macroscopic world of physics. That would be neat if true, but I'd rather reject more likely candidates first.
The Mind reconfigures neural pathways. Among those so configured are the pathways to/from the diencephalon where the Thalamus and Hypothalamus major control areas for the endocrine system are.
Thus, what you think may become what you are.
Also, the Thalamus is the 'ante room' to the two cerebral hemispheres where higher cognitive functions are located. As the body does its 'thing' messages are passed to the Thalamus through the Central Nervous System and the biochemical signals of the endocrine system. Together these 'inform' the Thalamus which then transmits messages to the cerebral hemispheres.
Thus, what you are may become what you think.
Out of the googleplex of messages being transmitted eventually some of what you think will become what you are. Out of the googleplex of messages being transmitted eventually some of what you are will become what you think.
On a simplistic level, the homeostasis system will generate signals to the Thalamus which send signals to the cerebral cortex which will result in the thought, "Let's go out for a pizza."
It works the other way as well. That's how we can make the decision to hold our breath so we don't drown while swimming under water. A doo run-run-run, a doo run-run
Newton's Gravity still affects brain components. Why not other physical aspects? Skennah Kowa
Similarly we may or may not need quantum mechanics to describe consciousness to an extent we are satisfied with. If it turns out our brains store data in quantum states, for example (admittedly I know very little about QM), then sure, QM will have to be into incorporated into an adequate description of consciousness.
I'm not equating transistors or logic gates to neurons, by the way. I'm claiming that in a universe with no apparent absolutes, pinning down assumptions through approximate models is all we can do, that this is useful, and that less sophisticated models, even those that have been superseded by models that work in a broader range of cases, can be adequate for our purposes.
Not quite: Transistors only work BECAUSE of quantum effects.
Without quantum effects we would still be using vacuum tubes.
I don't have anything to add; I just want to highlight it.
Anything that can cut through the willful ignorance of this civilization is to the good.
