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The Inter Mind Consciousness, Philosophy,  Explore Consciousness And Mind
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The PM is defined to consist of the Brain and all connected sensory devices, like Eyes and Ears. The Retina of the Eye is acknowledged to be made up of specialized Neurons, so it is an actual component of the PM. It’s easy to see why the PL arrow is connected directly to the PM.
The instant PL hits the PM it is not PL anymore, but rather it is converted into Neural Activity that is transmitted to the various Visual areas inside the PM. Since the Neural Activity occurs in the Visual areas of the PM and the Neural Activity is correlated with the PL, I like to call this particular Neural Activity, the Neural Light (NL). The diagram shows that even though the NL is correlated with the PL it is not CL yet. The CL that we actually perceive is correlated with the NL and therefore with the PL. The heart of the problem is that CL cannot be found in the PM by studying the NL. We are sure we know two things: 1) when NL occurs in the PM 2) there is correlated CL occurring in the CM. Both of these are also correlated with the original PL. There is an analogous argument for PS, Neural Sound (NS,) and CS.
I would like to make a quick comment about my definition of Neural Light. The complaint that people have had was that Neural Activity is not Light. Of course it's not PL, but the NL that I talk about is actually more related to the CL that we Experience. What we Experience is a further processing stage that uses the NL to produce the CL. We have never Seen the PL. We have only Seen the CL, which is the internal Light that does not come through the Eyes. The CL is correlated with the NL which in turn is correlated with the PL. The PL is just some Electromagnetic phenomenon that can stimulate NL. If you rub your eyes the right way you will see lights. Rubbing your eyes can stimulate NL which results in a CL Experience.
Now think about the CL Experience you have while dreaming at night in your bedroom where there is almost no PL. You could say that Dreams are made out of CL. If it's not CL then what is it? The one thing we can say for sure is that this Dream Light is certainly inside of us.
Also think about the CL Experience of After Images, where you continue to see a remnant of the scene you were looking at even after you close your eyes. Obviously we can and do Experience CL without PL. We have always seen our own CL but we did not know it was ours. This should become more understandable after reading the two Arguments sections.
I take the position that the PM is an electro-chemical machine that exists in PSp. I will speculate that the PM has no consciousness in and of itself. I will also speculate that the CM exists as a separate Phenomenon and I say that the CM exists in CSp. I justify these speculations given the fact that Science is getting nowhere assuming that Consciousness has to be inside the Neurons. It is time to start thinking about these things in new ways. It is time to break through the Brick Wall that is blocking our progress from understanding Consciousness.
But how does the NL in the PM get converted to CL that the CM can use? Somehow the CM must monitor the NL in the PM and then generate the CL for the CM. I propose that there must be some other Mind component that monitors the NL in the PM and converts this into the CL that the CM Experiences. I call this other Mind the Inter Mind (IM), because it is an interface between the PM and the CM. The IM is a Logical Scientific, Systems Engineering, and Signal Processing stage that must exist between the PM and the CM in order to convert Neural Activity into Conscious Experience. From these definitions we can now draw the following diagram for the Conscious perception of light. Note that a similar diagram could be drawn for the Conscious perception of Sound.
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This diagram is for the Light path and it compresses many complicated things into a simple Triple Mind model that is easily remembered and conceptualized. I like to call it the Inter Mind Model (IMM) to emphasize the central role that the IM plays. I think the IM is but yet another thing that we do not know, but yet we know we need it. It is probably counterintuitive but I think the introduction of this new unknown might actually help us understand the other unknowns in the whole Mind problem. We need to at least know what it is that we don't know. People will say the IMM is not Parsimonious, or they will invoke Occam's Razor as arguments against it. But Parsimony and Occam's Razor are not Scientific Principles, rather they are more like Folk Science. Also, the IMM is not a Theory, but rather it is a Framework for future Theories. I believe the IMM Framework will be a Blueprint for the next step in the exploration of Consciousness.
I would like to introduce the term Connectism, to identify a new Philosophical concept that easily and naturally conforms to the IMM of Consciousness. Connectism provides a refreshing Connection Perspective with respect to Conscious Experience. With proper usage you would say that you are a Connectist because of your Connectist views on Connectism. Connectism seems to be similar to Dualism, but it is different from Dualism because the Dualist does not emphasize the Connection aspect of the PM to the CM. The IM is the central connecting component within Connectism. The PM is Connected to the IM and the IM is Connected to the CM. So Connectism is actually a Triple Mind perspective, in contrast with the Double Mind perspective of Dualism. The IM looms large within Connectism but is completely absent in Dualism. Connectism is categorically not the same thing as Dualism.
The IM could be a part of the PM or the CM or it could stand alone as a separate Mind. Whatever the case may be there must be something somewhere that has the functionality of the IM. If the IM is found to be an aspect of the PM then that aspect should be called the IM aspect of the PM. NL does not turn into CL all by itself. Even if everything is eventually found to be located in the PM, the functional stages of the diagram must still be true.
Philosophers will say the IM is just the Explanatory Gap. I would say that the IM is more specifically a Connection Gap and a Processing Gap rather than a more general Explanatory Gap. Evidence for these Connection Gap and Processing Gap ideas will be presented in later sections.
Note that the IMM shows that the IM presents the CL to the CM but the process of how this happens is not known. The CL is not PL so we should not expect that the CM will need some CSp Retina to perceive it leading to an infinite regression of other forms of Light and other forms of Retinas. The CM is the end point of the perception chain even if we do not yet understand how the CL is Experienced by the CM.
The infinite regression idea comes from the Cartesian Theater argument put forward by Daniel Dennett. It is not a serious argument, and its main purpose is to portray a jokingly derogatory picture of the Dualistic view. It is Incoherent because the first premise of the argument states that you must throw out the Dualistic view, without any logical reasoning, and assume a Physicalist reality. If you do that, the infinite regression will be needed. The Joke is really on the Physicalists because the Dualistic view does not need the infinite regression. Only the Physicalist view needs it.
There are Phenomena in Physics that are considered to be Fundamental because they are not explainable or reducible to any other Phenomena. Such Phenomena as the Magnetic, Electric, Gravity, and Atomic Forces are Fundamental. Science does not have an Explanation for what these Phenomena are at a Deep level. Science can only describe how these Phenomena behave and how they might Interact. We will consider Consciousness to be a Fundamental Phenomenon in the Manifest Universe. Scientists can describe Conscious Experiences but Science does not know what they are at a Deep level. We can now specify that there are two Phenomena Spaces, which are the Physical Space (PSp) of physical phenomena and the Conscious Space (CSp) of conscious phenomena.
Since we recognize Consciousness to be a Fundamental Phenomenon, we should not be discouraged by the inability to understand Consciousness. We should instead be satisfied with the ability to describe how Consciousness might Interact with other Phenomena of Physics. It is specified by the IMM that this Interaction will take place in the IM part of the Model. We do not need to Explain the Deep Meaning of Consciousness right now, but rather we should concentrate on discovering what an IM might be within the Model. We have some Clues how this IM Interaction happens in the Brain and we will Speculate how this IM Interaction might happen in Machines. This website will explore such Machine Interactions in later sections.
Going back to the three stage Diagram of the IMM: PL is converted into NL by the PM in PSp, and then NL is converted into CL by the IM, and then CL is what is actually perceived by the CM in CSp. But the PL, NL, and CL are three very different kinds of phenomena related to the Experience of Light. The PL is Electromagnetic Energy, the NL is Neural Activity in the Visual areas, and the CL is the Thing that we actually Experience.
The safe answer, as to the nature of CL, is that it is an unknown Phenomenon at this point in time. However, we might draw our CL from a shared reservoir of CL that is already in CSp. In this way, we would acquire our CL from CSp. Alternatively, I might create my own CL and every other person on the planet might create their own CL. This would mean that we all have our own Personal CL (acquired or created) that we use to guide us while moving around in the world. No one sees PL but only their own Personal CL. I have my Light, you have your Light, we all have our own Light. We don't really See in the way we think we do, rather we examine our CL to determine what we are looking at. So instead of asking the question: "What do you see?", we should ask: "What does your CL show you?".
Comprehending this CL is the Prize. It is a Thing-In-Itself that we need to understand. It is a Phenomenon that exists in the Manifest Universe that Science does not yet know how to handle. What is that High-Def, Multi-Colored, CL Visual Experience that floats in front of our faces? In order to completely Experience this CL you must think about it Deeply. Eventually, you might realize something amazing. But do not be discouraged at this early point because the rest of this website is written to help you find the Prize.
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Connectism Emphasizes The Connection Perspective
I would like to review the term Connectism that was previously introduced. Connectism provides a refreshing Connection Perspective with respect to Conscious Experience. The Inter Mind (IM) is the central connecting component within Connectism. The Physical Mind (PM) is Connected to the IM and the IM is Connected to the Conscious Mind (CM). So Connectism is actually a Triple Mind perspective. Connectism fully conforms to the Inter Mind Model (IMM).
The Physicalist Perspective is that Consciousness is somehow located in the Neurons or is an Emergent Property of Neural Activity. This was a reasonable assumption, given that Conscious Activity is Correlated with Neural Activity. But Science has no Theory, Hypothesis, or even a Speculation about how Consciousness could be in the Neurons or an Emergent Property. Science has not been able to show for example, how something like the Experience of Redness is some kind of effect of Neural Activity. In fact, the more you think about the Redness Experience and then think about Neural Activity, the less likely it seems that the Redness Experience is actually some sort of Neural Activity. Science has tried in vain for a hundred years to figure this out. If the Experience of Redness actually was in the Neurons, Science would have had a lot to say about it by now. Something has got to be wrong with the Physicalist Perspective on the problem. Science needs to adopt the new 21st Century Connectist Perspective and put aside the outdated last Century Physicalist Perspective.
The IMM can accommodate Consciousness as being in the Neurons or an Emergent Property, but it can also accommodate other concepts of Consciousness. The IMM is structurally a Connection Model. These Connections might be conceptual where all three Minds are actually in the Neurons or an Emergent Property. But these Connections might have more reality to them where the PM, the IM, and the CM are separate things. I will Speculate that the situation is more like the latter than the former. In that case the PM, which is in Physical Space (PSp), uses the IM to create a Connection to the CM, which is in Conscious Space (CSp). The important Perspective change here is that the PM is Connected to the CM, rather than assuming that the PM contains the CM as part of the PM. This allows the CM to be a thing in itself existing in it’s own CSp. This is called Connectism.
Remember that the greatest Minds in Science have tried to show that Consciousness is in the Neurons, but they have come up with Zero explanations for how it could happen. It could be said that the greatest Minds of Science have concluded that it is Inconceivable how Consciousness actually is in the Neurons, or is a result of Neural Activity, or is Emergent from the Neurons. The obvious realization is to conclude that Consciousness is not in the Neurons. It can be speculated that Consciousness is Connected to the Neurons. With Connectism it is not necessary, at first, to understand Consciousness itself but only to understand the Connection mechanism. With Physicalism the whole concept of Consciousness must be understood and Explained as being somehow in the Neurons. There is no easier Connection mechanism to understand with Physicalism.
The inability of Science to solve the problem of Consciousness is the main driver for looking at other Perspectives. The Physicalist insistence that Consciousness is in the Neurons or is just some artifact of Neural Activity is getting us nowhere. Not only is Science unable to Explain Consciousness as Neural Activity, it is also unable to provide the first clue as to what something like the Experience of Redness actually is. Things like Redness, the Standard A Tone, and the Salty Taste, are Conscious Experiences. These kinds of Conscious Experiences are some sort of Phenomena that exist in the Reality of the Manifest Universe, but they are in a Category of Phenomena that Science cannot yet explain. It is therefore Sensible and Logical to Speculate a place for them to exist. This of Course is CSp.
Science is also unable to explain a thing like Desire driven Volition. Desire is a Conscious Experience that can usually be satisfied by an action in PSp that achieves the Desire. This is almost always accomplished by movements of the muscles in PSp. It is completely Sensible and Logical that we place the Desire in the CM which is in CSp and speculate that the CM can affect the PM to produce the muscle movements that satisfy the Conscious Desire. We will further specify that the CM works through the IM to generate these Signals in the PM that control the muscles. So, there are Conscious Experience Signals that go from the PM to the CM through the IM and there are also Conscious Desire driven movement Signals that go from the CM through the IM to the PM in the opposite direction. The Machine Consciousness Experiments propose various configurations of Electronics that might be sensitive to Desire driven Volition from a CM in CSp.
Separating the CM from the PM allows a whole new Perspective for understanding various operational aspects of Consciousness. Some previous experimental deductions and conclusions about Consciousness, using the Physicalist Perspective, may have to be overturned when using this new Perspective. For example, this separation provides a new way of understanding the effect of Anesthesia. With the old Perspective the reasoning was like this: The Neural Activity was halted and Consciousness seemed to also be halted, so therefore Consciousness must be in the Neurons. With the new Perspective the reasoning would be: The Neural Activity was halted and Consciousness seemed to be halted, so therefore the Connection must have been interrupted. With this new Perspective, Consciousness itself was not halted but rather the Connection from the PM to the CM was interrupted. We don't know what the CM does during an interruption. But since Anesthesia can halt Memory operations, the PM will not have been able to save any Memories of the interruption, that could be accessed by the CM after the Connection is reestablished.
The old Physicalist assumptions about how PM injuries affect Consciousness will have new interpretations using the Connection Perspective. After a PM injury, the Connections between the PM and the CM can be disrupted. Memories may be difficult to retrieve, Volitional control of the body may become erratic, and the Personality might even be changed. But these are PM degradations and not CM degradations. The CM will not be affected because the CM is connected through the IM to the PM. The IM protects and buffers the CM from PM damages. The CM will effectively be Connected to something different after a PM injury. The CM will try to do the best it can with whatever PM it is Connected to, regardless of the PM degenerations that exist.
Split Brain experiments are perceptual tests performed on Patients whose Corpus Callosums have been cut, usually to relieve the occurrence of Epileptic Seizures. The Corpus Callosum connects the two sides of the Brain together. The modern accepted results from Split Brain experiments have revealed that, although there are two separate Perceptual Streams each processed by different sides of the Brain, the Patient still feels like one integrated Person. There are not two separate Consciousnesses. These Patients feel normal, although they do have some perceptual and cognitive degradations. They can operate in society without other people noticing anything different. They can even drive cars. The big question in more recent times is how could they feel like Single Persons and how can they operate in society as well as they do? Connectism answers this question. It is because an IM has developed that Connects to both sides of the Brain. The IM has not been cut, but only the Physical Brain has been altered. The IM is probably where the integration of the Person happens.
This separation of CM from PM also presents a new Perspective for thinking about the Sub-CM versus the CM. It is logical to speculate that the Sub-CM is completely implemented in the PM. Many of the actions we do every day are controlled by Sub-Conscious Brain Programs that run in the background, out of view of our Conscious awareness. The IM needs to make the Processing decisions for which of the Activities in the PM should be Translated into Conscious Experiences. The IM implements the Binding Processing necessary to create a usable Conscious Experience of the External world for the CM to operate in. It would be very confusing and inefficient if the IM had to Translate all Neural Activity, including the Background Brain Programs, into Conscious Experiences. There has always been an intuition that there was a separate CM and Sub-CM. It is now easy to see how this PM to CM separation logically and naturally predicts a Sub-CM concept separate from the CM. Amazingly, we have to conclude that the whole PM (Brain) is the Sub-CM. There is no part of the PM that is Conscious, but rather, the PM Connects to the Consciousness of a CM. I believe that Connectism is the only theory of Consciousness that can predict the Sub-CM.
There are much faster things and slower things than our Consciousness. The CM Experience of the world is as fast as the PM will allow. We can not perceive a speeding bullet because it is faster than the PM can operate. Some people will argue that this means Consciousness is a PM limited phenomenon and proves that Consciousness IS the PM and nothing more. But this Physicalist assumption is Naive. This does not mean the CM itself is limited, but just that when the CM is correlating with a PM, it is limited to what the PM can do. Remember that the Connectist view considers the PM as just a Tool that the CM uses. The CM might be capable of much more and since I am suggesting that the CM is not even in PSp but in CSp we don’t know what the limits really are. We may be very surprised by our limitations someday after we shed our Sluggish Human Brains and transfer our CMs to artificial versions of a Brain.
If a person is blind from birth and they never Experience CL then what does this tell us!? I bring this up because the Physicalists will insist that this congenital lack of Sight is somehow proof that the Visual Experience is purely some kind of PM process. But the Connectist explanation of all this is that it is basically a developmental problem where if particular Neurons are not being stimulated or can not be stimulated then the IM connection from the PM to the CM might never develop for these Neurons. So no CL will ever be Experienced. However, it is known that sighted people can Experience Physical Sound (PS) as CL and PL as Conscious Sound (CS). This can happen with certain drugs and some people just naturally have these sensory cross connections. Maybe congenitally Blind people incorporate CL into their CS perceptions. They would never know that they are experiencing CL because it would be correlated with PS events. The upshot of all this is that it is Naive to jump to Physicalist conclusions when the Connectist point of view is equally Plausible and Explanatory.
We know that the world, including our PMs, is made out of chemicals. We also think that chemicals are not conscious. There is no reason to believe that when chemicals are arranged in a particular way that some kind of magic occurs to enable consciousness in those chemicals. A Neuron is a chemical electrical thing that in and of itself is not Conscious, or Alive. It is no more Alive than a transistor is Alive. A Neuron is part of the Human machine. Can an LCD display be used by some IM or CM to produce a CL Scene of what is on the screen? What substance or material besides Neurons can be used to connect with an IM? If the PM creates Consciousness through some PSp process then we should be able to intercept the CL Scene that the CM is experiencing and display it on a computer monitor using known concepts from Science. If Consciousness is not a PSp process then we will need Science to develop new concepts before it can be intercepted and displayed. It might only exist in CSp. These are the kinds of speculations that the Connection Perspective enables. You would never be able to imagine anything like this using the Physicalist Perspective.
While Dreaming our whole sense of Reality comes from our PMs, and not from the outside world. The CM seems very susceptible to believing alternate Realities without questions when certain Reality Check Points in the PM are turned off. Weird scenes and situations do not seem unusual. Without External Inputs, the PM and CM seem pretty dumb when it comes to logical thinking. Maybe the purpose of sleep is to let the CM detach for a while. Sleep is to let the IM and CM rest (as well as the PM). Maybe the CM needs to get away from the PM every now and then. That’s what Dreams are for. That's why we don't remember most of our Dreams. Dreams are for the CM not the PM. This is a whole new angle on Sleep that could not be realized with the Physicalist Perspective. Of course Sleep is also necessary for our Brains to reorganize the chemicals that were used during the Neural Activity of the day.
Does the shape of the Brain say anything about the Connection Perspective? Interconnecting axons take up the bulk of the space inside the Brain (the white matter). The Conscious Experience part of the Brain consists of a thin layer of Neurons on the outer surface of the Brain (the gray matter). This is of course the Cortex. All Experience seems to be correlated with Neural Activity in specific Areas of the Cortex. Maybe it is easier for the IM to Monitor and Connect to the Brain given that kind of surface configuration. Of course there are some large folds to the cortex, but it is essentially a surface structure. When you think about all those distinct functional Experiential Areas that make up the Cortex, it just looks like it must be some kind of Interface to some next Processing stage. But this is just a speculation. The only explanation from Brain Physiology is that it is a surface on the exterior of the Brain in order to promote cooling. But what if there is more to it than that?
We can now speculate that at the developmental level we will have the PM developing in PSp and a separate CM developing in CSp. There is also an IM which is developing the Connections between the PM and the CM. The CM is no longer trapped in the PM which is in PSp. The CM now has a separate development and existence in CSp. Maybe an IM, along with a CM, inhabits
and uses a PM from conception. The IM and CM grow as a particular PM grows. First there is only one Neuron, then there are two, then
three, and four, and so on until a fully formed PM, IM, and CM are produced. Note that maybe the IM will only need to connect with the Cortical Areas on the surface of the PM. With regard to memory, it is thought
that it is possible that the recognition of objects and faces comes down to one
Neuron firing. With this theory, the IM must know what a particular Neuron means when it fires in
order to send a feeling of Recognition to a CM. On the other hand, if Memory has a more distributed configuration among many Neurons involving feedback and feedforward connections, then the IM will need to interpret the Memory using that more complicated activity.
Could an IM attach to a fully formed PM and just start using it? Or does an IM need to grow as a PM grows in order to properly use it? I will speculate that there probably is a developmental aspect involved in PM, IM, and CM connections. The act of growing from a single Neuron might be absolutely necessary for an IM and CM to properly connect. The IM might eventually be in contact with every Neuron in the PM. Maybe the only way an IM can be in control of billions of Neurons is if, as the PM slowly develops, the IM learns how to use each Neuron. It is not known how the IM learns the meaning of any particular Neuron that is firing. The PM and the IM might have built in mechanisms that facilitate the interconnection process. Maybe individual types of Neurons have some sort of chemical signatures that the IM can read in order to know what Conscious Experiences to produce. This seems to predict that the IM must have some innate ability to operate with Neurons.
We can make some statements about things that are in the CM and things that are in the PM. For example, the CM is where the Experiences of Redness, the Standard A Tone, and the Salty Taste are located. The CM is also where the Conscious Self is located. Examples of things that are located in the PM are Memory, Pattern Recognition, Eye Convergence/Tracking, and Balance.
It is time for Science to think more outside the Box with regard to Consciousness, and hopefully this Connection Perspective will inspire Research in new directions that might someday solve the Problem of Consciousness.
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Physical Space Properties And Conscious Space Properties
Let us define Physical Space (PSp) as the Place where all Physical Phenomena happens. When we say PSp, we mean the Space itself plus all the Physical Phenomena. Energy, Forces, and Matter exist in PSp. Energy means Electromagnetic Energy. The Energy, Forces, and Matter interact with each other in very specific ways that Science can explain and predict using Mathematics. But Science does not understand what the Energy, Forces, and Matter actually are. There is some good reason to believe that Matter is made out of Energy, but that does not really help us understand What It Is. Now let us define Conscious Space (CSp) as the Place where all Conscious Phenomena (Conscious Experience) happens. When we say CSp we mean the Space itself plus all the Conscious Phenomena. It does not appear that the different Conscious Phenomena interact with each other, so there is no way to use Mathematics in Conscious Space. It could be that Mathematics is exclusively for Physical Space and not for Conscious Space. Science has not been able to develop ways to explain and predict Conscious Phenomena, and Science does not understand what Conscious Phenomena actually are. We have to accept that Science does not know the What It Is of PSp, and Science does not know the What It Is of CSp. The conclusion with Connectism is that PSp, and CSp, are separate fundamental aspects of reality. They are two separate and distinct Phenomena Spaces. PSp, does not produce CSp as in Physicalism, and CSp does not produce PSp, as in Idealism. But it appears that CSp can interact with PSp as in Biological entities and, as we predict, someday in Machine entities. It also appears that PSp and CSp have their own separate and unique properties.
Physical Red Light has Wavelength as a property and Conscious Red Light has Redness as a property. Physical Red Light does not have Redness as a property and Conscious Red Light does not have Wavelength as a property. Physical Red Light and Conscious Red Light are two different things. Physical Red Light is in PSp and Conscious Red Light is in CSp. The Brain receives Physical Red Light at the Retina which initiates the Neural Activity that leads to the Experience of Conscious Red Light. We do not know how this transformation from Physical Red Light to Conscious Red Light happens yet, but we know that the Conscious Red Light is a Surrogate for the Physical Red Light. This Surrogate is what we actually Experience in our Conscious Minds (CMs). This is true for all the other millions of possible Colors and so for Light in general. The Conscious Light (CL) is something different than the Physical Light (PL). You have never Seen PL. You are so used to Seeing your CL that you mistakenly think that the PL looks like that in some way.
We commonly think that Redness is a property of Physical Red Light but it is only a property of Conscious Red Light. The real Physical Red Light does not Look like anything. So here we have a Thing, the Conscious Red Light, that has a property that is purely a Conscious property. This Redness property must be Explained. It is not an Illusion but rather it is a property of a Conscious phenomenon. So a Conscious phenomenon can have properties. We just do not know how to analyze them yet.
The Conscious Red Light can be interpreted as a type of input Data that the CM can process. The Conscious Red Light is input Data for the CM in a similar way to how the hex number 00FF0000 is input Data for a Computer. A CM Detects Physical Red Light when it receives a Conscious Red Experience. A Computer Detects Physical Red Light when it receives the 00FF0000 hex number. The Conscious Red Light and the hex number 00FF0000 are Surrogates for the Physical Red Light.
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Exploring The Human Conscious Light Screen
We do not See things in the external World, but rather we Detect things by using internal Conscious processes that we are born with. We all have a personal Conscious Light Screen (CLS) that we use to detect what is happening in the external World. All the Conscious Light of your Visual Experience is painted onto that Screen. If we try to describe where this CLS is located it seems to be embedded in the front of our faces in some way. The CLS is vaguely horizontally rectangular with ambiguous edges that are hard to locate exactly. The screen seems to fade into nonexistence (not even Blackness) beyond the borders. But wherever you look, that screen is there showing you with Conscious Light what is in the scene you are looking at.
To understand this better close your eyes and observe what you See. At first there may be various After Images that represent remnants of what you were looking at, but eventually these fade away. What is left is not totally black. Note that you might have to put your hand over your eyes if you are in a bright place in order to cut off external Light from leaking through your eyelids. Most people will notice a background that has a vague grainy noise almost like the video snow noise that appeared on old analog TVs. However, this Noise is less distinct and appears to be changing much more slowly than the TV Noise. This Noise is referred to as the Visual Dark Noise when Retinal and Cortical Activity are measured using instrumentation. It is due to random Retinal and Cortical firings. But we are not making Physical Measurements, instead we are being aware of our Correlated Conscious Experience of the Visual Dark Noise. We are Experiencing the Conscious Light which is on the Dark background. Let us call this Conscious Light Experience, the Conscious Light Noise (CLN). CLN really is the background noise in your Visual detection system. Most people easily perceive that this CLN, and possible After Images, are close to the front of their faces. If you move your head around, you will See the CLN and After Images move around with your head, which keeps them in front of your face. If you move your eyes up, down, left, or right, the CLN and After Images will seem to be displaced a little in those directions, but will still basically be located in front of your face. It is interesting to note that After Images will always look close, even if the scene element that caused the After Image is far away. Now you know where your CLS is located. Of course this is probably only an apparent Location because the CLS is a Conscious Mind phenomenon and is not constructed from any Physical Material that can be Located anywhere. It could be a Million miles away. However, it sure seems to be Embedded in the front of our faces.
When you open your eyes the scene that you are looking at is painted onto your CLS and it is harder to perceive that the Conscious Light making up the image is still close to your face. Your Visual system tries to give you the illusion that there are things that are far away and things that are close. If you look through only one eye the depth illusion is less pronounced. But the Conscious Light that the scene is painted with is actually still located close to your face and is at the same distance as the CLN. The illusion of distance is absolutely necessary for moving around in the World.
Our Visual Experience is optimized to show, in great detail, what is in the center of the Scene we are looking at, but we notice increasing ambiguity farther from the center. We can easily move our eyes around to capture the full detail of any Scene we are looking at and produce what is in effect a High Definition, Wide Screen, Multi Color, presentation on our CLSs for our Conscious Minds (CMs) to Experience.
It should be mentioned that the things and scenes you See while Dreaming are painted onto your CLS. If you try to imagine some object, you will see a grainy, hazy, version of that object painted onto your CLS. If you rub your eyes, the Lights that you might See are painted onto your CLS.
The CLS is a general purpose Visual Display Device for all Conscious beings, whether Human or Animal. The Light that is painted onto your CLS is your Light. We walk around all day long looking at our CLSs which are embedded in the front of our faces. We cannot See the CLSs of other people but if we could it would be as if everyone was wearing Virtual Reality goggles. But instead of goggles it would be Conscious Light Screens. We think we are Seeing the external World directly but we (our Conscious Minds) are always just looking (in some Conscious way) at our own CLSs.
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An Interesting Conclusion About Light And Sound
The previous arguments, I hope, have shown that the Conscious Light (CL) and Conscious Sound (CS) are not in the Physical Mind (PM), so the Conscious Experience of these things must be manufactured somewhere in the Inter Mind (IM) to Conscious Mind (CM) segment of the Inter Mind Model (IMM). But even if someday the CL and CS are actually found to "Be In the Neurons" or "Emerge From the Neurons" it is still true that they are inside us and part of what we are. We Detect the External World using our Internal CL and CS. This CL and CS are types of Data that our Internal CMs use to navigate around in External Physical Space (PSp).
In fact, it is not known what the CL and CS actually are. We each might create our own CL and CS through processes in the IM and CM that Science does not understand yet. But, it could be the case that our CMs simply use the CL and CS that has always existed in Conscious Space (CSp). We can then say that the CL and CS are separate from our CMs. But when we use that CL or CS, we must bring it into our CMs where it becomes an acquired part of what we are. If that CL and CS are created or acquired Internal to us then we can only conclude that WE ARE that CL and CS. I can say that I am my Light and I am my Sound with the same validity as I can say that I am my Arm and I am my Leg. It would seem that we are Beings of Light and Beings of Sound. This is a Logical Engineering and Scientific realization. This is also a Fantastic realization. Let's say it again: WE ARE the Light and the Sound that we have always Experienced. The IM must paint that beautifully colorized high definition CL Scene onto some Conscious vaguely rectangular screen that we perceive as floating in front of our faces. The IM must also create that surround sound CS Scene that seems to be all around us.
But the IM that does all that is also part of what we are. Maybe the PM (and the whole Physical Body) are just one component of what we are. Maybe our IM and CM components are really the larger part and the most important aspect of what we are. Our Physical differences become irrelevant because we are all made out of the same Conscious stuff in CSp. Note that the Experience of Light and Sound is emphasized in these arguments but all the Conscious Experiences: Taste, Smell, Touch, Love, Hate, Pleasure, Pain, etc. are Experienced in the CM not in the PM. There will be Neural Correlates in the PM but the eventual Experience is in the CM. Similar to the Light and the Sound, we can say that we also ARE the Taste, Smell, and Touch Experiences. These Experiences are part of what we are. Wise guys will notice that this means we ARE the Smell Experience of our own Farts! This is not as glamorous as being the Light, but it is the Reality.
This logically brings us to the thought that everything we Know and Experience has always been completely in CSp, and not in PSp. Our Conscious Existence is merely Connected to PSp and to our Physical Bodies. We can now understand that our Physical Bodies are not where our Conscious Existences are located. As Conscious Entities, we live in CSp. Surprisingly, we discover that we are not Just Dust In The Wind after all.
Saying that we are the CL immediately makes you think about Jesus saying that he was the Light of the World. You should not confuse this Religious proposition with what the IMM is saying. Any mainstream interpretation of the "Jesus Light of the World" statement will tell you that the Light simply means the Truth. The Gnostic gospels however seem to say that the Light is some kind of unspecified Inner Spiritual Light. They appear to be Experiencing some Extra kind of Light beyond the CL of normal Seeing. What Light could that be? Nobody knows, but it does sound like it could be related to the CL as described on this website. Also, I do not believe Jesus or the Gnostics have ever said that they are the Sound of the World. They only seem to talk about Light. All I can say is that the IMM specifies that we are literally the CL and CS that our CMs Experience. The CL, the CS, and the CM are Conscious things in CSp. We are Conscious things in CSp and we are Connected to Unconscious things in PSp.
We know the Physical Body and PM disappear, but since the CM seems like it is something outside of PSp, the logical deduction that this Conscious aspect of our being might survive after Death is a tantalizing possibility. This might sound like an old proposition from Religion, but the CM is not anything like the classic religious Soul concept. The CM is not some translucent version of your Physical Body, but rather it is something different than your Physical Body. We do not know what pure Conscious existence will be like when the CM is detached from the PM.
As a final thought, what if the collection of possible Conscious Experiences that we have is limited to what the Physical Body can access. Maybe there are an unlimited variety of other types of Conscious Experiences that exist in CSp that we cannot even imagine right now. Maybe after we detach from the Physical Body we will be able to tap into this unlimited resource of new Conscious Experiences.
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What Should We And Can We Do Next?
The Knowledge that we exist as Conscious Experiences is a fantastic Realization. We are the Conscious Light (CL), the Conscious Sound (CS), and all the other possible Conscious Experiences. I particularly like to concentrate my studies on the CL. So now that we understand that this CL is part of what we ARE, what should we do next to further explore and understand this Phenomenon? The CL is a Phenomenon that exists in the Universe. CL is not studied by Science, because Scientists have not found a way to study it. Scientists cannot directly Measure it because there are no CL detectors, and Scientists do not know how to design such detectors. Instead, Scientists have been forced to at least ignore CL, and at worst to completely deny the existence of CL. Because of this unscientific behavior, Consciousness remains a huge Skeleton In The Closet for Science. This Gap in understanding Conscious Experience is, and should be, an Embarrassment for Science. Not because Science cannot Explain it, but because Science is trying to hide and cover up the fact that Science cannot Explain it. It is actually very disappointing to me that this is the case.
For now, we will each have to be satisfied with studying our own individual CL Phenomenon. Try to look at a scene in the External World with the purpose of being aware of the CL that the Visual Experience is constructed from. Be aware that you are not seeing the actual External objects, but rather you are Experiencing the CL that was created by your Mind. If we all periodically do this then maybe, just maybe, some smart Mind will eventually be able to advance our understanding of CL. I hope this will at least keep the fact of the existence of CL in the collective awareness of the Scientific community.
Does the knowledge of our Existence as CL give us any kind of advantage while operating in the Physical World? Some people have wondered if this knowledge can give us some sort of Super Power? Could it facilitate an ESP ability that we did not have? For example, maybe when we practice awareness of our CL we will develop the ability to experience the CL of other people. It is tempting to wonder if Remote Viewing might be enabled by this knowledge? For me the realization of CL has been an Existential surprise that came out of my quest to understand how we See. For me the Super Power, if you can call it that, is the fact of Knowing the truth about the Existence of CL. Knowing that CL exists is the Prize! The benefit of this Knowledge might only be for Conscious Space existence and not for Physical Space existence. With Conscious Experience, all speculations must remain on the table.
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Recapping The Three Main Lines Of Thought
The following sections will further develop the three main lines of thought that have been introduced above. You will:
1) Discover that you have your own Personal Light, which we call Conscious Light (CL). Amazingly, you will learn how that Light is part of what You Are. This could be the most important thing you will ever realize about your own Consciousness and Light:
We have never seen any actual object that exists in Physical Space (PSp). We do not "See" but rather we "Detect" objects. We might think we see the Physical Light (PL) reflected from objects even if we do not see the objects themselves. But it is even worse than that because we do not really see the PL either. The Light that we have always seen is CL not PL. We Detect the PL using CL as a Surrogate. We can say that the Physical Mind (PM) exists and lives in PSp and the Conscious Mind (CM) exists and lives in Conscious Space (CSp) We can also say that the CL is a kind of Data that the CM processor uses to view the World and to move around in that World. In the sections ahead, there will be logic and evidence that will enable you to better understand that the CL is inside your CM, which is inside you, and is therefore part of what YOU ARE!
2) Learn how all Theories of Consciousness must conform to the Inter Mind Model (IMM) of Consciousness:
The IMM is Neutral with regard to what the Inter Mind (IM) and the CM actually are. This will be resolved by future Research and Discovery. Remember, the IMM is a Framework and is not itself a Theory. All Theories of Consciousness must show what an IM would be within the Theory. The IM is the interconnecting Processing stage where the Neural Activity is converted to Conscious Experience. It could be the case that the IM is found to be an aspect of the PM or an aspect of the CM or an aspect of both. If the Physicalists/Materialists are right then the IM and the CM are both aspects of the PM. The important thing is that this IM functionality must exist somewhere, somehow, in any Theory of Consciousness. If a Theory cannot Explain how the Neural Activity in the PM produces the Conscious Experience in the CM then the Theory is not a Theory about Conscious Experience and therefore it is not a Theory about Consciousness.
3) Learn how Connectism is the Key to understanding Consciousness:
The concept of Connectism and the Connection Perspective will be further developed in the upcoming sections. As an Engineer, I will use Systems Engineering and Signal Processing arguments to show how the CM is Logically Connected, through the IM, to the Neurons in the PM. Connectism introduces a Perspective change that will someday, I believe, lead to a Logical Theory of Conscious Experience that will show that the IM does Exist, and will Scientifically Explain what the IM is. If the Explanation can be accomplished with the known Science of today then that would be great, but it is anticipated that Science might need a "New Science" in order to accomplish this. Eventually, when Science is able to understand Consciousness and the IM, the design of Conscious Machines will be possible. But even before a full understanding is obtained, it is still conceivable to design certain types of Machine Consciousness Experiments, as will be shown.
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Please Contact Light Support To Discuss Your Progress
This is a good point in the text to pause and for me to ask: How are you progressing with the concept of Conscious Light? When you become able to understand that Conscious Light is a real Phenomenon that Exists in the Universe, then you will have won the Prize. You do not need to understand what it is at a Deep level, but just that it does Exist. I would like to help you understand this. The special email below is setup to specifically deal with Support questions and comments about Conscious Light. Please respond if you understand Conscious Light or if you do not. The responses will become part of a Survey for which I will eventually post totals.
If you are having difficulty understanding exactly what Conscious Light is, then you are not alone. Please do not give up. Please ask a question about the concept of Conscious Light. It is ok to say "I just don't get it". Please indicate at which point in the above sections you started having difficulties. I will do my best to help you find the Prize.
If you do understand Conscious Light then you completely understand and can truthfully say: I have My Light, You Have Your Light, We all Have Our Own Light. (Hint: This is not about Beer.) If you do understand Conscious Light, please indicate how the presentation could be improved or make any other Comments about Conscious Light. Also, please let me know if you think Conscious Light is one of the Coolest concepts you have ever encountered. Conversely, let me know if it does not seem like such a big deal for you.
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ADVANCED CONCEPTS (Using The Inter Mind Model):
Primacy Of Consciousness
The Scientific view of Consciousness is that it is some kind of byproduct of Neural Activity in the Brain. Most Scientists believe that Consciousness is not very important and some go so far as to say that it is just an Illusion with no real purpose. Philosophers have invented the Philosophical Zombie as a tool for thinking about Consciousness or the lack of Consciousness. The P-Zombie has the same Physical body and brain except that the Conscious aspect is removed. The expectation is that the remaining Neural Activity is all that is needed. They think that the P-Zombie will be able to live in and interact with the World just like anyone else that has a Conscious aspect.
But from the Inter Mind Model (IMM) point of view the P-Zombie would be blind and would not be able to interact with the World. The Inter Mind (IM) and the Conscious Mind (CM) are further processing stages that are absolutely necessary for Sight. Neural Activity is not enough. All we know about Seeing is through Conscious Experience. We Experience the Conscious Light (CL) that's inside us. If you take away the CL Experience, what is left? Blind Neural Activity is all you have. This Blind Neural Activity can reveal some Unconscious primitive aspects of Visual Perception, as happens with Blind Sight, but you will not actually See anything. A person with only Blind Sight would be extremely Visually Handicapped. The Primacy of the CL Experience for Sight is undeniable, and the same is true for every other Conscious Experience that you have. You do not know anything about the Physical World except that which you obtain through your own internal Conscious Experiences.
The Evolution of life on this Planet is probably directly driven by Conscious Experience. Any organism that Experiences Pleasure will seek out that Pleasure. Any organism that Experiences Pain will try to avoid that Pain. Without the existence of these basic Conscious Experiences there would be no motivation for any organism to react. There is nothing like a little Pain to motivate you to adjust what you are doing. This applies to simple organisms and to Humans. We must conclude that Evolution is not a completely Mindless, Bio Electrical Chemical, DNA Mutating, Environmentally Influenced process. Rather, Evolution is driven by a combination of primitive Conscious Desires, Bio Electrical Chemical processes, Random DNA Mutations, and Environmental Influences. Using this perspective we might be able to say that Evolution does not even exist as a Thing in Itself, but rather Evolution is just an Emergent Property of the Action of Consciousness in the Universe. This of course implies that Conscious Experience might actually be more important than Bio Electrical Chemistry, DNA Mutations, and Environmental processes in Evolution.
Since Science is unable to say what Consciousness is we can and should speculate what it could be and how it could have developed. We can, for example, speculate that Consciousness might have existed prior to the Big Bang and might have even been the cause of the Big Bang. The Universe might have been created by Consciousness and for Consciousness. We can also speculate that the ultimate goal of Physical Evolution is to provide a better and better host for Consciousness development. We can speculate that maybe the very Existence of the Physical Universe is pointless without Consciousness. Maybe the Physical Body is just some sort of incubator for the Conscious Mind (CM) and the Conscious Mind (CM) is the more important part. Maybe the Physical Mind (PM) creates a Connection to Conscious Space (CSp) in order to create a CM in that CSp. The CM would then strictly exist only in that CSp. All speculations are still on the table. Remember that the only thing we know about the Physical Universe is through our Conscious Experiences. Conscious Experiences are Primary to what we are.
Scientists need to find a way to understand and study Consciousness itself, and not just the Neural Correlates of Consciousness. A good place to start is to ask the question: What is Redness? Scientists need to think more Deeply about what something like Redness could be. It is not an Illusion. Saying it is Information or Computations is completely Incoherent. Scientists have to stop hiding their inability to study Consciousness by trying to minimize its importance. The Primacy of Consciousness must be understood.
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What Is And Where Is Conscious Space?
Evidence has been presented to show that the Conscious Mind (CM) is a separate kind of Phenomenon from any other known Phenomenon of Science. This CM Phenomenon does not seem to exist in Physical Space (PSp), so it is therefore logical to propose that there is a place where the CM exists, and call it Conscious Space (CSp). We can only Speculate about the existence of CSp because of the existence of the CM. Beyond that realization it is not known What CSp could be. But Conscious Space is not as vague as you might think when you consider it from the point of view of being the place where Conscious Experiences happen. This place should be very familiar and understandable to anyone that has ever had a Conscious Experience. So, in a way we already know What CSp is. We are just unable put it into any kind of PSp context.
Biological Brains in PSp are not Conscious in and of themselves. Consciousness does not Emerge from Biological Brains but rather Consciousness connects to Biological Brains. Also, Computers in PSp are not Conscious in and of themselves. Consciousness does not Emerge from Computations, Information, or Complexity in PSp. Consciousness must be connected to Computers in a similar way that it is connected to Biological Brains. Nothing in PSp has the property of Consciousness. Consciousness only exists in CSp. When Consciousness connects to a Physical Thing (Brain, Computer, etc.) it cannot be said that the Thing has become Conscious. The Consciousness is still always in CSp. There is exactly Zero Consciousness in PSp.
It should be emphasized that CSp is not like any kind of PSp so it will be impossible to try to designate Where it is. It might be everywhere or it might be nowhere relative to PSp. Since CSp is not like any PSp we can Speculate that CSp has no dimensions of Distance, Location, or Time. But since it is Where your CM is, it is Where you are and Where you have always been.
Consciousness will appear to take on the dimensionality of the PSp it is connected to, so it will be 3D in our case. In a 4D PSp, Consciousness would appear to take on a 4D character in order to connect to it. But Consciousness itself is Dimensionless and Timeless. Consciousness is not part of PSp. Consciousness only Connects with PSp. How the Connection is made is not known at this time. Before the Big Bang, Consciousness was There. After the Big Crunch, or other dissolution of the Universe, Consciousness will still be There. Consciousness is not Physical and cannot be destroyed. CSp is indestructible but a PSp will always get destroyed. A PSp might just be a Playground for CMs.
CSp is a conceptual container for the CM and for Conscious Experience of all kinds. If no concept such as CSp existed then the CM and Conscious Experience would have to awkwardly float disembodied out in PSp somehow, because they cannot be found in the Physical Mind (PM), which is the Brain. So it is only logical to Speculate that there is such a CSp for these Conscious Phenomena to exist in. If someday Science discovers and can Explain how the CM and Conscious Experience are completely inside the PM then that would solve the Hard Problem of Consciousness. But that day has not arrived yet.
Given that there is PSp and we can conceptualize a separate CSp, the question will arise as to how these two Spaces can interact with each other. For example, the CM must be able to influence the PM in order to implement Conscious Volition. And going in the other direction, the PM must be able to influence the CM in order to implement Conscious Experience. This leads to the logical conclusion that there must be some kind of Inter Mind (IM) that facilitates these interactions. This IM must use some knowable, if not yet known, principles to make the Connection. It is not known what these principles could be, but an obvious place to search for answers is through Quantum Mechanical principles. It can only be Speculated that principles like the Quantum Tunneling effect and the more hypothetical Quantum Fluctuation phenomenon might play a role in connecting the PM to the CM, and therefore PSp to CSp.
Maybe Dark Matter or Dark Energy, which might be related to the phenomenon of Quantum Fluctuations, will eventually be shown to have something to do with Consciousness and the IM. We just do not know yet so all options must be left on the table.
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Understanding The Dimensionlessness Of Conscious Space
The Dimensionlessness of Conscious Space probably needs more discussion. The premise that we start with is that before The Beginning there was Absolute Nothing. There was no Matter and there was no Energy (and maybe therefore no Quantum Fields), and there was no Space. Matter is made out of Energy but it is still useful to think of them as separate things. The No Space part of this is the most difficult to grasp. We naturally think of Space as an ever present background reality that infinitely extends out in three dimensions. It boggles the mind to try to think of no Space. But we can conceive of other Spaces than our 3 dimensional Space. So our Space could have been a 4 dimensional Space for example. A 4 dimensional Space is a very different Thing than a 3 dimensional Space. The point is that if Space can be different Things then Space is a Thing. And like all Things we conclude that Space can exist or not exist. It is not the always present background reality that we assume it is. Space is always a relationship between Physical Objects. We could ask if Space even really exists as a Physical Phenomenon in a Universe. If a Universe consists of 3 dimensional Objects then the Space will apparently be 3 dimensional. Similarly, if a Universe consists of 4 dimensional Objects then the Space will apparently be 4 dimensional. However, the 3 dimensionality or the 4 dimensionality of the Space is really only a relative relationship among the Objects. We begin to suspect that without Physical Objects, Space does not even make sense. In fact, maybe there is no such thing as an independently existing Space, but rather Space is some kind of property of Physical Matter. Just Riffing a little here with this last sentence.
There are no Absolute Locations in Space, because there is no Zero reference point. There are only Relative distances between Objects in Space. So a Location for anything must be Relative to something else. Locations do not even make sense if there are no Physical Objects. If there is only One Object in the Universe, we can ask the question: Where is it? It cannot have a Relative Location to any other Object. If the Object moves to a new location: Where is it? There would not be a way to measure the difference of the new location to the original location. Did it move a Foot, a Mile, or a Light Year? There would also be no way to know if the Object is moving or is stationary. If there were any other Object in the Universe (Observers do not count as other Objects) we might be able to figure out the new Location Relative to the other Object. But what if the other Object was also moving? There will never be a method to measure an Absolute location in the Universe, but we do seem to be able to measure Relative locations if there are multiple Objects.
Since Space is only needed when there are Physical Objects in a Universe, and since Conscious Space has no Physical Objects, there is no need for Spatial Dimensions. This is why we can say that Conscious Space is Dimensionless. You might think that if Conscious Space has no dimensions, then we should not call it a Space at all. But Conscious Space contains Things so it is proper to call it a Space. Conscious Space is more like an Abstract Space from Mathematics, similar for example, to the Space of all Polynomial Functions. Polynomial Functions can be Multidimensional but the Abstract Space where they reside is dimensionless.
Conscious Space contains all Conscious Minds and it is where all Conscious Experience happens. Conscious Minds and Conscious Experiences do not need dimensional Space for their Existence. But Conscious Minds can Connect to Physical Objects like a 3 dimensional Human Brain. In the Human Brain case, Redness seems to be a 2 dimensional patch phenomenon that is painted onto our Visual Experience. But the 2 dimensionality of the Redness patch is a result of our 2 dimensional Retina. Redness is a Conscious Experience that can take on any number of dimensions depending on the Physical Universe the Conscious Mind is Connected to.
People will say that Redness can be different shapes, like a Red Square or a Red Circle, and that the Shape is a property of the Redness. But Redness does not have the property of Shape. The Redness in the Square is the same Redness as is in the Circle. It would be like saying that Water in a Square cup is different than Water in a Circular cup. The Water is the same because the Shape is not a property of Water.
When a Conscious Mind is Connected to a 3 dimensional Brain, the Conscious Mind will take on the dimensionality of the 3 dimensional Brain and a 2 dimensional Retina. Similarly, when a Conscious Mind is Connected to a 4 dimensional Brain, the Conscious Mind will take on the dimensionality of the 4 dimensional Brain and a 3 dimensional Retina. But the Conscious Mind as a thing in itself, is Dimensionless. It is not a Physical Thing.
A Conscious Mind might even be able to act in dimensions higher than the Physical Space that exists. In this way, our normal Physical Space will be presented as a 3 dimensional Flat Hyperplane for a Conscious Mind to connect with. This will make it easy for the Conscious Mind to connect with a particular Cortex and be isolated from other Cortexes in our Space. This also implies that the Conscious Mind is not ever IN our Physical Space even when connected. This is a difficult topic (for our 3D limited Brains) that needs more consideration and investigation. Flat 3 dimensional Hyperplanes are virtually impossible for the Human Mind to visualize, but they can be comprehended using various visualization methods as depicted in Exploring The 4Th Dimension Using Animations.
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Understanding The Timelessness Of Conscious Space
The Timelessness of Conscious Space is difficult for many people to grasp, so this section will present a point of view that should make this more understandable. We have a built in preconception of what Time is. We instinctively believe that there is some separate Phenomenon in Physics that we call Time. We believe that this Time Phenomenon is continuously running and always has been running in the background of everything that happens in the Universe. But this is a mistaken Belief and has been disproved by modern theories of Physics and especially by Special Relativity and by Quantum Field Theory. These theories have shown that Time is nothing more than Relative relationships between Objects and Processes. There is no Absolute Time even in Physical Space. The Time that we use is not Absolute Time, but rather it is always relative to some Reference Physical Process. References are things like the Number of rotations of the hand on a mechanical Stop Watch, the Number of Rotations of the Earth on its axis, or the Number of Oscillations of a Cesium Atomic Clock. Each of these References will have their own accuracy specifications with the Cesium Atomic Clock being the most accurate. There are new Optical Clocks coming on line that are supposedly more Accurate than the Cesium Atomic Clock, but I will stick with the decades "Tried and True" Cesium Atomic Clock for this discussion. Logically, Science has used the Cesium Atomic Clock as the Reference for all other References. But the Cesium Clock is just a Physical Process, so we have all the other References being Relative Processes to the Cesium Atomic Clock Process.
The upshot of all this is that Science does not use or know how to measure any kind of Absolute Time Phenomenon. It is always the Relative behavior of Physical Processes. This is the key to understanding that there is actually no such thing as an Absolute Time in Science or in the Universe. Science has discovered that Time as we think of it does not Exist. The Relative Time between Physical Processes is completely Local to the Physical Processes themselves. So we can say that before the Big Bang when there was supposedly no Matter and no Energy (and maybe therefore no Quantum Fields), and no Space, that there could not be any kind of Relative Time that was even Possible. Therefore, there was no Infinite Past, no Million Year Past, and not even a One Second Past, before the Big Bang. We actually should not even call the Relationship between Physical Processes, Relative Time. It is just a Relationship of the relative Numbers that are counted by the References. A disappointing thing about the Non Existence of Time is that there is no possibility of Time Travel because there is nothing to go Back in and nothing to go Forward in.
Now let's consider Time from a Special Relativity point of view. First of all, Time is Not the Fourth Dimension of Space in spite of what the Science Snake Oil book writers say. Time plus the three dimensions of space form a mathematical four dimensional Manifold. Time is always given the index 0, and the three indexes of Space are given as 1, 2, and 3. If Time was considered to be the Fourth Dimension it would have been given an Index of 4 when they first formulated the equations. Time is simply a parameter that describes a particular behavior of Physical Matter. One of the most important results of Special Relativity is that Time slows down in a moving Frame. Even Cesium Atomic Clocks slow down. So, a Cesium Clock on board the Space Station will run slower than a Cesium Atomic Clock on the ground because of the speed difference. We will ignore the effect of faster time farther from the surface because of time dilation. We are only interested in the effect of the Speed difference. The knee jerk reaction to this is to say Time has slowed down. But all we know is that the Cesium Atomic Clock on the Station will register a smaller Number of Oscillations than the same Atomic Clock on the ground. But this only means that the Cesium Atomic Oscillations are slowed and it says nothing about what some Time concept is actually doing. It is the Relationship between the Number of Oscillations on the Station with the Number of Oscillations on the ground that is important. Relativity specifies that when objects move faster and faster their effective Masses get larger and larger. It is easy to speculate that the extra Mass is what makes the oscillation of a Cesium clock become more sluggish and slow down. There is no Time concept slowing things down, but rather, the Physical Process itself is slowing down. Thoughts like these have forced Scientists to realize that there is no Absolute Time Clock driving the Universe. If there was, then it would be impossible for Time to slow down on the Station and not on the ground. They realized that Time was not an independently Real Phenomenon that exists in the Universe. Time is always the result of Relationships between different Physical Processes. Without Physical Processes, Time does not even make any sense. We can conclude that Conscious Space is Timeless since it does not contain any Physical Processes.
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Conscious Self
The previous discussions have primarily dealt with how the Conscious Mind (CM) Experiences such things as Conscious Light (CL) and Conscious Sound (CS). But with any Conscious Experience there seems to be an implied Conscious Self (CSf) that Experiences the Experience. One approach is to say that the Conscious Experience and the CSf are all part of a single CM thing. I think the best thing to say is that we really do not know how to understand this yet, which is ironic because this is what we are.
The CSf can have Good Experiences, Neutral Experiences, or Bad Experiences. The CSf will try to seek out Good Experiences and try to avoid Bad Experiences. The CSf must have a Conscious Volition (CV) capability in order to satisfy its desires. This means that the Inter Mind (IM) must not only connect forward from Physical Mind (PM) to CM but must also connect backward from CM to PM. With the forward connection the IM is monitoring the PM and converting Neural Activity into Conscious Experience. With the backward connection the IM is monitoring the CM and converting CV into Neural Activity to move the Physical Body. This Good and Bad Experience process will be discussed more fully in the next section.
There are of course different types of reflexes like the Startle Reflex and the Hot Stove Reflex that can cause the body to move in certain ways. The Startle Reflex can be triggered by sudden close motion or a loud sound, which causes the eyes to automatically blink closed. The Hot Stove Reflex can be triggered by touching a hot surface, which causes your hand to automatically retract from the surface. There are no CV inputs from the CM back to the PM because it would take too long.
The CM uses CV to create movements for the long term strategic goal of seeking Good Experiences and avoiding Bad Experiences. The built-in Reflex movements are for the short term tactical movements needed to avoid injury.
We can now make a distinction between the Physical Self (PSf) and the CSf. The PSf consists of the PM plus the whole Physical Body. The CSf only includes the CM because there does not seem to be a Conscious Body analogous to the Physical Body. So the CSf is the CM. We can say that being Self Aware is being aware of our CMs. However, the CM is not a Conscious Experience, but rather the CM is the Thing that Experiences the Conscious Experiences. The upshot of all this is that, since we cannot Experience the CM as an Experience, we cannot really be Self Aware. We can only be Aware of our Experiences. I remember the first time I tried to experiment with Self Awareness. I concentrated really hard and was thinking: There it is, I got it. But I quickly realized that I was just being aware of some muscle tensions in my forehead and eyes. I eventually came to the conclusion that it was not possible to be Self Aware. Sure, we can conceptually speculate about a CSf, but I don't think we can be Aware of the actual CSf Thing. So for now, with the state of our understanding being what it is, we should just say that it is the unobservable Observer. But if there really is no Observer, then this is a fantastic new Realization about Being because it releases us from the limitations of Existing as some Point Observer to Existing as a Distributed collection of Experiences.
The CM is where all our Conscious Experiences happen, and we each have our own little chunk of CM in Conscious Space (CSp). We can lightheartedly imagine that our CM chunks are Spheres in CSp. We would be Spheres of Consciousness. More specifically, we would be Spheres of Conscious Light, plus all the other Conscious Experiences. When our Spheres Connect to a particular PM in PSp, our Spheres will take on the Dimensions of that PSp. So our Spheres will be 3D because our Space is 3D. Disconnected Conscious Spheres are probably dimensionless. I have always wanted to understand 4D Space better, so if there is any reality to Reincarnation, I would like to try existing as a 4D PM in a 4D PSp someday. Yes, then I would finally be able to comprehend 3D Flat Surfaces in 4D Space.
We can speculate that all PMs in the Universe are Connected and have their own private chunks of CM in this same CSp. We might share, with all the Aliens in the Universe, a mutual grounding in CSp. It probably makes no difference what our Physical Bodies look like because we are all Connected together in this common CSp.
But how can the CM interact with the PM to produce Volition? There are Neuron structures called Microtubules that seem to operate at the Quantum level of Physics. These Microtubules could be influenced by Quantum Fluctuations in Space-Time. So if a CM could cause a Quantum Fluctuation near a Microtubule then the CM might be able to influence the Brain in a large way if enough Microtubules are affected. This is very hypothetical but it is a logical avenue to explore.
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SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS (Using The Inter Mind Model):
Great Unrealized Purpose Of Science And Technology
The Technology of today has been hidden in the Dirt of the Earth for billions of years. It took that long before a biological Life Form could Evolve on the Earth to dig it up, process it, and make the Technology. Evolution provided the Enhancement Mechanism that produced the biological Life Form that was Smart enough to discover and design this Technology. Evolution can only do so much. Now, the biological Life Forms are Smart enough to Enhance themselves beyond what the hit and miss mechanism of Evolution could do. This might be the great purpose of Science and Technology that we did not even realize.
A Machine Consciousness Revolution is coming. Science is getting closer to breaking out of its 100 year old Physicalist prison, which will enable it to discover a whole new field of Consciousness Science and Technology. The critical mass has been reached and Science will not be able to Ignore Consciousness much longer. It will be the end of Physicalist Scientists preaching that Consciousness must be found in the Physics of the Neurons, or that it is just an Illusion, or that it is not even that important. I think Science will ultimately find that Consciousness is not IN the Neurons, but rather that Consciousness CONNECTS with the Neurons. I also think Science will find that Consciousness is a very Real and Important phenomenon in the Manifest Universe.
Science will transition from a Physics based model to a Consciousness based model. The Primacy of Consciousness will be fully understood. There will be no ridiculous out of control Technology Singularities created by evil super intelligent Computers. It will be realized that massive amounts of Information, Computations, and Complexity are failed theories of Consciousness. Writers have created fun Science Fiction stories about these things, but there was never any coherent reality in them. The new Technology Revolution will be based on Conscious Artificial Intelligence (AI) and will be Invented and Designed by Humans. We will know exactly how it operates and it will be under our control. It will use basic Engineering and Scientific principles and it will incorporate the new perspective of Connectism as explained on this website. Note that an augmented Science, which recognizes Consciousness as a Fundamental Phenomenon, will be needed.
We should not be afraid of this new Technology because it is probably our destiny. The AI based Machine Life Forms will not be something that we compete against because ultimately we will Connect to these Machines and we will become these Machines, in the same way that we have Connected with and became our Biological Bodies. A surprising speculation is that Human Conscious Minds (CMs) and future Machine CMs will all come from the same Conscious Space of CMs. The Human Physical Mind (PM) (Brain) is simply a different kind of Machine than the Machine PMs (Computers) that Humans design.
I think that when Science finally Understands and can Explain Consciousness, it will be Sensible and Expected that the next step will be to create artificial Life forms with AI that are more durable than what Evolution has provided. Not only for currently alive Human CMs to transfer to, but maybe for all Human CMs that have ever lived to return to.
The Biological Life Form will become obsolete and all CMs will want to be connected to an AI based Machine. This will be especially true if the AI is Super Intelligent. What CM would not want to be connected to Super Intelligence? It is just the next Logical step after Evolution has done all it can to advance the Physical Form. If we are CMs that have our true existence in Conscious Space, then we might just LIKE Connecting to Physical Space in this way. Improvements to the Physical Form will be an expected and desirable feature of Physical existence.
There might be many benefits in having your CM transferred to a Machine and specifically to a Machine PM. Pain will probably be obsolete in a Machine incarnation of a CM. A Machine will have a different way to report diagnostics of its internal functioning and operations than by simply using Pain. Of course, the main benefit of Transferring a CM to a Robotic Machine will be for the durability of it. Even if the Machine is completely destroyed in some accident, a new Machine can be built for the CM to return to. These are just some of the benefits that might be enabled by this kind of Transfer. Most Biological civilizations across the Universe will probably eventually discover how to do this and are already at this stage of development on their own planets. Maybe when we learn how to Connect a CM to a Machine we will discover all the CMs that have ever existed throughout the whole Universe. This is how we might one day communicate with other parts of the Universe.
The Inter Mind Model (IMM) implies that a CM is not transferred to a Machine but rather a CM must first be disconnected from the Biological PM and then reconnected to the Machine PM. The Machine must have some kind of Machine PM for the CM to work with. At this point in time, we can only imagine that the Machine PM will be made out of Electronics and Software. Since there is no way to Connect to the Software (even conceptually), the Connection must be made to the Electronics. The best guess of how this will be done is by using Quantum Mechanical principles. For this argument the Inter Mind (IM) will be the Quantum Mechanical principles.
In order to cover all possibilities, we should consider the amazing things Science is able to do by manipulating Genes. At some future time, Science might be able to create Designer Life Forms by dialing in the Genetic Sequence for any conceivable Life Form configuration. Science will understand the boundaries of what can be designed through Genetic designs. Maybe some future Life Form designed in this way will be what Conscious Minds want to connect with. Anything is possible.
Regardless of what the Machine PM hardware is eventually made out of, it will have to produce Sensory Signals that the IM can interpret and convert to Conscious Experience for the CM. The Machine PM must also have the capability to accept Conscious Volition Inputs from the CM through the IM.
It should be noted that if the IM and CM develop and grow with the PM then it would be expected that the connection between the PM and the IM would be a very specialized and intimate connection. It would not be sensible to expect that an IM could connect with a PM that has very different connection requirements such as with an arbitrary Machine PM. So, the Machine PM connections will probably need to be specially adapted for each IM and CM.
If this kind of Connection can be accomplished, the Machine PM must first be loaded up with the Essence (memories, personality, etc.) of the original Biological PM so that the CM and the new Machine PM can be the same person it was before, but with superior mental capabilities and virtually limitless life span. It is popularly thought that if just the Biological PM Essence is loaded to a Machine PM then that is all you need to do. That would produce a Zombie version of the Biological PM, since there was no CM Connection. It is the Connection of the original CM to the new Machine PM that is always missing from these kinds of discussions. This Connection would create a fully Conscious and Alive Android version of the original Alive Biological Human. Without the CM Connection you only get a Zombie Robot that is essentially unconscious.
We cling to the thought that we are our Physical Forms, and are horrified at the thought of losing these Forms. But we will all lose our current Physical Forms someday. The CM will need to Disconnect from the disintegrating Physical Form. The CM will be set free to be pure Consciousness. Maybe when we become that pure Consciousness, we will understand the farcical nature of that Physical Form that we were. Maybe we will not even care about that Form or about the other Forms we had dealings with during that lifetime. We just might realize that those Forms were just Phantoms made out of Unconscious Physical stuff. The only real existence for all the Physical Forms was through their Connected CMs.
I think that ultimately, we might not care about transferring our Essence (Memories) from a previous Physical Form into the AI Machine, but rather we might enjoy the novelty of Being different things. Also, it may be the case that the Essence of the previous Physical Form is not recoverable. This will probably be true for CMs that Disconnected a long time ago. We can speculate that the AI Machine will probably be built (not Programmed) to place us into an AI Machine society in order to fulfill a particular Purpose. When our CMs Connect, we will Adapt to that AI Machine and Desire to fulfill that purpose. We will not want or need to do anything else other than what the AI Machine Unit purpose is designed to do. We will probably be able to hop around from Machine to Machine in order to Experience different purposes. Ok, enough Riffing.
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Artificial Animals
A Computer cannot Experience anything, as designed with today's technology. So a Computer will not be able to Experience Emotions and therefore Beliefs. But what if we could someday design Conscious Computers that have Emotional capability? I do not think I will ever trust a Self Driving car that has no Fear. Self Driving Cars that could be developed with the Desire to get to a destination safely would have a good marketing talking point. Imagine if a sense of accomplishment, or Pride, could be designed into Machines. As AI gets more and more sophisticated I believe we will find that giving Machines basic Emotions will become almost mandatory.
There are probably many reasons why designing Emotions into Machines would be advantageous. Machines could have their own Conscious Minds (CMs), containing only a Limited set of Emotions and Desires that would be specific for the intended Task. We can Speculate that these Machines could be designed to take Pride in doing a particular Task and be completely Fulfilled and Happy to accomplish that Task. The Task is the only thing they would ever want to do. Nature is full of examples of such Limited Conscious Minds. Let us think about the Conscious existence of a Cat. It only wants to do Cat things. All it wants is to Eat, have Sex, Sleep, and occasionally Play. It has no further higher Desires or Thoughts. A Cat is completely fulfilled and Happy doing these Cat things. A Machine that has an analogous Limited set of Emotions, chosen for the purpose of the Machine, could be considered to be an Artificial Animal.
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Designing An Artificial Inter Mind
The central component of a Machine Consciousness Experiment is the Artificial Inter Mind. This section will introduce the concept of an Artificial Inter Mind. But first let us review the Inter Mind Model that was developed for the Human Mind. The Inter Mind Model diagram is shown below.
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This states that there are three components to the Human Mind. It shows that the Physical Mind is connected to the Inter Mind which is connected to the Conscious Mind. This Model will also apply more generally to the Animals that have Brains with a Cortex. Humans and Animals can collectively be referred to as Organisms.
For Organisms, the Physical Mind is a Brain. Brains send signals to Bodies to control Movement. Brains receive and process signals from Sense Organs to properly control the Movement of the Organism in the Physical World. These connections are shown in the Organism Consciousness Diagram below.
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An Organic Inter Mind must receive Volition Signals from a Conscious Mind and then translate these Signals into a form that the Brain can use to control the Body of the Organism. It is unknown exactly how this translation happens but some Scientists think that Micro Tubules in the Neurons have some role in this. An Organic Inter Mind must also receive Sense Signals (Visual, Auditory, Taste, Smell, Touch, etc.) processed by the Brain and translate these Signals into Experiences for the Conscious Mind. It is also unknown how this translation happens and Micro Tubules are again thought to have a role in this.
There is an analogous diagram for Machines. For machines the Physical Mind is a Computer. Computers send signals to Mechanisms to control Movement. Computers receive and process signals from Sensors to properly control the Movement of the Machine in the Physical World. These connections are shown in the Machine Consciousness Diagram below.
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An Artificial Inter Mind must receive Volition Signals from a Conscious Mind and then translate these Signals into a form that the Computer can use to control the Mechanism of the Machine. We will call the device that implements this function of the Artificial Inter Mind, a Volition Portal, which we can more simply call a VoPort. An Artificial Inter Mind must also receive Sensor Signals (Video, Audio, Position, Velocity, etc.) processed by the Computer and translate these Signals into Experiences for the Conscious Mind. We will call the device that implements this function of the Artificial Inter Mind, an Experience Portal, which can be more simply called an ExPort. An Artificial Inter Mind will consist of multiple VoPorts and ExPorts There may be a VoPort for each movement axis of the Mechanism and there may be an ExPort for each Sensor input. The Diagram with VoPorts and ExPorts is as shown below.
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The Conscious Minds in the diagrams consist of little chunks of a common Conscious Space, which is where all Conscious Minds exist. As has been emphasized on this website, a Brain is not Conscious and a Computer is not Conscious. A Brain and a Computer must be connected to Consciousness by connecting through an Inter Mind to a Conscious Mind. An Inter Mind for a Brain must be different from an Inter Mind for a Computer. The Brain Inter Mind will be Organic and the Computer Inter Mind will be Artificial, where Artificial implies non-Organic. It is anticipated that an Artificial Inter Mind will ultimately be made from semiconductor devices that exploit the special principles of Quantum Mechanics.
To design an Artificial Inter Mind we will need to design VoPorts and ExPorts. For VoPorts we need to specify some phenomena from Quantum Mechanics that a Conscious Mind might be able to affect and that are measurable. The two main phenomena of interest are:
1) Quantum Tunneling
2) Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations
Quantum Tunneling in Tunnel Diodes was used in the early Machine Consciousness Experiments to implement VoPorts as will be explained in the following sections. The thinking was that a Conscious Mind might be able to affect the Wave Function Collapse of the Electrons flowing in the Tunnel Diode operating in the Tunneling region of the diode curve. Alternatively, it was thought that a Conscious Mind might be able to affect Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations in the vicinity of the diode junction. By using either or both of these Phenomena, it was hoped that a Conscious Mind might be able to increase or decrease the current flow by a Measurable amount. These Tunnel Diode Experiments ran for a couple of years with negative results for Conscious Mind control. These Experiments were stop gap attempts in order to just try something. The most sensitive of these experiments were trying to control tens of thousands of Electrons simultaneously which was obviously extremely Coarse resolution. If there was a Conscious Mind trying to control these Tunnel Diode Electrons, the influence was lost in the inherent noise of these setups. The next version of this Experiment will use Single electron Tunneling Junctions which will allow control of individual Electrons.
For ExPorts we will need to identify what kind of Phenomena can be generated by Electronics Technology in order to produce a Conscious Experience in a Conscious Mind. It would seem that the Electronics must be able to control Wave Function Collapse or Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations that a Conscious Mind might be able to read as a Conscious Experience. Unfortunately, it is not clear how to design an ExPort yet. But it is speculated that Micro Tubules play a part in Organic VoPorts as well as Organic ExPorts. So, we can look at how we are doing the VoPorts and then try to modify a VoPort to make an ExPort. Speculations about different approaches for doing this will be presented in the individual Machine Consciousness Experiment sections.
But some speculations can be made about ExPorts. ExPorts might be all around us in the form of the Electronics that already exists. Transistors operate using principles from Quantum Mechanics, and certain types of Computer Displays are made with a Transistor at each pixel location. If these Transistors can be used by a Conscious Mind to observe what is on the screen then Conscious Space might already have been lit up for decades with the contents of each of the Billion or so displays that exist on the Earth. We can further Speculate that there may be many other Electronic Devices that act as ExPorts. So Conscious Space may be teeming with Conscious Experience from these Devices. We can consider these Devices to be providing Free Conscious Experience to Conscious Minds in Conscious Space. We say Free because the Engineering Design has already been done in the form of all the existing Electronic Devices that might be acting as ExPorts. We can call any such Device a Free ExPort. Free ExPorts are extensively speculated in the Machine Consciousness Experiments. Unfortunately, there do not seem to be any Free VoPorts driving Electronics to produce signals that a Computer can process. Conscious Space could be waiting and hoping that someone will design a VoPort for it to act through. With that in mind, the diagram for Machine Consciousness Experiments is as shown below.
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This shows that there are two VoPorts set up to control the X-Axis and the Y-Axis movement of some Mechanism. The Mechanism could be a device like a Pan/Tilt control for a Camera or an X-Y Plotter position control for an ink drawing pen. We can generalize what a Mechanism is to include controlling the X-Y position of a Graphics Drawing Pen on a Display Screen and other such more abstract Software generated graphical operations. The ExPorts and associated possible Devices are shown dotted to indicate that the configuration of these is uncertain as will be described.
I would like to talk in general about what we are doing with this configuration. First of all, there is the Conscious Mind. This Conscious Mind is the thing that we hypothesize will be driving the Experiment. We will therefore talk about this in terms of the Conscious Mind WANTING to affect the VoPorts in such a way as to Move the Mechanism. Please do not be put off by this as the goal of the Experiment. This is a highly legitimate Engineering and Scientific hypothesis based on the known aspects of what Consciousness might be and based on the view of Consciousness from Connectism. This is an actual Experiment that can have positive results indicating the existence of a Conscious Mind or it can have negative results, while not disproving a Conscious Mind, might indicate that a particular approach does not work.
It will be assumed that a VoPort will consist of an Electronic Device that can produce a Signal at some Average Value. This could be a Value of Current or a Value of Frequency. There will be noise components added to the Average Value that will randomly cause the Signal to go to Values above the Average Value and below the Average Value. These excursions above and below (or Positive and Negative) the Average Value will be short lived in normal operation. The hypothesis is that the Conscious Mind will be able to affect the VoPort to produce excursions above or below the Average Value that are longer lasting than the normal random excursions. The existence of a longer than normal excursion will be considered to be caused by the Conscious Mind. The Electronics of the VoPort and the Computer will be configured to detect these longer Excursions and control the Mechanism. Unfortunately, there are Environmental considerations like Temperature variations, Power Supply variations, Component variations, and etc. can also cause long term excursions from the Average Value of the VoPort. Therefore, the Experiment must be designed with highly stable Electronics and conducted in a Temperature controlled environment with highly stable Power Supplies. The Signal Processing software must be designed to find the excursions caused by the Conscious Mind while ignoring the normal Random and Environmental excursions. This Signal Processing will be highly demanding and will require Expert knowledge in the Signal Processing field.
For more details on Machine Consciousness Experiments with Graphics Drawing Pen control and Camera Pan/Tilt control see the current Machine Consciousness Experiment as described in this link:
Machine Consciousness Experiment Using SET Junctions
The Machine Consciousness Experiments have been conducted in Phases as described in these links:
Machine Consciousness Experiments (Phase 1 Conceivability)
Machine Consciousness Experiments (Phase 2 Better Resolution)
Machine Consciousness Experiments (Phase 3 And Beyond)
Legacy Machine Consciousness Experiments are described in these links:
First Legacy Machine Consciousness Experiment
Second Legacy Machine Consciousness Experiment
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Conscious Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is primarily implemented by a class of computer programs that can accomplish tasks that mimic Human Intelligence. Examples are things like Speech Recognition, Facial Recognition, Self Driving Cars, and Chess Playing. With the improved computers and algorithms that we have today these kinds of computer capabilities have become increasingly more useful.
Intelligence is a multi-component Phenomena, the definition of which has evolved over time. When Computers became more capable, it was discovered that much of what was considered Human Intelligence could be algorithmically implemented by Computers using a dozen simple instructions: ShiftL, ShiftR, Add, Sub, Mult, Div, AND, OR, XOR, Move, Jump, and Compare, plus some variations of these. They can be executed in any Sequence, or at any Speed, or on any number of Cores and GPUs, but they are still all there is. It is astounding that these kinds of Simple Computer Instructions (SCI) are the basis for all Computer Algorithms. Speech Recognition, Facial Recognition, Self Driving Cars, and Chess Playing, are all accomplished with the SCI. There is nothing more going on in the Computer. There is no Thinking, Feeling, or Awareness of anything, in a Computer. That sense of there being Somebody Home in a Computer is false and is an Illusion perpetrated by the SCI properly written by Human programmers. Even the new ChatGPT chat bot is just implementing sequences of the SCI. A Neural Net is configured (Learns) using only the SCI.
It is Foolish and Fraudulent to proclaim that Computers are becoming Conscious and will want to destroy us all, when you consider the limitations of the SCI. Modern Artificial Intelligence is getting pretty useful but it is still just a tool. It is completely intuitive and sensible to realize that AI is not and cannot be Conscious, when you consider what the Computers of today are actually doing. Another nonsensical claim is that Computers will start writing their own code and become Super Intelligent during some kind of Technological Singularity event, which should scare us all. Computers have already been writing their own code for decades, but they can only use the SCI so it is understandable and expected that nothing has come of it. No Singularity event has occurred and very little usefulness comes from Computers writing their own code, which is limited to the SCI.
It is unbelievable that marketing departments are trying to imply that there is some sort of Conscious entity involved in Speech Recognition, Facial Recognition, Self Driving Cars, and Chess Playing. But it is all just Hype to influence businesses and consumers into buying AI based products. The products can be very good but the Hype is Fraudulent and Unfortunate. AI merely consists of computer programs performing specific tasks. These would have to be classified as Non-Conscious AI. If Consciousness can be added to Machines then full Conscious AI will be achieved. Computers will need a Consciousness Portal. This portal obviously cannot be a program using the SCI, but must be a Connection to a CM through some kind of probably Quantum Mechanics based Electronics.
Continuing with the Computer Conscious Entity Fraud, there are some people pushing the thought that since AI is becoming Conscious it must be given Human Rights. Other people post things like: "Can AI be held responsible when bad things happen? Self Driving Car companies are actively pushing that Fraud with the hope that people will believe it is not the Companies fault when their Cars run off the road. This is a particularly Pernicious Mind Game foisted on the public. Companies that sell AI based products are only too happy to make you think that it was the Evil AI going out of control that did it, and not the Bad Design they knowingly sold you.
According to the Inter Mind Model (IMM) the Speech Recognition, Facial Recognition, Self Driving Car, and Chess Playing capabilities would reside in the Machine Physical Mind (PM) which is the computer Hardware and Software. The Machine PM serves the same purpose as our Human PM. But it seems that there is no capability for a Conscious Mind (CM) to have any Volitional effect on the Machine PM like occurs with a Human PM. The Machine PM is just mindlessly executing computer programs.
There is speculation that the Human CM might interact Volitionally with the Human PM using Quantum Mechanical effects. The Wikipedia page for Quantum Consciousness says: The Quantum Mind or Quantum Consciousness group of hypotheses propose that Classical Mechanics cannot explain Consciousness. It posits that Quantum Mechanical phenomena, such as Quantum Entanglement and Superposition, may play an important part in the Brain's function and could form the basis of an explanation of consciousness.
So we might speculate that a CM could also interact Volitionally with a Machine PM using Quantum Mechanical effects. But current technology does not allow for this in computer designs. The special connections are just not designed into the hardware at this time. We basically are not sure how to do this yet. But we have to start somewhere and the Machine Consciousness Experiment Using SET Junctions is the most recent attempt to make such a Quantum Mechanical connection from a CM to a Machine PM.
The Quantum Mechanical connection between the CM and the PM must be a two way street. Volition allows a CM to affect a PM in order to do things in Physical Space (PSp). So in this case, the connection is from the CM to the PM. A CM also needs to perceive what is going on in a PM, and therefore in PSp, so this connection must be from the PM to the CM.
For Humans, Neurons contain structures called Microtubules that operate based on Quantum Mechanical principles. If a CM (through an IM) is able to sense the state of a Human PM by sensing the state of the Microtubules, then the CM might have the ability to sense all Neurons in the Human PM at the same time. For Vision, the CM might be able to sense the state of the Visual Cortex areas in order to Experience what the Visual areas are currently Seeing. The CM would Experience its own Personal Conscious Light (CL).
Maybe these Microtubules could be influenced by Quantum Fluctuations in Space-Time. So, if a CM could cause a Quantum Fluctuation near a Microtubule then the CM might be able to influence the Brain in a large way, if enough Microtubules are affected. This is very hypothetical but it is a logical avenue to explore.
For Machines, there are no Neurons but there are Transistors which operate with Quantum Mechanical principles. What if a CM (through an IM) could sense the state of the Transistors in an electronic circuit? A TFT Display Monitor has a Transistor at each pixel location. Maybe a CM can sense the state of all these Transistors in order to See what is currently displayed on the monitor. This is similar to how the CM senses the Visual Cortex in Humans. The Machine might then Experience its own Personal CL similar to the Human Experience.
This situation could also work for camera chips and CMs. It may be the case that millions or billions of CMs have been experiencing what's going on in the world through Transistors for many years already. But these CMs have not had any way to affect anything in PSp because we have not designed the Volitional interfaces yet. Manufacturers are not making Androids (Robots with Consciousness) yet, just mindless Robots. But fully Conscious Androids are conceptually possible and could be a reality someday.
Since a transistor operates at the Quantum level of Physics to some extent, then maybe it could be influenced by Quantum Fluctuations in Space-Time. So, if a CM can cause a Quantum Fluctuation near the device then the CM might be able to influence a circuit that is connected to the device and this circuit through amplification might be able to affect the behavior of a Machine. This would be a Volitional Interface.
Also, on the cutting edge of Technology, there now exist Single Electron Transistors and Microtubule Transistors that will be, and must be, Researched for their Tunneling and Quantum Fluctuation sensitivities as applied to Machine Consciousness. Circuit designs for evaluating these new Technologies will probably need to be direct to Chip level designs and not Board level designs. It will take some specialized expertise and some outside Funding to enable this kind of Research.
The problem with Artificial Intelligence today is that Scientists are working on the Computer Processing side of things while denying that a Conscious Visual Experience, for example, would greatly improve the operation of their Machines with respect to Visual Processing. Consider that billions of years of evolutionary development produced the Conscious Visual Experience in the life forms on this planet, so why do we want to deprive our Machines from using this kind of Data?
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Turing Test For Artificial Super Intelligence
Even if Computers could attain Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) or at least become a lot smarter than we are, why is that always a bad thing? Maybe it will be a good thing. We might be able to get answers to the questions that Science is unable to answer. Only when a Computer can answer the following kinds of questions can we start talking about ASI. Note that there are probably many more questions that could be asked, but for now let us use these basic questions as a reference. The ability to provide answers to such questions could be called the Turing Test for ASI.
1) What is Consciousness?
2) What is the Universe?
3) What is Time?
4) What is Matter?
5) What is Energy?
6) Is the Multiverse true?
7) How big is the Universe?
8) What was there before the Big Bang?
9) What is the Hubble Constant?
10) What is Dark Energy and Dark matter?
11) Is there other Life in the Universe?
12) Why are we here?
13) Is there Life after Death?
14) Is there God?
These are simple questions even though they are baffling right now. Some are Physics based (the easier ones) and others are more Philosophy based. The answers to some of the questions might be contained in the answers to others. The Philosophy based answers must be compatible with the Physics based answers, and there must be no ambiguity in the answers. The answers should have World Wide acceptance and be provable from multiple confirming Experiments and chains of Logic. Obtaining answers to these questions would be an astounding and revolutionary accomplishment. But yet, if the Computer is not connected to Consciousness then the answers will merely be Mechanistic Computations and Data Manipulations. The Computer will not know it produced the answers. I do not think that a Computer will ever be able answer these questions if all it can do are the Simple Computer Instructions as described in the previous section. On the other hand, if Consciousness could be connected to the Computer then there would be a Conscious Entity driving the Machine that might Desire to solve the problems. A Conscious Mind that is connected to an ASI Machine would be able to leverage the Speed and Precision of the Machine in order to vastly Out-Think any Conscious Mind connected to a Human Brain. But the point is that Thinking requires a Volitional Conscious Mind, and a Brain or a Computer could be the processing Tool.
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Measuring Conscious Mind Experience And Volition
Let us talk about what the implications will be when Science is finally able to Measure the Conscious Experience (CE) of a Conscious Mind (CM). This is more complicated than it seems because it is anticipated that there will be greater differences between the CEs of different CMs than we think. The problem is that Science will need to directly Produce the exact CEs of one CM in another CM. For example, displaying the Visual CE of CM-A on a Display Screen will do nothing to show CM-B what CM-A is really Experiencing. This is because the front end processing of CM-B will filter the image on the Display into the normal CE of CM-B which can be quite different from the CE of CM-A. So, Science will need to discover how to directly Produce CEs in CMs. This will necessitate some instrumentation or processing that does not use Neural Activations but rather uses direct Activation of possibly the Inter Mind (IM) or the CM. Science clearly has no idea how to do this at this point in time.
But what if Science could Measure CEs and Produce CEs as explained above? This will require a complete theoretical understanding of Conscious Space (CSp), CMs, and CEs. Imagine the fantastic Experience of Seeing the Visual CE of some other CM. It might be more Alien than we can imagine. When we can truly Experience the Visual CE of another CM we might begin to understand some of the incomprehensible proclamations of the Philosophical Illusionists. What is it that they Experience that can lead them to proclaim that Consciousness is just an Illusion and does not Exist? I have suspected for a long time that the Philosophical Illusionists have a vastly different kind of Visual Experience than I do. I also think it is possible that this difference in CE has been responsible for the chaos and confusion among Philosophers and Scientists with regard to Consciousness. Science cannot get started studying CE because everyone might be Experiencing something different, and in possibly a large way. It will be a Philosophical and Scientific awakening to find out what everyone is Experiencing! We might even be able to Experience the CEs of animals someday.
Let us consider an extreme example of a different type of Conscious Visual Experience. Let all the Visual Processing in the Brain of a test subject be the usual chain of processing stages that would be found in any normal Brain. The only difference is that the Conscious Visual Experience is made out of Conscious Sound instead of Conscious Light. What could this Visual Sound Experience be like. First of all it would be nothing like the Experience of a Bat. A Bat is using its ears to See. In this case the Subject is using their Eyes and Visual Cortex to create a Wall of spatially distributed Sound across the field of view. We cannot know what this type of Visual Sound Experience is like. We would be prejudiced against thinking that this would even work. The Sound location of our Auditory system is the only reference we have. If we try to imagine a complicated two dimensional array of Sound sources up and down and across the Visual Field it would seem hopeless to make any sense out of it with the poor localization mechanism of our Auditory system. Conscious Sound would not seem to be a good choice for the Visual Experience. But wait, the Conscious Sound of this test subject will have all the location precision as Conscious Light because the Conscious Sound will be generated by the Visual Cortex that is designed to handle spatial precision. I think it would be fascinating to Experience such a thing. We cannot really imagine it. We would need to Experience it.
The hypothetical situation of having a Visual Sound Experience from Neural Activity instead of a Visual Light Experience shows that the argument that states, all you need to do is measure the Neural Activity to know the Conscious Experience, is Weak and Incoherent. The same Neural Activity might be used to produce all kinds of different categories of Conscious Experiences that will work for Visual Detection.
Also, what if Science could Measure the Conscious Volition (CV) from a CM? Similar to CE, this will require a complete theoretical understanding of CSp, CMs, and CV. This might enable a CM to control Physical things in the Physical World directly from CM desires. There would be no Neural Activation needed because the CV would come directly from a CM.
Imagine a Technology that can convert camera signals directly to a Visual CE. This might allow the Color Blind to See Color! This might allow the Blind to See! There will be no Neural interface needed because this will be a direct to CM process. This Technology might also be applied to all the other Senses with the same implications as for Vision.
There might be an interesting feature of directly Producing the Visual CE into a CM for the inevitable event of the loss of the Physical Mind (PM). Since this direct to CM Production did not use the PM, the CM might still be able to use the Camera to See into the Physical World after Death! If a CV connection is also established, this could be the first step in Connecting a CM to an Artificial Intelligence based Physical Body.
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Closed Loop Good And Bad Model Of Consciousness
Note that this section is not about Good versus Evil, which is a different topic and is mostly about Moral Valuations. This section is about Good and Bad Conscious Experiences. The following diagram is a Closed Loop model depicting Good Experience (Green) and Bad Experience (Red) connections. There is also a Volition Connection (Yellow) returning back from the Conscious Mind (CM) to the Physical Mind (PM).
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A Good Experience originates in the PM as Neural Activity for the Good Experience which we can call a Neural Good (NG). The stimulus for a NG can be something like a Pleasant Taste, a Pleasant Smell, or the Experience of Sex. This NG Activity is monitored by the Inter Mind (IM) which converts it to a Good Conscious Experience which we can call a Conscious Good (CG). The IM then delivers the CG to the CM. The CM receives this CG input and decides that it likes it. The CM will issue Conscious Volition (CV) movement outputs to the IM in order to fulfill the positive Desire for more of the Good Experience. The IM converts these CV signals to Neural Volition (NV) Movement actions in order to get more of the Good Experience. So a CG is a Motivation for the CM to seek out more of the CG. In the case of Sexual Desire, movement towards the opposite sex and having intercourse would satisfy the positive Sexual Desire.
A Bad Experience originates in the PM as Neural Activity for the Bad Experience which we can call a Neural Bad (NB). The stimulus for a NB can be something like Hunger, Fear, or Pain. This NB Activity is monitored by the IM and is converted to a Bad Conscious Experience which we can call a Conscious Bad (CB). The IM then delivers the CB to the CM. The CM receives this CB input and decides that it does not like it. The CM will issue CV movement outputs to the IM in order to fulfill the negative Desire to stop receiving the Bad Experience. The IM converts these CV signals to NV Movement actions in order to move away from the Bad Experience. So a CB is a Motivation for the CM to avoid the CB. In the case of Hunger, movement towards a source of Food and eating would satisfy the negative Hunger Desire.
Nobody knows for sure exactly When or How this closed loop Desire fulfilling mechanism Evolved. Since it is Obviously very beneficial for the Animal or Organism to have this mechanism, we can speculate that it must have appeared very early in the Evolution of Animal Life. But the important thing to remember is that when an Animal fulfills a Desire it is implementing a Conscious Phenomenon that is controlling things in the Physical World. The positive and negative Desires directly affect the Survival Rates of Animals and Organisms and will in the long run affect the Evolution of these Animals and Organisms. It is a logical conclusion to state that even primitive Consciousness can influence Evolution. Evolution is not a completely Mindless, Bio Electrical Chemical, DNA Mutating, Environmentally Influenced process. Rather, Evolution is driven by a combination of primitive Conscious Desires, Bio Electrical Chemical processes, Random DNA Mutations, and Environmental Influences. It could be asked what the relative contribution is for Conscious Desires in Evolution. I believe it will be shown to have much more of an effect than is recognized today in the Evolutionary Literature. It might even be discovered to be the primary driver for Evolution. In any case I am sure Evolutionary literature is due for a big update regarding Consciousness.
This Good Bad Model (GBM) is probably an insight into the early primitive operation of Consciousness at the dawn of Consciousness. But it obviously still applies to Animal and Human behavior even today. We can not know for sure that it operates at the Single Cell Animal level, but we can Speculate that it might. Note that Animal Life is specified because Animal Life can physically move. I am not so sure about Insect Life, but I think Insects may have some rudimentary Conscious Experiences. Plant Life seems like it does not have Conscious Experience and it cannot move, so it will be assumed that the GBM is not applicable to Plant Life. Maybe when Science understands Consciousness better, we will be able to bring Plant Life back into the GBM.
I think the GBM will be important for understanding the requirements of Machine Consciousness. We speculated that Volition could be implemented using the Tunneling effect of Quantum Mechanics. But how can a CG or a CB be Experienced by a Machine? What electronic device could perform this function? Maybe Conscious Machines will not be possible until Science discovers how a closed loop GBM can be implemented. But even before the Loop is closed, we might need to discover how to enable a Machine to Experience the Good and the Bad. Also, maybe we should not get Brick Walled by Closed Loop hopes. The best forward path for Machine Consciousness Experiments might still be to continue with Open Loop Volition.
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An Accidental Artificial Inter Mind
It has been stated previously that the Inter Mind (IM) must be connected, in some way, to all the Visual Cortex areas in order to get the information needed to produce the Conscious Visual Image that the Conscious Mind (CM) Experiences. It is not known how the IM does this at this point in our understanding.
Scientists have developed techniques for measuring Neural Activity, Brain Wave Activity, and other Activities. These measurements are then processed to provide various insights into Brain operations. Scientists do not realize it but they are accidentally developing an Artificial IM when using this instrumentation. By understanding what kind of processing is required for these measurements we can hypothesize what the IM must be doing.
For example, if scientists can develop the proper instrumentation to measure all Visual Cortex Activity then they should be able to process that information to generate a Visual image on a monitor screen that corresponds to the Conscious Visual Scene that the subject is looking at. It might also be possible to display what a subject is seeing while Dreaming. The processing needed to display those Images should provide insight into how an IM might operate.
There are techniques that can monitor what the Visual Cortex is doing. Through certain types of instrumentation the individual Cortex Neurons that fire can be monitored. The Primary Visual Cortex Neurons are a distorted map of the image on the Retina. The Neural mapping, can be reverse distorted with the right processing into an image that matches up with what was on the Retina, and then displayed to a computer monitor.
The Scientists claim they have measured the Conscious Visual Experience. But they have only measured the Neural Correlates of the Conscious Visual Experience. They have not measured the Conscious Visual Experience itself. It is known that while Dreaming there is almost no Neural Activity in the Primary Visual Cortex so the above technique would be useless in showing what a Dreaming Conscious Visual Experience would be like. A technique for measuring the actual Conscious Visual Experience is needed. It would have to operate in Conscious Space (CSp).
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Technical Arguments For The Conscious Mind
We cannot even begin to talk about the Inter Mind (IM) if we do not at least recognize the existence of a Conscious Mind (CM) separate from the Physical Mind (PM). We do not have to understand exactly what the CM is, but we must at least suspect that it is something. I am not going to get into any of the Philosophical intricacies of the whole Body Mind problem in this paper. I am just going to call it as I see it and present some arguments that point to the existence of a separate CM.
1) The first argument is based on an engineering analysis approach where we trace the path of Light perception. The first thing that happens is that Physical Light (PL) enters the Eye and is focused onto the Retina. The instant the PL hits the Retina it activates the Rods and Cones. Various wavelengths of PL will preferentially activate various different Rods and Cones. The PL is absorbed by the Rods and Cones and the PL is no longer PL. What is left is an avalanche of chemical reactions that eventually fires a Neuron that sends a signal away from the Retina and to the Visual Areas (VAs) of the Cerebral Cortex. This happens for millions of Neurons at the same time with the signal from each Neuron bundled into the Optic Nerve. It is a long journey from the Retina through the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) of the Thalamus and to the Visual Areas which are located in the back of the head. During this whole trip from Eye to the VAs we are not dealing with PL anymore but rather this is of course Neural Light (NL). The NL signals eventually arrive at the first Visual Area (V1) get processed and are then sent to the second Visual Area (V2) and on to other Visual Areas V3, V4, V5, and more. All the areas also send signals back to previous Areas to create a giant mish mash of parallel processing that is difficult to completely quantify. All the processing and feedback is also NL since it is correlated with the PL. So, all we can really say is that we Experience NL not PL. We know when this NL happens that CL happens. The CL cannot be found in the Brain, and maybe someday it will be found there. But for now, we can only speculate that it is in some other Realm or Dimension or Space. I say CL is in Conscious Space (CSp). We can then speculate that there must be a Conscious Mind (CM) that exists in CSp, that is experiencing the CL. A similar argument can be made if we trace the path of Physical Sound (PS) to Neural Sound (NS) and then to Conscious Sound (CS).
2) In this argument I will further develop the idea that Conscious Light (CL) and Conscious Sound (CS) are actually different Things than Physical Light (PL) and Physical Sound (PS). They are Conscious Things that exist in the Conscious Mind (CM) which is in Conscious Space (CSp). Some writers like to use the word Substance instead of Thing. I think the word Substance has misleading implications so Ill stay with the more neutral, Thing word. First of all PL is an electromagnetic wave Thing that consists of electric and magnetic fields oscillating at various frequencies. One frequency might give you a Red Experience and another frequency might give you a Green Experience. Let us talk about Red. Red PL has a certain frequency and Red CL has a certain color Experience. Nowhere in the Experience of Red do you Experience any kind of frequency oscillation. Rather, the Redness of Red seems to be a steady non oscillating other kind of Thing than the electromagnetic Thing. It is a Conscious Thing that exists in the CM. When we consider all the colors, we can say that the CM Experiences a Scene of Light painted with all the different possible color Things. Our perceptual situation is similar to how NASA creates pictures of the universe with different “false colors” superimposed on the images to show for example where the hydrogen and the oxygen is located. Philosophical Objectivists say, with regard to our perception of color, that “All Colors Are False Colors”. PL is colorless in and of itself. PL is actually not even Black because Black is a Color and Physical Light has no Color. Somewhere in the Physical Mind (PM), Inter Mind (IM), CM chain the color is added. Similar arguments could be made for the oscillatory Physical Sound (PS) Thing and the Conscious Sound (CS) Tone Thing. People are so familiar with their own personal CL and CS that they think they are PL and PS. The Light and the Sound that you have always seen and heard are not PL and PS but CL and CS. The fact that the CL and CS are correlated with the PL and PS enables the misconception.
3) This argument is similar to argument 2 but uses slightly different logic. Things in Physical Space (PSp) can be described and communicated from one Mind to another Mind. Many things in Conscious Space (CSp) cannot be described or communicated from one Mind to another Mind. Try describing Red to someone. The Redness of the Red can only be Experienced in the Conscious Mind (CM) which is in CSp. This probably means that Redness does not even exist in PSp but only in CSp which argues for a CM to Experience the Red.
4) This argument involves our perception of Light and Sound in our Dreams. Where does all that Dream Light (DL) and Dream Sound (DS) come from? It cannot be Physical Light (PL) and Physical Sound (PS). It is completely dark and silent in your bedroom at night. DL and DS are probably activated by Neural Light (NL) and Neural Sound (NS) but the Experience still must be Conscious Light (CL) and Conscious Sound (CS). So we must conclude that DL and DS are CL and CS. Dream Consciousness is an Uncontrolled Hallucination in the sense that what you Experience is not correlated with anything happening in the outside world. According to Max Clowes, Awake Consciousness is a Controlled Hallucination since the Experience is correlated with things happening in the outside world. I am saying that actual Awake Consciousness and Dream Consciousness seem to use the same Hallucination mechanism to present a reality to the Conscious Mind (CM). Experiences of CL and CS during Awake Consciousness in the CM are correlated with NL and NS activity in the Physical Mind (PM) and the NL and NS are correlated with PL and PS in the outside world. Experiences of CL and CS during Dream Consciousness are also in the CM and are correlated to some NL and NS activity in the PM, but there are no correlations to anything in the outside world. The DL cannot be found in the Brain, and maybe someday it will be found there. But for now, we can only speculate that it is in some sort of Conscious Space (CSp). We can then speculate that there must be a CM that exists in CSp, that is experiencing the DL.
5) This argument involves Evolution and the Conscious Experience of Pain. I think Evolution could be heavily guided by Conscious Mind (CM) sensations. Pain will make an Organism or Animal do almost anything to get rid of it. Animal Evolution might not even work without Pain. Pain is central to our existence today. Pain is perfectly bad. We (every organism on the planet) hate Pain. The misconception that people have is that the firing of Neurons is the Pain. But this is only Neural Pain and is not Conscious Pain. A Neuron is an electrochemical thing. Let’s hook a battery through a switch to a light bulb. You could instruct that whenever the switch is closed and the light is on that this represents Pain. It is analogous to a Neuron firing. You see the light come on and react because you know that's what you are supposed to do. But how long will this last. You will get bored. The fact the light comes on provides no real motivation to act. We need a CM to feel Pain when the light comes on. The Pain provides the motivation to survive. You will never get bored. It will always work. There were probably many other types of CM Experiences that guided Evolution, but Pain was probably one of the first that developed. So we need a separate CM concept even for Evolution to work. It is a logical conclusion to state that even primitive Consciousness can influence Evolution. Evolution is not a completely Mindless, Bio Electrical Chemical, DNA Mutating, Environmentally Influenced process. Rather, Evolution is driven by a combination of primitive Conscious Desires, Bio Electrical Chemical processes, Random DNA Mutations, and Environmental Influences. I think it is possible that the real purpose for Evolution is related to development of the CM. The CM could be the driving force behind Evolution providing Motivation in the form of the Desire to avoid Bad Experiences and to seek out Good Experiences. This will have the incidental effect of increasing Survival Rates and thus guiding Evolutionary Outcomes. Since Desire cannot be found in the Neurons, we can only speculate that Desire comes from some CM concept that is separate from the Neurons. Using this perspective, we might be able to say that Evolution does not even exist as a Thing in Itself, but rather Evolution is just an Emergent Property of the Action of Consciousness in the Universe. We should call this process Conscious Evolution.
6) This argument is based on the lack of Scientific progress with regard to understanding Consciousness. Just the fact that Science has so much trouble with Consciousness should indicate that Consciousness is a separate thing apart from the Physical World. Science deals with Physical World phenomena. I think if Consciousness was part of the Physical World, Science would have had lots of things to say about it by now. The absolute Zero amount of understanding that Science has accumulated about Consciousness should indicate that Consciousness is probably not a Physical World phenomenon or is at least some new category of Phenomenon. So I think it is pretty clear that there are Physical World phenomena and Conscious World phenomena. They seem to be separate things. This is a logical Engineering and Scientific conclusion. It is also a good starting point for the further analysis of the phenomenon of Consciousness.
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Technical Arguments For The Inter Mind
The Inter Mind (IM) is a natural conclusion when you understand the existence of the Conscious Mind (CM). As with the CM we do not have to understand exactly what the IM is, but we must at least suspect that it is something. Again, I am just going to call it as I see it and present some arguments that point to the existence of the IM.
1) The first argument is based on a Systems Engineering and Signal Processing analysis of what the Visual Areas of the Brain are actually doing. It does not appear that the Visual Areas are processing the Light information with the goal of creating the integrated Conscious Light (CL) Scene that we Experience. Rather the Brain seems to deconstruct the image with the goal of detecting elementary properties of the image like lines, edges, motion, and color. There do not seem to be any downstream Visual Areas that are involved with reconstructing the CL Scene that we Experience from all the deconstructed properties that the Brain detects. The downstream Prefrontal Cortex seems to be involved in decision making but it has not been shown that this Area has anything to do with recombining the deconstructed Visual Processing. The only place where there is a good undistorted image is on the Retina of the Eye. The other various stages of processing are highly warped and distorted maps of the retina. The highest stages do not even map at all. The highest stages seem to be involved in image recognition and the lower stages seem to be for mechanical control of focus, eye convergence, and target tracking. But we find that there are artifacts from the processing stages that become visible in our CL Scene. For example, there are some edge enhancement and shading effects that are generated in V1 that can be Experienced in the CL Scene. Also, if there is a damaged area in V1 then an equivalent blacked out area will appear in the CL Scene. Similarly, if there is damage to the Color areas then the Color Experience will be impaired or completely missing. So it seems that whatever is creating the CL Scene must use and be in contact with all the processing stages at the same time. The actual CL Scene is a kind of Overlay of all the Areas including possibly the Retina. It seems that the data available at these processing stages are hints as to what the CL Scene should look like. This data must be the input to the Conscious Mind (CM). It seems that there is a lot of missing processing that has to take place to Reconstruct all the Visual Area processing results into the seemingly perfect CL Scene that we Experience. There is a Processing Gap. We could just say that the CM monitors the Physical Mind (PM) Visual Areas and creates this Scene itself. I think it is more logical to propose that there must be a whole new aspect of the Mind, that consists of further processing stages, that monitors the PM and generates the CL Scene that the CM perceives. This of course is the Inter Mind. It should also be mentioned that this process of combining the processing results of the various areas of the Visual system to create the single CL Scene is called Binding. The fact that no one knows how this is accomplished is called the Binding Problem. I think that the Overlay and Reconstruction processing for Binding might eventually be found to be located in the Inter Mind.
2) This argument involves a particularly mind boggling aspect of Visual processing in the Brain. See the Flattened Retina figure below for the right side Eye.
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The Eye is vertically split through the center of the Fovea. The Fovea is the area where the fine detail of the Scene exists. Note that there is more area on the nasal side than on the temporal side. The Left Visual Field (all rods and cones to the left of the dotted line) is processed by V1 on the right side of the Brain and the Right Visual Field (all rods and cones to the right of the dotted line) is processed by a different V1 on the left side of the Brain. If you close your left eye and just look through your right eye, the Conscious Light (CL) Image that you Experience is split in half for processing but you never see a line. How does it get spliced back together in the final CL Scene that we perceive? The Retina is the only place where the Scene halves are still connected together. There seems to be no downstream processing stage that even attempts to connect the Scene halves back together. There is a Processing Gap. Something else must be at work here and I think it calls for further processing beyond what we can find in the Brain at this time. It seems that there must be some sort of Inter Mind that has this processing capability.
3) This argument involves the line detection capabilities of the Brain. Our whole Conscious existence is controlled by our Brain Cortexes. The Visual Scene from the Retina is transmitted to the Primary Visual Cortex with a very distorted Fish-Eye mapping. With these geometric distortions how do we ever see straight lines or round circles? The Cortex detects straight lines even though topographically they are not straight lines as mapped into the Primary Visual Cortex. It may be that one of the purposes of the line detection is to provide the Inter Mind with a reference template of where the straight lines should be. There is no known processing in the Brain that uses this line detection output to create the perfectly un-warped Visual Experience that we have. I will specify that this un-warp processing must be done by the Inter Mind to produce the actual straight lines that we See in our Conscious Visual Experiences.
4) This argument is about the 3D effect in the Conscious Light (CL) Scene. With both Eyes open the input to a V1 Area will be an overlay of the equivalent Scene regions from the left Eye and the right Eye. Because of the difference in location of the Eyes the two overlaid Scenes will be slightly displaced. It is easy to imagine that this displacement of the Scenes could be exploited by some further processing to create the awesome CL 3D Scene that we Experience. There is of course further processing, but there seems to be no kind of processing that would account for the 3D look of things in the CL Scene. There is a Processing Gap. Something must monitor the V1 displacements as well as any further processing and then create the CL Scene in such a way that it has a 3D effect. The Conscious Mind (CM) could do this processing or maybe the processing will be found in the Physical Mind (PM) some day. I believe it is better to propose that some kind of Inter Mind performs the actual processing.
5) This argument involves the motion detection Areas of the Brain. We think that motion is such a completely natural thing in our reality, but you will not Experience motion properly if your Motion Areas are damaged. People with extensively damaged motion Areas Experience snap shot Conscious Light (CL) Scenes that are spaced in time by seconds or even longer. It has got to be a scary world. With less extensive damage the effect is that motion seems to have a trailing persistence effect meaning that the snap shots are just faster than in the more damaged case. From a Systems Engineering and Signal Processing point of view it looks like the Brain is implementing some kind of Video Compression scheme. It looks like if there is no motion detected, the CL Scene does not need to update which would save processing time. Something is monitoring the motion Areas and only generating update CL Scenes if there is motion. If there is no motion, nothing needs to be updated. There is a Processing Gap. I believe there is further processing going on here and it must be the Inter Mind that is doing it.
6) This argument involves color mixing. Why do the colors mix to form other colors the way they do? The most curious thing is how does White result from the combination of Red, Green, and, Blue? White seems like something very different than those primaries. Who would even say that they see the Red component in White? The sensation is that White isn't even a color. Why is Red part of white? All that the Eye does is fire some Red cones, Green cones, and Blue cones, and then we see White. How does this happen? What sequence of further Neural Activity could possibly produce an Experience of White? This is an obvious Processing Gap, and I think that the processing for this is not something we can even hypothesize about using Physical Space (PSp) knowledge. It is a different domain or kind of processing that we don’t know about yet. Whatever it is and wherever it is, let’s just say it is the Inter Mind that does this processing.
7) This argument involves Conscious Attention (CA). This is the aspect of Consciousness where we can pay attention to, for example, the Conscious Light (CL) Scene and not the Conscious Sound (CS). Even within the CL Scene it is possible to move CA to different parts of the Scene even while the eyes remain fixed to a certain location point in the field of view. Your CA can be switched from CL to CS and you can pay attention to individual CS streams such as a single conversation in a crowd. Since Neural Light (NL) and Neural Sound (NS) are active in different parts of the Physical Mind (PM) this suggests that the Inter Mind can selectively observe different physical locations in the PM. You can focus so much CA on the CS that you almost seem not to see the CL at moments. You can focus so much CA on the CL that you almost don't hear the CS at times. Whatever the mechanism is for CA, it sure does seem like there must be some kind of Inter Mind that can observe various locations of the Cortex to the exclusion of other locations.
8) This argument involves a strange condition called Functional Blindness where no Neurological deficits can be found in the Physical Mind (PM) but nevertheless patients report that they are Blind. The cause of this is a medical mystery but seems to be related to certain types of Psychological problems like depression. No Physiological explanation can be found no matter what type of test is conducted. The Neurons are Firing but the patient is still Blind. It seems almost obvious that the Inter Mind must be involved. The Neural Firing in the PM was not being interpreted and transmitted to the Conscious Mind by the Inter Mind for whatever reason. An obvious symptom of an Inter Mind problem and thus evidence of the existence of an Inter Mind.
9) This argument involves considerations regarding Hallucinations and is a further insight into the Binding Problem. Hallucinations are
interesting and maybe revealing of how Visual Consciousness works. A coworker
of mine (HK) once told a story about having Hallucinations after taking a
particular heart medicine. He said that he saw a man sitting on the floor in
the doorway to his bedroom. He said he knew Hallucinations were possible with
this medicine and he knew the man was not really there but he just had to step
up and over him because it was so real. According to HK the Hallucinated man was
perfectly integrated into the Conscious Light (CL) Scene. The Hallucinated man was not
translucent but opaquely blocked out the background CL Scene as if it was
really there. What does this say about our CL Scene construction mechanism? The
visual scene is not just thrown up in front of us all at the same time but is probably
constructed object by object to form the CL Scene of overlapping objects that we Experience. The important thing to realize is that there must be some process or
mechanism that constructs the CL Scene by putting objects in one at a time. This
happens very fast and we never seem to see an object pop in or pop out. Of
course this same mechanism is putting together a CL Scene for us all the time
when we dream. There is no known mechanism in the Brain that can do this Visual Overlap construction. It must be the Inter Mind that does this processing.
10) This argument involves how we access our Memories. A Brain must have all Information Coded into Data that consists of Chemical Changes, Connection Changes, and any other changeable aspects related to Neural Plasticity. These changes will enable the Neurons to fire differently. But it is not understood how an actual Memory could possibly be just some Chemical or Connection change. These Brain changes are really just the Neural Correlates of Memories. It is unknown how these changes affect the Neural Activity to produce the Conscious Experience of a Memory. It is obvious that some kind of Inter Mind will be necessary to take the modified Neural Activity as input and produce the Conscious Experience of an actual Memory as an output which is then input to the Conscious Mind. The implication here is that the actual Conscious Memory is not located in Neural Chemical or Connection changes, but rather these Neural changes produce Neural Activity that activates the Memory that is stored in the Inter Mind as a Conscious Experience for the Conscious Mind.
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MIND CONCEPTS (Using The Inter Mind Model):
Volition, Desire, And Curiosity
When the topic of Volition is discussed the Libet Experiment will always need to be addressed. Libet first conducted this Experiment 50 years ago and other researchers have conducted many more variations of it in the following years. The Philosophical implications of the Experiment have been hotly debated ever since. It seemed like there was Measurable Brain Activity (the Readiness Potential) 200 or more mSec before the subject even knew they wanted to move their finger. At first, the conclusion was that Free Will is not a Conscious Choice, but is embedded in the deterministic Physics of the Neurons. Many other researchers have debunked this result for various technical reasons.
I think there may have been a more fundamental flaw in the Experiment, due to a basic Brain Operation that was not taken into account at that time. The basic unaccounted for Operation was that a Brain can execute a Program, which can perform at Sub-Conscious Levels. A Brain Program, as we will call it, is not anything like a Computer Program in how it is stored or how it is executed. A Brain Program must be stored in the Neural Plasticity of the Brain, similar to how the Information of Knowledge is stored. Anytime we are learning some new sequence of movements we will need to be slow and deliberate, because we have to think about each movement. After a while we will not need to think as much about each step, and after a longer time we might be able to perform that sequence without much thought at all. Our Brains can be configured to execute Movement Sequences or other Activities using a Brain Program. This is how we can drive for a time period and then think back realizing we were not aware of driving over that time period. This is how Musicians play their instruments while playing memorized music. Musicians certainly cannot think about each note, when they are playing a fast Sequence. Playing Music is obviously accomplished, in part, by executing Brain Programs.
Libet did not take into account that the subjects were executing a Brain Program while at the same time deciding when to move their fingers. This particular Brain Program is related to what I will call the Pounce Program that seems to become a Brain Program early in the life of Humans and Animals. An Animal will creep up to its prey and when within striking distance still wait for the right moment to Pounce. The Animal is executing a Brain Program that is generating the urge to, Go Pounce Now, over and over again. The Program gives the Animal the urge to Pounce, but the Animal can resist the urge until the right moment. That moment will be a Conscious Decision of Volition to Pounce. The Pounce Moment will be driven by all kinds of Sensory input factors, but especially the Visual Experience for movement of the Prey. Humans have incorporated such Pounce Programs too. These Programs probably developed through early childhood game playing. Now think about your Experiences when you have Fly Swatter in hand and are ready to Swat (Pounce) a Fly. We can call this Brain Program the Swat Program. You will feel internal Urges to Swat, which you hold back until you make a Conscious Decision to Swat. So if a Readiness Potential was Measured during this Swatting activity, there would certainly be Readiness Potential increases before the Conscious Volition to actually Swat. But this is only because the Swat Program was running in your Brain generating these Readiness Potentials.
Now back to the Libet Experiment. It is probably easy for the Brain to adapt the Swat Program for other activities that are similar to Swatting. Randomly deciding when to move your finger, as in the Libet Experiment, probably used the Swat Program right from the start. In fact, the subjects commented that they felt an Urge to move their fingers and were able to hold the Urge off until they actually wanted to move their fingers. The Readiness Potential was being generated by a Brain Program and not by Volition or Free Will. This is the basic flaw in the Experiment. The Experiment was Measuring the Readiness Potential generated by a Brain Program. It had little to do with Volition or Free Will. Libet was aware that the subjects were getting Urges to move their fingers before they actually moved them, but he did not recognize that they were in fact executing Brain Programs. I think that Brain Programs will always interfere with any kind of Experiment like this, because we probably use Brain Programs for most of the things we do. It was actually never reasonable to expect that mSec timed Random Finger Movements have anything to do with Volition or Free Will. These kinds of Experiments are obviously more in the category of Neuro-Mechanistic timing studies.
Volition is always linked to Free Will in Philosophical discussions. I will attempt to uncouple Volition from Free Will, and develop a way of thinking about the concept of Volition that does not have the Philosophical baggage of Free Will, although I will make a quick comment at the end about Free Will. With the Perspective of the Inter Mind Model (IMM), we can ask the question: Is Volition a process in the Conscious Mind (CM) or is it simply Neural Activity of the right kind in the Physical Mind (PM)?
If an Animal is going to Seek out the Good and Avoid the Bad, as described in a previous section, then the Animal is going to have to generate Movement Commands to its Muscles to Move toward the Good and away from the Bad. But the Good and the Bad are Conscious Experiences in the CM, so the Desire and the Volition to Seek and Avoid must originate in the CM. The PM does not Experience the Good or the Bad, so it is not Coherent to think that the Desire or the Volition to Seek and Avoid are rooted in the PM. The Desire and the Volition to Seek and Avoid must Logically originate in the CM. The CM will Experience Desire to move toward the Good or away from the Bad. It is more proper to say that these are Conscious Desires and Conscious Volitions. The Inter Mind (IM) will Detect these Conscious Desires and, through Conscious Volition, will generate the appropriate movements or execute the appropriate Brain Program to satisfy the Conscious Desires.
We can also explore a higher level Conscious Desire that only a Human Mind could have. Let's consider Curiosity and the Desire for Knowledge. This Desire is clearly a Conscious Experience in the Conscious Mind. This Conscious Desire will be satisfied over the time period of a Human Lifetime. It is a slow acting Conscious Desire that gets fulfilled by incremental acts of Conscious Volition to get the new Knowledge. It is easy to understand that Conscious Volition will always be the mechanism for satisfying Conscious Desires, even higher level Conscious Desires.
We might expect that there will be some Neural Activity associated with these Conscious Desires. That Neural Activity will be the Neural Correlates of the Conscious Desires. But Neural Activity is not a Consciously Experienced Desire. The Experience of a Desire must be in the Conscious Mind. So if there is Neural Activity in the Brain, but there is no Experienced Conscious Desire, then there is no Desire at all.
The Human Brain cannot Desire anything, because the Human Brain is a Physical thing, and Desire happens as a Conscious Experience in a CM. Since the Human Brain cannot have Desires, we can conclude that it has no Volition capability to satisfy Desires. Clearly, Volition is a purely Conscious Phenomenon that has to flow from the CM back through the IM and to the PM. We can abstract this further and say, that since the Human Brain cannot exercise Volition, that it also has no Free Will. If there is any Free Will, it is in the CM and not in the PM. Since we know that Computers have no Connections to an IM or to a CM, it is obvious that there are no Volition inputs to Computers as they are constructed today. Without Consciousness there is no Volition. For Brains, this statement must still apply even if you Believe that Consciousness "Is In The Neurons" or "Emerges From The Neurons", because there has to be some implementation of the functionality of Consciousness, somewhere, somehow.
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Information, Knowledge, Knowing, Learning, And Memory
I have tried to avoid topics related to Knowledge, Knowing, Learning, Understanding, Recognition, Thinking, and etc., because it seemed difficult to define these things properly. In spite of that, I would now like to make an attempt at defining and talking about Knowledge, Knowing, and Learning. Let us narrow the scope of the broader term Knowledge, and define Knowledge as stored Information. In Computer Systems, Information would need to be Coded into a form of Data that the Computer can process. A Computer must have all Information converted into Data that consists of patterns of Ones and Zeros. In Brain Systems (Human or Animal), Information would need to be converted into a form of Data that a Brain can process. A Brain must have all Information Coded into Data that consists of Chemical Changes, Connection Changes, and any other changeable aspects related to Neural Plasticity. The important thing to understand is that for Computers and for Brains the actual Information must be Coded into some Physical Configurations in some sort of Physical Memory. With a Computer, the Physical Memory is the Hard Drive, RAM, or any other storage Media that can store the necessary Ones and Zeros. With a Brain, the Physical Memory seems to be distributed throughout the whole Brain and is implemented in the Neural Plasticity Changes of the Brain.
I think we can explore Knowledge and Knowing by submitting a test question to a Brain and then to a Computer. Let the question be: What kind of animal Meows? Putting aside the difficulties of parsing the Sentence, we can view this as a Memory Association Data Access operation, and the Brain and the Computer will produce the answer: Cat. But now let us examine the differences in the underlying processes that occurred. First for the Brain. We can say that the word Animal and then the word Meow will Associate in the Brain to eventually fire some Neurons that indicate Cat. But there is no Experience of Knowing that the answer is Cat until the next Processing stage, where a Signal of Cat and Knowingness is received by the Conscious Mind. In other words, the Meaning of the Neural Cat Signal must become Known in the Conscious Mind. The Knowing is in the Conscious Mind. The Physical Brain Knows nothing. It is just a processor. Now for the Computer. The Computer can have an Associative Database that will retrieve the text string Cat for the given input of Animal and Meow. But the Computer does not have the next processing stage of Knowingness that is implemented in a Conscious Mind. So we can conclude that the Computer never Knows it computed the answer of Cat. With a Computer it is always only Processing. There is never any Knowing. This might seem obvious, but a lot of people seem to think that Computers are operating like Brains and that Computers can in some way Know things. There is nobody home in a Computer, like there is in a Brain.
Now let us talk about this in terms of the Inter Mind Model (IMM). We will ignore details of the Processing that had to occur in the Brain or in the Computer that was needed to arrive at the answer of Cat. For the Brain there will be Neural Activity that fires Neurons for Cat. For the Computer there will be Computational Activity that will load the text string "Cat" into three bytes of RAM designated as the location for the answer. In both cases there has been some sort of Activity that indicates the answer is Cat. Up to this point the Process has been Mechanistic and Mindless for the Brain and for the Computer. There is no Knowing that it is Cat yet.
From the operation of the IMM we know that the Inter Mind (IM) is intimately Connected to the Brain, which in IMM terminology is the Physical Mind (PM). The IM is constantly monitoring the PM and is able to interpret the Neural Activity as referencing the word Cat. The IM converts this Neural Activity to the word Cat and to a Feeling of Knowing. The IM then sends the word Cat and the Feeling of Knowing to the Conscious Mind (CM). The Conscious Experience of the word Cat might consist of some vague Auditory Experience of the word Cat and maybe some hazy Visual spelling of the word Cat. There might be a fuzzy Image of a Cat. Other related associations of everything you have ever Experienced related to Cats can arise. But the important thing is that you Know the answer is Cat in your Conscious Mind. You also have the Feeling of Knowing it. There was no Knowing with merely the Neural Activity of the Brain. From this we can understand that the Computer will not be able to Know it has calculated or processed anything. There is no Connection to an IM or to a CM with Computers. But that is not to say that a Computer can not be designed to include such a Connection. The Technology has just not advanced to the point where we know how to do this yet.
We can now Logically say, because a Brain can Know the Information that it Processes, the Brain can have Knowledge. But since the Computer does not Know the Information it Processes, we can say a Computer can not have Knowledge, even though there is much stored Information. If a Computer is Programmed to Display the word Cat on a screen then the fact that the word is Displayed still does not indicate Knowing for the Computer. A Human Brain would be needed to read the screen and do some further Neural Processing to Know that the Computer computed Cat as the answer. The Computer still does not Know anything.
Now I would like to say some things about Human Memory in general. For a long time, I was convinced that the Memory of things was strictly a PM function, but recently it has seemed to me that the only thing the PM does is store the Neural Correlates of Memories and not the Actual Memories. The PM can fire Neural Activity for a particular Memory or Knowledge such as for a Cat, but where does the actual Memory of a Cat come from? There seems to be no Explanation for how Neurons firing could possibly mean Cat or any of the thousands and thousands of other pieces of Knowledge stored in our Memories. It seems Logical that the situation for Memories is similar to the situation for Conscious Sensory Experiences. There is no Explanation for how we Experience Redness from Neural Activity. But we have Logically deduced that there must be some sort of IM monitoring the Visual Cortex. When the IM detects that the Redness Neurons are firing it produces the Redness Experience for the CM. Along that same line of Logic, it is deduced that the IM must be monitoring the PM for Neural Activity related to all the Memories that we might have stored. When there is Neural Activity for something like Cat, the IM detects this Neural Activity and produces a Cat Experience, as described above, for the CM. The PM merely provides the signal (Neural Activity) that triggers the actual Memory that is located in the IM. The Human Brain cannot Know anything, because the Human Brain is a Physical thing, and Knowing happens as a Conscious Experience in a CM.
We can now talk about Learning as the storage of New Information. For a Brain, the Neural Plasticity of the Brain will need to be changed in such a way that the New Information is encoded. There is now a Configuration change inside the Brain, and we can say the Brain was Reconfigured with the New Information. For a Computer, some New Patterns of Ones and Zeros will need to be included in such a way that the New Information is encoded. There is now a Configuration change inside the Computer and we can say the Computer has been Reconfigured with the New Information. As described above, the Brain will be able to access this New Information and Know this New Information. The Information is not Learned until it is Known. It will be New Knowledge. If the Information does not become Known, it is just a Reconfiguration and nothing more. A Computer will be able to access the Information but does not Know the Information. So a Computer cannot Learn in the same sense as a Brain/Mind. A Computer can be Reconfigured, but it cannot Learn. A Neural Net can be Reconfigured, but it does not really Learn. We say the Neural Net Learned, mostly by convention and for convenience.
I would like to mention the analogy of a Library and a Computer with respect to Knowledge and Learning. A Library has many books and much Information, but it would be Incoherent and a little bit dumb to say that a Library Knows anything. If a book is added to a Library, the Library does not Know it was added and the Library did not Learn anything. It is analogous for a Computer. A Library and a Computer are non-Conscious Physical things, so it is also Incoherent and a little bit dumb to say that a Computer Knows anything or that a Computer Learns anything. It is alright to say a Computer Knows or a Computer Learns as long as we Know what we are talking about. We should not continue the Fraud inflicted on non-technical people that there is some sort of Conscious Mind in a Computer that Knows things and that Learns things. It is an Unconscious Machine.
Let us see what a Cat can Know and what the IBM Watson can Know. The IBM Watson has access to much Information but it cannot Know anything. A Cat only has a little Information but it can Know this Information. A Cat therefore can Know more than the IBM Watson because, whatever a Cat Knows, is going to be more than what the IBM Watson Knows, which is nothing. Without Consciousness there is no Knowing. For Brains, this statement must still apply even if you Believe that Consciousness "Is In The Neurons" or "Emerges From The Neurons", because there has to be some implementation of the functionality of Consciousness, somewhere, somehow.
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Understanding
In this section I will attempt to define Understanding with respect to the Inter Mind Model (IMM). With the Perspective of the IMM, we can ask the question: Is Understanding a process in the Conscious Mind (CM) or is it simply Neural Activity of the right kind in the Physical Mind (PM)?
The concept of Understanding, as with the concept of Knowing, is difficult to define properly. First, I will try to show that Understanding is different from Knowing. Let us consider the equation, E = mc2. This is an iconic equation that most people have seen on TV or in the movies. I think I remember seeing it on the old Twilight Zone TV Series Intro. Many people have this equation in their Memories and they therefore Know this equation and can recite it. A lot of people probably Know that E is the Energy and m is the mass. Fewer people will Know that c is the Velocity of Light. However, even the people that Know what all the variables mean might not actually Understand this equation. Understanding would require that there is at least a recognition of the Implication of the equation, which is that a little bit of mass can be equivalent to a lot of Energy. A Deeper Understanding would come from being able to derive the equation from Momentum concepts and the limiting effect of the speed of Light. So it is clear that People can have Knowledge of all kinds of things, but might not have an Understanding of those things.
It was previously shown that Knowledge is simply static Information of Known things. Let us define Understanding as a Relationship between those Known things. Let us now consider an equation that everybody Knows and Understands, 1 + 1 = 2. You can say 1 + 1 = 2 as a Known fact without necessarily Understanding it. Understanding takes more work. Understanding this equation requires that you somehow produce a Relationship between the two 1s. You can write a 1 on a piece of paper and then write another 1 on that paper. You can then proceed to count how many 1s there are and get the answer 2. There is a Relationship between the 1s when they are written together. You can then draw a dot on another piece of paper and then draw another dot on that piece of paper. You can then go count the dots and you will get the answer 2. Now you have attained a deeper Understanding of the equation. You have found that it's not only a 1 and a 1 that results in a count of 2 but also that a dot and a dot results in a count of 2. You will find that if you do this for other kinds of objects that the count is always 2. You have now generalized what was an abstract mathematical equation to real Physical World situations. You will have written and drawn things on the paper but you would need to have Seen the things as Visual Experiences in your Mind to properly Understand. Your Visual system operates to Detect the Writing on the paper, and through the action of the Inter Mind (IM), transforms it into a Conscious Visual Experience.
You could have done the above exercises without writing and drawing on paper. You could have done this all in your Mind. You could have imagined a 1 and then another 1 in your Mind. Imagining a 1 is probably going to require that you recall the Image of a 1 from Memory. Your PM will have the Information for a 1 stored in the Neural Plasticity of the Brain. There will be Neural Activity involved with accessing this Information. The IM will detect this Neural Activity and know that it represents the Image of a 1. The IM will then generate the Conscious Experience, and therefore the Knowledge, of the two 1s. The 1s will probably be hazy and fuzzy when imagined this way, and some people may be able to imagine more vividly than others. Nevertheless, it will still necessarily be a Conscious Experience in the Mind. I will make the Speculation that it is probably not even possible to Understand that 1 + 1 = 2 without the use of an internal Visual Image of the situation. So I think it is fair to state that Understanding is purely a CM activity. There is no Understanding in the PM. The PM can store the Information that 1 + 1 = 2 because anyone can reflexively recall that Information and say it. You can punch in a 1 and then another 1 on a Calculator and get 2, but there is no Understanding involved within the Calculator in producing that answer of 2. Understanding, even the simplest concepts, requires something beyond static Information, Knowledge, and Calculation. Understanding requires a more Dynamic Relational Process that seems to need a Conscious Experience. It requires that there is a CM to Experience the steps of the Process. So, Understanding is at its core an Experience and is not even a thing that exists in the Physical World. The Human Brain cannot Understand anything, because the Human Brain is a Physical thing, and Understanding happens as a Conscious Experience in a CM.
Since a Computer cannot Experience anything, a Computer can never Understand anything. To say that a Computer Understands something is the same kind of error as saying that a Computer Knows something. Without Consciousness there is no Understanding. For Brains, this statement must still apply even if you Believe that Consciousness "Is In The Neurons" or "Emerges From The Neurons", because there has to be some implementation of the functionality of Consciousness, somewhere, somehow.
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Intelligence
The following are some aspects of Human Intelligence with comments on how Conscious Understanding is a factor to be considered. For the reasons that were explained in the above section we Know that Computers will not be able to Understand any of the tasks below, although Computers seem to be able to accomplish many of these tasks. It is recommended to review the paragraphs on Understanding 1 + 1 = 2 above. A calculator can produce the answer of 2 when 1 + 1 is input, but the calculator will never Understand the deeper Meaning of 1 + 1 = 2.
Understand Meanings: ChatGPT can deliver all kinds of text that seem to satisfy the request for a Meaning, but all this text means nothing to the Computer and the Computer Understands none of the text. It is just a dumb text Transformer.
Understand and React to new Input: Reacting to new input is a very mechanistic process inside of a Computer. Even the Thermostat in your house reacts to changing temperatures by cycling the system on and off. But the Thermostat Knows nothing about hot and cold, and does not Understand what it is doing. The same is true for any Reactions a Computer might take with regard to new Inputs.
Understand and Solve problems: As stated above, even something as simple as 1 + 1 = 2 can be solved, but the Computer does not have any way to Understand it. A Computer can calculate moves in Chess but there is no Understanding of what it is doing. It is all just Mindless algorithms calculating.
Understand Abstract and Complex Ideas: A Computer can be programmed, for example, to calculate results for simulations of Quantum Mechanics, but a Computer has no way to Understand the Quantum Mechanics or the simulations.
Understand and Produce new ideas: Even if a Computer could be programmed to produce what might seem like new Ideas, the Computer would not Understand the new Idea or even Know it ever produced the new Idea.
Understand, Find, and Use rules: A Computer could be programmed to Find Rules and Use Rules but it will never Understand the Rules. This is a very Mechanistic process.
Understand and Make Decisions: A computer can be programmed so that it appears to be making certain types of decisions but it will never Understand the Decisions. It will not even Know that it made a Decision.
The missing element with all the above Intelligence tasks is Consciousness. It is that Deeper activity of Conscious Understanding that is needed. Even Brains do not Understand without a Connection to Consciousness. So, I am going to suggest that if an entity (Computer or Brain) does not Understand and Know what it is doing, it cannot really be Intelligent.
Further consideration of this shows, that for there to be Intelligence associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI), the AI must be Connected to Consciousness. A Human can provide the Connection to Consciousness by reading the output from the Computer and using the Human Brain Connection to Consciousness to Understand and Know what the AI has produced. All output from any Computer based AI is not Intelligent until the output is Understood and Known by a Conscious Entity. No AI should ever be allowed to make any important Decision without Conscious Entity supervision. Self Driving Cars will need a Connection to Consciousness before I will be comfortable riding in them.
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Creativity And Imagination
Creativity seems like an almost impossible topic of Consciousness to deal with. But I believe that given some Logical Thinking we will be able to explore Creativity. With the Perspective of the Inter Mind Model (IMM), we can ask the question: Is Creativity a process in the Conscious Mind (CM) or is it simply Neural Activity of the right kind in the Physical Mind (PM)?
Music can be very Creative, but Music can also not be very Creative. Listening to Random Noise or Random Tones can be interesting for a short period time. However, Random Noise and Tones are not very Creative and are not really even Music. I think that Enjoyment is very important when it comes to Artistic Creations. Much Music is written, but the Music that is truly Creative and Original has a Special Essence. People Enjoy it. I think it is clear that the appreciation of that Special Essence of the Music needs to take place in a CM. Scientists can study and measure all the Neural Activity related to this, and still know nothing about the Enjoyment of the Conscious Experience of the Music. The IMM Logically compels us to understand that Music is for the CM and not for the PM.
Claims about Computers creatively writing Music are misleading. Let us explore the Creative Process for Human Music and for Computer Music. The Human composer will get Inspired by a particular line of Musical Notes while Hearing them in the CM. The Human composer might play these Notes on a Piano, Guitar, or other instrument to get a more robust Auditory Experience than what is in the Imagination of the CM. The Human composer will develop a Desire to write the Music. The Human composer is constantly Hearing the Notes at the CM level in order to write the Music. This is because the Human composer instinctively knows the Music is being composed for the Enjoyment of a CM.
Computer Music is not produced this way. Computer Music is generated by Algorithms, Rules, and Random Note generators. The Computer is not Hearing, as a Conscious Experience, any of the Music that is being generated because a Computer has no Connection to a CM. A Computer does not have an Imagination. The Computer program is trying to generate Music for the Enjoyment of a CM without being able to Experience it as a CM. It cannot Hear what it is Generating. The Computer cannot Enjoy the Music and it can never Listen to the Music like a CM would be able to do. The Computer does not Desire to write Music and it does not even know that it generated Music. It's all Algorithmic and Mechanistic. It is obvious that a Computer is unable to write Music for a CM, and there is no way to Program that ability into the Computer with Software. It can only be concluded that a Computer cannot Creatively Write Music, but rather it Generates or Calculates the Music.
When it is realized that a Computer is merely Calculating Music, it becomes completely understandable that there is no Creativity involved. But the Human Brain also cannot be Creative, because the Human Brain is a Physical thing, and Creativity happens as a Conscious Experience in a CM. This statement must still apply even if you Believe that Consciousness "Is In The Neurons" or "Emerges From The Neurons", because there has got to be some implementation of the functionality of Consciousness, somewhere, somehow.
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Humor
Humor is not well understood even by the experts, so this section will not try to define what it is, why it Evolved, or why any particular joke or circumstance is Funny. All we will try to do is answer the same question that has been asked for the previous Abstract features of Consciousness. With the Perspective of the Inter Mind Model (IMM): Is Humor a process in the Conscious Mind (CM) or is it simply Neural Activity of the right kind in the Physical Mind (PM)?
Question: Why did the chicken cross the road? Answer: To get to the other side! I cannot laugh out loud over it anymore, but I can still Experience the Humor of this to a certain extent. The Memory of the Question and the Answer is in my PM, but it is not Humorous until I recall the Question and the Answer into my CM. Then the Humor appears. Even though the Question and the Answer are in the PM there is no actual Experience of Humor in the PM.
Let us examine what happens in the CM while Experiencing this joke. First, the Question sets up the vague Conscious Visual Experience of a Road and a Chicken on one side of the Road looking across to the other side. The PM and or the CM reel to try to figure out some clever answer, maybe trying to Imagine what could be on the other side. Next, when the Answer is revealed, the simple obviousness of it causes the Humor. The CM can then have a Visual Experience of the Chicken going across for no reason other than to get to the other side. These Visual Experiences of the joke, acting in the CM, are what ultimately creates the Conscious Experience of the Humor. Without all the Visual Imaginings there can be no Humor. The PM is unable to do these kinds of Experiential Imaginings because the PM is just a material thing devoid of the capability to Imagine or Experience. How can the Humor of this be stored in the Neural Plasticity of the Brain? The Experience of the Humor cannot be stored, but possibly a Memory that this joke is Funny, could be stored. You cannot Experience the Humor of the joke until you do a little Visual Imagining. This statement must still apply even if you Believe that Consciousness "Is In The Neurons" or "Emerges From The Neurons", because there has got to be some implementation of the functionality of Consciousness, somewhere, somehow.
Now let us think about Humor with respect to a Computer. There is Zero capability for a Computer to Experience Humor for the same reasons the PM cannot. There is no Conscious Experience of Humor in a Computer. No matter how realistically a Human looking Robot appears to be Laughing, it is all just a program with no Experience of the Humor. It is merely simulating a Laugh.
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Emotions And Feelings
There is much written about the difference between Emotions and Feelings. We will not make such distinctions here and will treat Emotions and Feelings as different names for the same thing. It is all related to Conscious Experience and we will only define and talk about Positive Emotions and Negative Emotions.
Positive Emotions are such things as Happiness, Enthusiasm, Curiosity, Pride, Hope, and Love. Negative Emotions are such things as Sadness, Fear, Hate, Shame, Regret, Anger, Guilt, and Depression. There will be Neural Correlates in the Physical Mind (PM) for these Emotions, but they are not truly Emotions until the Conscious Mind (CM) Experiences them. Emotions are purely CM phenomena. The PM itself does not Experience Emotions.
As a special case, let us consider Belief. Belief is most closely related to Religion, so we can talk about Religious Belief. Belief can have Positive and Negative aspects at the same time. Christian Belief, for example, consists of Belief in the salvation promised by Jesus (Happiness) and Belief in the damnation brought by the Devil (Fear). Hope is also usually a component of Belief. In general, Belief can be a set of Emotions, and Belief is nothing without Emotions. Since the PM does not Experience Emotions, we can say that the PM cannot Believe. Belief happens in the CM.
Now let me say these words: Beautiful, Ugly, Good, Evil, Moral, Immoral, Ethical, and Unethical. It is possible to write more words about these words in order to Explain them. But, all these words are charged with Emotional content and are meaningless without the Emotion. For example you can talk about Beauty all day long but if you do not Experience the Beauty of something then there is no Beauty. Since the PM cannot Experience these concepts, the PM cannot Know these things. These concepts are Understood as Experiences only in the CM.
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Conscience And Moral Values
The following is a list of some Moral Values taken from a Google Search:
- Tell the Truth
- Fair Play
- Hard Work
- Respect for Others
- Admit Fault
- Be Kind
- Respect Difference
- Do Not be Jealous
- Do not Take Bribes
- Use Non-Violence
This is a very small example list, but it does show the diversity and depth of possible Moral Values. These Moral Values will have a Right and Wrong element to them. People that have a Conscience will Feel Bad, and have a Guilty Conscience, after violating them. Even the thought of violating them can produce a Bad Conscious Experience. That Bad Feeling will prevent most people from violating them in the first place. People that do not have a Conscience will not Feel bad about violating them and some Amoral people might actually Feel Good about violating them. One thing for sure is that a Guilty Conscience is a Conscious Experience of Badness about perceived Wrong behavior.
There are people that work in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that think they can Program Moral Values into a Computer with Software. How are they going to do that? They might rant about Rules, Probabilities, Information, Complexity, and Computations, but Moral Values are tightly linked with Conscience. How are they going to Program a Conscience into a Computer? A Computer will never Feel Bad about violating any Moral Value programmed in, because a Computer does not have Conscious Experiences. A Computer does not have, and can not have, a Conscience as currently designed. A Human Brain also does not have a Conscience, but a Human Brain is Connected to Consciousness. Conscience is in the Conscious Mind and not in the Physical Mind (Brain). However, I think that a Computer might be Connected, with the right Technology, to Consciousness someday and then maybe it can also have a Conscience. But that day is a long way off, so for now, no Computer and therefore no AI can have a Guilty Conscience about anything it does. Which could be problematic considering the rise of the more sophisticated AI that is being predicted.
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Thinking, Dreaming, Awareness, And Everything Else
Thinking usually involves our Inner Monologue and some fleeting Inner Imagery. Some people claim not to have an Inner Monologue, but for people that do have it, the Monologue and Imagery are almost always in the background of our Minds guiding us through our daily activities. The Monologue is vague and the Imagery is hazy, but nevertheless, these are all Conscious Experiences. We probably could not Think without them. We obviously Think in the Conscious Mind (CM) and not in the Physical Mind (PM). The PM can produce all kinds of Neural Activity, but there is no Thinking until there is a Conscious Experience.
For the people that do not have an Inner Monologue as described above, we can only guess what their Conscious Experience is while Thinking. They must still have some kind of Conscious Experience even if they cannot describe it. But whatever it is, it cannot just be Nothing.
Dreaming is a particularly strange aspect of Conscious Experience. It seems that when the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus suppresses the Visual Input Signals, when we sleep, that the Mind still needs to generate Conscious Visual Experiences for us in the form of Dreams. There will be Neural Activity while Dreaming, but the Visual Experience that is created exists in the Conscious Mind. Without the Conscious Experience the Neural Activity is nothing. We Dream in the CM and not in the PM.
Also, the above sections on Volition, Desire, Curiosity, Knowledge, Understanding, Intelligence, Creativity, Humor, Emotions, and Conscience have shown that these aspects of the Human Mind are firmly based in the CM. I believe it can be said that these are some of the other main activities of Thinking. But the PM has no Volition, Desire, Curiosity, Knowledge, Understanding, Intelligence, Creativity, Humor, Emotions, or Conscience. In other words, the Physical Mind is unable to Think. Thinking involves a CM as the place where these things happen. Also, we have previously realized that all Sensory Experience happens in the CM. Consider Redness, the Standard A Tone, the Taste of Salt, the Smell of Bleach, and the Touch of a Rough Surface.
Related to Touch is Proprioception which, from Wikipedia, "Proprioception, also referred to as Kinesthesia, is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense". Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons located within muscles, tendons, and joints. Most animals possess multiple subtypes of proprioceptors, which detect distinct kinematic parameters, such as joint position, movement, and load". These are all just Physical Body and PM Neural Activities until presented to the CM as Experiences.
Now let us consider Pain and Pleasure (Orgasm). These are Conscious Experiences that happen in the CM and not in the PM. There is of course Neural Activity correlated with these Experiences. We know we do not like Pain and we all like the Pleasure of Orgasm. Since these are Conscious Experiences, they might still exist after the Death of the Physical Body. That is a great thought for the Pleasure Experience but not a very good thought for the Pain Experience. We find that Suffering, whether it is a Pain Experience, or a Mental Experience like Depression, Hopelessness, Sorrow, etc. happens in the CM. People who terminate their Physical Bodies by Suicide to escape Suffering might be in for a rude awakening in Conscious Space when they find that their Suffering survived Physical Body Death. This is because Suffering was always in the CM and not in the PM. You can Kill your PM but you probably can not Kill your CM. So for now, do not commit Suicide because we do not know what we are doing.
Taking this one step further, it is Logical to Speculate that everything we are, everything we thought we were, and Everything Else, is some kind of Conscious Experience. Many people will define Consciousness as Awareness. But what does that really mean? I will stipulate here that Awareness is simply the overlay of all Conscious Experiences, as defined above, at any point in time. There is no separate Awareness thing.
We might actually only Exist as CMs in Conscious Space, and are merely Connected to our PMs in Physical Space. There might be no Conscious or Thinking aspect in the PM that is part of what we are. The PM would be an Unconscious, Electrochemical, Mechanistic, Tool. The CM is the Controller that receives Conscious Experience as Input and generates Conscious Volition as Output to operate this PM Tool. In terms of a Ghost in the Machine concept, I think we can say that the CM is not a Ghost in the Machine, but rather a Ghost Connected to the Machine. The Human Body/Brain Machine is the Phantom that does not Consciously Exist and eventually dies and goes away. The CM Ghost is Timeless, and because it is not a Physical Process, it cannot get old. The CM Ghost might be the only Real thing that we Are and have Known. We have a sense that we could be something very Unexpected!
Since Thinking, Dreaming, Volition, Desire, Curiosity, Knowledge, Understanding, Intelligence, Creativity, Humor, Emotions, Conscience, Sensory Experiences, Pain, Pleasure, and Everything Else, are based in the CM it does not portend well to expect Computers to have these aspects of Mind because Computers are obviously not Connected to a CM. Computers will need an Inter Mind implementing Consciousness Portals. A portal cannot be a program but must be a Connection to a CM through some kind of probably Quantum Mechanics based Electronics.
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PHASES AND LEGACY EXPERIMENT TOPICS (Inter Mind Technology):
Machine Consciousness Experiments (Phase 1 Conceivability)
The steps for implementing the Scientific Method for a Machine Conscious Experiment can be stated as follows:
Ask a Question: Are there such things as Conscious Minds in Conscious Space?
Background Research: Read and Study everything possible about Consciousness and Conscious Experience. Emphasis will be on Human Brain Physiology and especially what happens at the Neural Activity Level with regard to Conscious Experience. Unfortunately, and Surprisingly, it was found that no Scientific Explanation, using known Scientific Phenomena, exists for Consciousness and Conscious Experience.
Hypothesis: Conscious Experience happens in a separate Conscious Space from the normal Physical Space. It is hypothesized that Conscious Minds in Conscious Space can Connect with and affect Physical Brains or other Material in Physical Space. It is further hypothesized that Quantum Mechanical principles may be involved in this Connection process.
Experiment: Use the Quantum Mechanical Tunneling Phenomenon to see if it can be used to show a Connection between Physical Space and Conscious Space. (Details below.)
Analyze Data: Let Experiment run for a long time to collect massive amounts of Data. Try to find behavior in the data that indicates Non Random behavior.
Make Conclusions: Decide if there is Non Random behavior. If there is, then analyze and reanalyze to be sure there is no normal Physical reason for the results.
Communicate: The remainder of this section is the Communication of the results that have been generated so far.
The Connection Perspective of the Inter Mind Model (IMM) enables the conceivability of actually designing Experiments for Machine Consciousness (MachCon). The Connection Perspective stipulates that there is a separate Conscious Space (CSp) concept apart from normal Physical Space (PSp). The IMM also stipulates that there is an Inter Mind (IM) concept that bridges the Gap between PSp and CSp. The basic premise of any MachCon Experiment having this structure is that something in CSp is able to affect something in PSp. This would correspond to a Conscious Volition (CV) concept existing in CSp. The CV will need the resources of an IM in order to have an effect on anything in PSp. There are two Quantum Mechanical (QM) phenomena that can be considered as a resource that the IM might implement. The first QM phenomena involves the Wave Function of an Electron and the second QM phenomenon involves the effect of Quantum Fluctuations on Electrons.
The following Phase 1 Experiment descriptions depend on the existence of a latent Consciousness of some kind in CSp. It is also assumed that this Consciousness can use QM principles to affect PSp. Each Experiment provides a method to detect changes in some parameter that can be controlled by a QM principle. A series of measurements will have the characteristics of a random signal when there is no Conscious control. If there seems to be a bias or correlation in the data that is not purely random then that could be evidence of Conscious control. This is what we will look for.
It is known that Electrons can travel through Energy barriers and actual Physical barriers due to the Quantum Tunneling effect. The probability that an Electron will Tunnel through a barrier is controlled by the Wave Function of the Electron. The speculation is that maybe something in CSp is able to control Wave Functions in a way that will enable higher or lower probabilities of Tunneling. This speculation can be tested with certain Electronic devices that exist today. Tunnel Diodes and Floating Gate Transistors have been used in separate Experiments. The Tunnel Diode based experiment is described in First Legacy Machine Consciousness Experiment Legacy. The Floating Gate Transistor based experiment is currently running and generating data for analysis.
The Tunnel Diode experiment ran for 2 years and generated GBytes of data. Unfortunately, the results were swamped by the random noise in the system. There was never any indication that a Conscious Mind was controlling the experiment. This first experiment was really a Hail Mary Pass in order to try to at least Do Something. The first problem was that the Experiment used only two Diodes which probably was the equivalent of having only two Neurons. The second problem was that it was measuring the changes in a 1nA current which is 6.24 billion electrons per second. It was the best that could be done using bread board level electronics in a spare bedroom lab situation. The coarseness of the measurement doomed it from the start. Practically speaking there is no way to reduce the coarseness to a low enough level to make an analog experiment like this sensitive enough.
The Floating Gate Transistor version of the MachCon Experiment ran for about a year and data compilation from it has completed. See Second Legacy Machine Consciousness Experiment. It too has not exhibited anything except random behavior. A 1 Mega bit Flash memory was used in this Experiment. Now we effectively have 1 Million Neurons. To program a Zero into the memory about 50000 Electrons must Tunnel onto the Floating Gate. This is vastly less coarse than the Tunnel Diode situation but is still pretty coarse. The next MachCon Experiment will have to incorporate an array of Single Electron Tunneling (SET) Transistors. As its name implies these devices can handle single electron charge movements. This will enable a Coarseness that is Billions of times less than the situation with the Tunnel Diode and 50 Thousand times less than the Flash Memory. Unfortunately, the SET Transistor is still at the experimental laboratory stage.
Even if there is a latent Consciousness in CSp that is ready to interact with the world through QM principles, the question could be asked as to why this Consciousness would want to interact with the world in a case like this? A Consciousness would probably need some kind of Motivation to act. Maybe an act of CV will be activated when we understand how to produce a Sensory Experience in CSp. For example, we might need to know how to produce an Experience of Redness or, in general, an Experience of Conscious Light. In other words, we might need to somehow artificially Light up Conscious Space to attract Consciousness to the experiment. Alternately, maybe an act of CV will be activated only when we understand how to produce a Discomfort or Pleasure in CSp. This might motivate an act of CV that will affect the Tunneling characteristics of an Electron. The Experiment should be programmed to then reward the act of CV by lessening the Discomfort or increasing the Pleasure to close the loop. This could be how it all works at the single cell level or at the Amoeba level.
Quantum Fluctuations are highly hypothetical events where small bursts of Energy or Particles appear briefly and randomly out of supposedly empty space. It is thought that if a Quantum Fluctuation occurs near an Electron that it could have an effect. There is anticipation that the SET Transistor could be exploited to measure these Quantum Fluctuations. The speculation is that maybe there could be evidence of Consciousness in the occurrence of Quantum Fluctuations given the right circumstances.
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Machine Consciousness Experiments (Phase 2 Better Resolution)
The negative results of the first two Phase 1 Machine Consciousness Experiments should not discourage further Experiments, especially since it is understood why they did not work. They did not work due to Interference and Noise susceptibility and to the fact that the Experiments were not in a Laboratory environment. But the real point of talking about these Experiments is to show that it is conceivable and feasible to do Experiments given the right Perspective on the problem.
The next phase (Phase 2) will be to purchase more QTDs and upgrade from the breadboard electronics design to lower noise and higher gain commercial Trans Impedance amplifiers installed in a commercial temperature controlled and electro magnetically shielded enclosure with precision power supplies. The goal is to absolutely eliminate any possible interferences that might have affected the breadboard version. Another goal for Phase 2 would be to obtain a faster computer in order to use higher frequency modulations for the QTD bias current. Also in Phase 2 it would be desirable to have multiple configurations running at the same time in order to perform cross correlations on the results. This Phase will require some minor Funding (10s of Thousands of Dollars) to proceed.
Note that it was decided to skip this Phase and move on to Phase 3 And Beyond as explained below.
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Machine Consciousness Experiments (Phase 3 And Beyond)
I have learned a lot from the early Experiments, and would like to define more precisely what it is that we will want to do in the Phase 3 Experiments and suggest some terminology for talking about it. I will start by reviewing some of the things we know about Consciousness.
From a Signal Processing perspective, Conscious Experience appears to be a further processing stage after the Neural Processing. Conscious Experience also appears to be a different and separate kind of phenomenon than the Neural Activity. So first, let us qualify the normal space that we know and call it Physical Space. Next, let us introduce a new concept and call it Conscious Space. Let Conscious Space be the abstract place where our Conscious Experiences and therefore our Conscious Minds are located. Our Conscious Minds are our own little pieces of Conscious Space. We can say that our Brains are located in Physical Space and our Conscious Minds are located in Conscious Space. Therefore, from a Systems Engineering perspective, this means that Brains must make a Connection to Conscious Space in some way.
With this Connection Perspective, it is not necessary, at first, to understand Consciousness itself but only to understand the Connection mechanism. With Physicalism the whole concept of Consciousness must be understood and explained as being somehow in the Neurons. There is no easier Connection mechanism to understand.
I make the claim that any Physicalist explanation about the effect of Anesthesia, Brain Injuries, Congenital conditions, etc. can also be explained using the Connection Perspective. Interestingly, the Connection Perspective predicts that there should be a Sub Conscious aspect to the Brain.
Most Researchers expect that Consciousness will be found to be some Biochemical process in the Neurons. But please let me ask you to speculate and suppose that the Brain is not Conscious, and that the Brain Connects to Consciousness. This invites the suspicion that if Consciousness can Connect to unconscious Brains, then Consciousness might be able to Connect to unconscious Machines, given the right Technology. The Connection from Brain to Consciousness must be a two-way communication. Neural Activity in the Brain must be transformed into an Experience in Conscious Space. We can view this as an Outgoing Signal from the Brain to Conscious Space, and we can call a device that implements this for a Machine an Experience Portal or ExPort. Also, Volition from Conscious Space must be transformed into Neural Activity in the Brain that can produce Movement. This can be viewed as an Incoming Signal from Conscious Space to the Brain, and we can call a device that implements this for a Machine a Volition Portal or VoPort. The electronics module that implements ExPorts and VoPorts can be called a Consciousness Portal or ConPort. Of course, this is all very speculative right now. The only way we will ever know if it is correct or not is by conducting appropriate Experiments. The fascinating thing is that it is feasible to conduct such Experiments. That is what we will be trying to do.
The Experiments in Phase 1 were focused on VoPorts, but as explained, these were mostly stop gap attempts to show a Volitional influence. The resolution on these first Experiments was way to Coarse and Noisy to reasonably expect any measurable influence. But at the time it was all that could be done. It was still fun watching and anticipating evidence of Volition. The plan was to upgrade to a Phase 2 configuration with much better Resolution and Noise control. After much consideration it was decided to skip Phase 2 because even the best Resolution and Noise control using these methods seemed more and more doubtful. Also, some of the Technologies that needed cryogenic temperatures were becoming feasible at room temperature. It is time to proceed to Phase 3.
In Phase 3, the goal will be to investigate and study which Electronic devices might be implemented to function as ExPorts and VoPorts. This will be a Technological No Holds Barred effort. At this point, the primary target will be Single Electron Tunneling (SET) devices. More specifically, the SET Junction (SETJ) and the SET Transistor (SET) will be investigated. These devices can be operated in the 10Hz to 40Hz frequency range corresponding to Neural Signaling in the Brain. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not. I want to find out.
There is also potential for using the Microtubule Transistor as an ExPort or VoPort since there are theories that link Microtubule functioning to Consciousness and the fact that one research finding indicated that Microtubule Bundles can oscillate at 39Hz. This is within the frequency range of interest. Lastly, I think there may be some utility in investigating Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations (QVF) for applicability. What if QVF are how Conscious Space interacts with Physical Space? QVF do theoretically affect Physical Space and might even be responsible for the Expansion of the Universe. I want to study QVF with help from Experts that can propose detection methods and who can design ExPorts and VoPorts based on QVF Technology. All the above kinds of Designs will necessarily be Chip Level designs and not Board Level. I will need to find a good Semiconductor Chip Fabrication company to collaborate with.
The early designs will be focused on finding best Technologies and will involve small numbers of ExPorts and VoPorts on a chip. If a Technology seems promising after many Experiments and much Testing (Non Random Behavior or Data was Detected), then the "And Beyond" part of Phase 3 Experiments can begin. This will involve the development of large scale Chip Designs containing possibly Millions of ExPorts and VoPorts with synchronized Oscillations (10Hz to 40Hz) similar to the Signaling found in the Human and other biological Brains.
An ongoing effort will be to assemble a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) specializing in Single Electron Transistor Design, Microtubule Transistor Design, Chip Design, Quantum Fluctuation Theory, Neuroscience, and other disciplines to map out the best course for the Phase 3 and beyond Experiments.
SMEs should understand and be enthusiastic about the concept of a separate Physical Space and a separate Conscious Space. SMEs should also understand that the goal of this Research effort is to produce new Technologies that can connect Physical Space to Conscious Space. We will attempt to Develop and Design an actual product that might ultimately enable the existence of Conscious Machines and possibly create a whole new industry that will change the World! If successful, this effort will transform our view of our own Consciousness and Being! Ok, let us calm down and be Realistic about this. We should initially Minimize Expectations while always keeping our Fingers Crossed.
Also, I would like to propose the creation of a Machine Consciousness Research Center (MCRC) for developing and conducting these Experiments. To that end, I have rededicated the Mission for my company Digiphase Electronics (digiphase.com) as shown below.
NEW COMPANY MISSION:
MACHINE CONSCIOUSNESS RESEARCH AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONNECTING PHYSICAL SPACE TO CONSCIOUS SPACE
WITH EXPERIENCE AND VOLITION PORTALS
USING ELECTRONICS AND SOFTWARE
GUIDED BY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES
TO ENABLE CONSCIOUS MACHINES
Phase 3 activity will require serious Funding. One possible avenue is National Science Foundation (NSF) funding. The EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) program seems like a good fit for this project. But before I can write a proposal for this Funding, I will need to bring together capable people to be on the Development and Design Team. If NSF funding is not possible then Phase 3 will require Funding from private investors that understand the great purpose and eventual benefits of this Machine Consciousness Research.
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CRITICISM OF CURRENT THEORIES:
Why All Current Theories Of Consciousness Fail
The following will present some of the current theories that are reported to explain Consciousness. I will stipulate that the theory must address Conscious Experience and not just talk about some vague generalized Consciousness concept. I will state that there actually is no such thing as just Consciousness. It is always some kind of Conscious Experience. I will apply the Inter Mind Model (IMM) to each theory. The theory must be able to Explain what an Inter Mind (IM) would be in the theory. Note, if you have been vectored here from an external link and are not yet familiar with the IMM, I can say that the theory must have the answer to a basic question. Given:
1) Neural Activity happens in the Physical Mind (PM)
2) Conscious Experience happens in the Conscious Mind (CM)
How does the Neural Activity of 1 produce the Conscious Experience of 2?
A Systems Engineering and Signal Processing approach would expect that there is some sort of IM processing stage that takes the Neural Activity as the input and produces the Conscious Experience as the output. This is a completely Sensible Engineering expectation. It could be the case that the IM is found to be an aspect of the PM or an aspect of the CM or an aspect of both. If the Physicalists/Materialists are right then the IM and the CM are both aspects of the PM. The important thing is that the IM functionality must exist somewhere, somehow, in any theory of Consciousness. An Engineering approach would therefore demand that each theory have a plausible Explanation for what an IM would be in the theory. In other words, how does the theory explain Conscious Experiences?
I consider this section a Work In Progress. I am going to ask for your feedback at the end of each theory discussion. I will update the theory sections, as appropriate, with viewer comments. Please use the following email:
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First, I would like to talk about Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR) with respect to Conscious Experience. This theory says that Consciousness is based on certain structures in the Neurons (Microtubules) that operate at the Quantum Level. This is all well and good as a speculation about what might be happening in the Neurons. So it is merely describing more Neural Correlates of Consciousness. The problem is that even if it is correct, it sheds no light on the basic question as posed above. It will always talk about some vague Consciousness concept. It cannot solve any of the problems of Conscious Experience. There is no attempt at Explaining what an IM would be within the theory. Some writings claim the theory solves the Hard Problem of Conscious Experience. I do not see it, and it is Incoherent to state that this solves the Hard problem. Please, will someone show me how this theory can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Integrated Information Theory (IIT) with respect to Conscious Experience. This theory basically tries to measure the amount of Consciousness in a structure, like a Brain. The theory cannot address any particular Conscious Experience but only talks in generalities about the quantity of Consciousness. The theory basically says more Information (Probabilistic Cause/Effect Information) and Complexity mean more Consciousness. But this is an Incoherent starting assumption. What is the chain of Logic that gets you from Information and Complexity to something like the Experience of Redness or the Salty Taste? There are some writings about how the theory can explain how the Visual Experience "feels" like it does. Can it Explain Redness? Can it Explain the totality of the integrated Visual Experience? I do not see it. Pun intended. If anything, this theory is more about the possible Neural Correlates of Conscious Experience and not at all about the Conscious Experience itself. There is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Again, I must ask please, will someone show me how this theory can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Information Closure Theory (ICT) with respect to Conscious Experience. This is another theory that Incoherently assumes that Information is Consciousness. All the criticisms of IIT apply here. But yet again, I must ask please, will someone show me how this theory can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Entropic Brain Theory with respect to Conscious Experience. This theory speculates that Entropy in the Brain is Consciousness. Results and conclusions are based on experiments using Psychedelics. As far as I can determine, this theory, like the Information Theories, cannot Explain any Conscious Experience. Please, will someone show me how this theory can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about the Computational Theory Of Mind (CTM) with respect to Conscious Experience. This is also called Computationalism. The basic premise here is that Computations are the basis for Consciousness, and therefore the Brain and Computers are Conscious merely because they both do their own kinds of Computations. But what is the chain of Logic that gets you from Computations to something like the Experience of Redness or the Salty Taste? The Theory is Incoherent without an answer to that question. I do Electronics and Software Engineering professionally and I can tell you that the only things a Computer can do is ShiftL, ShiftR, Add, Sub, Mult, Div, OR, AND, XOR, Move, Compare, Jump, plus some other variations of these. It is inconceivable how the Execution of any of these Instructions in any Sequence, or at any Speed, or on any number of Cores and GPUs would produce Consciousness. Why would it? This is a completely Incoherent expectation. If anything, this theory is about the Neural Correlates of Consciousness. There is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Again, I must ask please, will someone show me how this theory can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Electromagnetic Theories Of Consciousness with respect to Conscious Experience. These theories argue that since Neural Firings are accompanied by very small Electromagnetic radiations, that maybe these Radiations are broadcast globally throughout the Brain to provide a mechanism for solving the Binding Problem. This would require some sort of Electromagnetic processing to solve the Binding Problem. A few of these theories say that it is this special Electromagnetic Processing that gives rise to Consciousness. Even if the Electromagnetic Activity did provide some insight into the Binding Problem it would still be the case that the Electromagnetic Activity is just another Correlate of Consciousness and not Consciousness itself. Some of these theories try to ride on the coattails of Information Theories of Consciousness, by saying that the Information is in the Electromagnetic phenomenon. This fails for all the reasons described above for the theories that rely on some Consciousness property of Information. In any case, the Electromagnetic effects are all really just a function of the Neural Activity. The real problem with all this is that at no point in these theories do they ever address the problem of Conscious Experience. They basically say things like the Electromagnetic Phenomenon IS the Conscious Experience. This is no better than saying the Neural Activity IS the Conscious Experience. By what Chain of Logic can they say that the Electromagnetic Activity IS Consciousness. It is of course just a Speculation, and it is not a theory. Please, will someone show me how any of these theories can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Global Workspace Theory (GWT) with respect to Conscious Experience. I include this theory because people will often say that this theory explains Consciousness. In reality, this theory does not even try to Explain Conscious Experiences. This theory is a theory about Organizing our internal thought processes. There is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. If I am wrong about this then please, will someone show me how this theory can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about the Projective Consciousness Model (PCM) with respect to Conscious Experience. The PCM specifies what functionality needs to be implemented in order to produce a Conscious Experience like the Visual Experience. It claims to present the Math that makes the Visual Experience and Visual Illusions more understandable. The PCM does not specify How the Brain accomplishes this Math. It could be that this Math is implemented in the IM, because it sure does not seem to be in the Brain. There is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Please, will someone show me how this theory Explains any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Predictive Coding Theory (PCT) with respect to Conscious Experience. This is not a theory of Conscious Experience but it is a theory of Brain function and therefore it is only about the Neural Correlates of Consciousness. I include this because there is a following out there that believes this actually explains Conscious Experience. There is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Please, will someone show me how this theory Explains any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Physicalism with respect to Conscious Experience. Physicalism is the proposition that everything is Physical. Physicalists like to say that Consciousness is in the Neurons. In particular, the Mind-Brain Identity Physicalists boldly say that a Conscious Experience IS Neural Activity and that is that, no further Explanation is needed. What? That is like saying the Image on your Monitor IS the Electronics and Software without providing any Electronics Schematics and Software Listings. There would be a huge Explanatory Gap in going from the Electronics and Software to the Image on the Monitor. If a Conscious Experience IS Neural Activity then we need some kind of Chain of Logic that supports this claim. But they have none. There is a huge Explanatory Gap in going from Neural Activity to a Conscious Experience. This theory will need to put the IM in the Neurons as some kind of Chemical, Electrical, or other Neural process. This is an ok speculation but it really is quite Incoherent if you just consider it for a little while. How on Earth is the Experience of Redness or the Salty Taste being produced by the Neurons? How can Neural Activity actually BE these Experiences? I do not see it. The IM must be some function of the Neural Activity but there is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Please, someone show me how this theory Explains any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Emergence and Epiphenomenalism with respect to Conscious Experience. Emergence is a Physicalist proposition. Emergence proposes that Conscious Experience IS NOT the Neural Activity itself, but rather the Conscious Experience Emerges from the Neural Activity. But the Conscious Experience is still the result of Neural Activity even if you cannot say it IS the Neural Activity. For more on Emergence see The Bogus Emergent Properties Argument. Epiphenomenalism is a version of Emergence with the stipulation that the resulting Conscious Experience has no purpose. Both of these propositions imply that the solution to the basic question above is that there is something in the Neurons that creates the Conscious Experience. This theory will need to put the IM in the Neurons as some kind of Chemical, Electrical, or other Neural process. As with Physicalism, this is an ok speculation but it really is quite Incoherent if you just consider it for a little while. How on Earth is the Experience of Redness or the Salty Taste going to just Emerge from the Neurons? Proponents of this theory have no Explanations for this. They just Boldly claim that Conscious Experience Emerges from the Neural Activity, and that is that. I do not see it. The IM must be some function of the Neural Activity but there is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Please, someone show me how this Explains any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Eliminativism and Illusionism with respect to Conscious Experience. Eliminativism is another Physicalist proposition. Eliminativism proposes that Conscious Experience does not even exist. Illusionism is a sub category of Eliminativism that proposes that Conscious Experience exists only as an Illusion. This is pure insane Denialism. How on Earth can someone think that the Redness or Salty Taste that they Experience is only an Illusion and does not Exist? Furthermore, that beautiful High Def, Wide Screen, Multi Colored, Conscious Visual Experience is still there embedded in front of our faces regardless of the twisted reasoning that leads to Eliminativism and Illusionism. Illusionists deny that Conscious Experiences exist but then they insist that they do not deny that Consciousness itself exists, as if Consciousness is still Consciousness without Conscious Experiences. In my view Consciousness is nothing but Conscious Experiences. There is no Other Thing left over from Consciousness if you take away the Conscious Experiences. So when Illusionists deny Conscious Experiences, they deny Consciousness itself. They cannot have the same kind of Conscious Experience about these things that I have. They must also believe that the CM itself does not Exist. So, for them the IM will not exist since the CM does not exist. There is not much more that can be said about this proposition. Please, someone show me how Conscious Experience does not Exist?
Next, I would like to talk about Idealism and Conscious Realism with respect to Conscious Experience. Idealism is a Philosophical proposition that goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks and Conscious Realism is a more recent proposition. The basic premise of both is that our Conscious Experiences are the only Real things in the Universe and that the External Physical World is created by these Conscious Experiences. So the Physical World does not really exist or is at least a secondary Epiphenomenon of Consciousness. This could be true but it is highly Incoherent when the facts of the Physical World are taken into account. I believe that the ancient Idealists realized our Conscious Experiences are separate from the Physical World but they made the mistake of thinking, that since Experiences were separate, that the Physical World did not really exist. Today we now know that for the human Visual System there is a Causality Trajectory that starts with Light being emitted by some source, that is reflected from the Visual Scene, and that travels through the lens and onto the Retina of an Eye. Light hitting the Retina is then transformed into Neural Signals that travel to the Visual Cortex. The Visual Experience does not happen until the Cortex is activated. These are all time sequential events. But Idealists will have you believe that the Visual Experience happens first and then somehow all the described Forward Causal events actually happen as a cascade of Backward Causality through time with the Light being emitted from the source last. They believe the Conscious Mind creates all these Backwards events. Some Idealists propose that the Backwards events happen simultaneously which is not any more Coherent. Some other Idealists will say that the Physical Causal Events are really Conscious Events, in a last Gasp of Pseudo Logic that they hope will maintain a Forward Causality Trajectory for Idealism. But you cannot wave a wand and say the whole Physical Universe is just a Sham series of supposed Physical Events that are really Conscious Events. Many Idealists will just try to ignore this Causality flaw in their theory. Idealism proposed this Incoherent and backwards causality of Consciousness creating the Physical World because their Science was not at a sophisticated enough level to properly explain the Physical World. It is inexplicable how a more modern Philosophy like Conscious Realism can promote the same Backwards Causality. Today it is clear that there is a Causality Trajectory from the Physical World to the Conscious World and not the other way around. Please, someone show me how Conscious Experience creates a Physical World, or the Epiphenomenon of a Physical World?
Next, I would like to talk about Nondualism (or Nonduality) with respect to Conscious Experience. Nondualism dates back to early Hinduism. Nondualism is similar to Idealism since they both believe that everything is Consciousness. The main difference is that Nondualists have a sense of Being the Objects of their Perceptions. They are the people that say things like I am One with the World. Who knows, maybe this is true. It is a Religious proposition that needs a great deal of Explanation. Please, someone show me how the Physical World does not exist or that I am the Physical World?
Next, I would like to talk about Panpsychism with respect to Conscious Experience. This seems to be a popular theory, or really just a speculation, that there is some sort of Consciousness aspect in everything. One interpretation says that Electrons, Protons, Neutrons, etc. have a tiny aspect of Consciousness. This is basically a Physicalist proposition because they believe Physical Matter actually exists, but that Consciousness is in all Matter, even down to the level of elementary particles. They believe in some sort of Emergence or Epiphenomenalism at the atomic level. Another interpretation says that Electrons, Protons, Neutrons, etc. are actually made out of Consciousness. This is basically an Idealist proposition because they believe there is nothing but Consciousness in the Universe. The hope with these speculations is that when Electrons combine with Protons and other elementary particles, that the Atoms and Molecules will have some combined greater Consciousness. Finally, at the level of a massive object like a Brain, all the combined micro Consciousnesses will somehow combine to give us the Conscious Experiences that we have. There is no Logic or even a Clue as to how these micro Consciousnesses can combine into a larger Consciousness that has Conscious Experiences. So the biggest problem, with these speculations, is that they always talk about some ambiguous vague generalized Consciousness Thing. They can never get to an Explanation for any actual Conscious Experience. There is no way this can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Regardless of interpretation, how does this theory Explain any Conscious Experience? Also, see Reality Argument Undermines Panpsychism.
Next, I would like to talk about Higher Order Theories of Consciousness with respect to Conscious Experience. There are several different theories that fall into this category but they all specify that to make a Conscious Experience (first Order) really Conscious, there must be a Secondary Thought (Higher Order) about the original Conscious Experience. So to be specific, they would stipulate that an Experience of Redness cannot become Conscious all by itself because there has to first be a subsequent Higher Order Thought about the Redness such as: "Oh look there is something Red out there in my field of view". In my opinion and my own Experience, this is an Incoherent and unnecessary requirement for Experiencing Redness. I simply Experience Redness without any other thoughts attached. In fact, any other Thought about Redness is just an added Distraction from the Redness Experience as a thing in itself. It is incomprehensible to me as to why they need an Extra Order in their Experience of Redness. They must not have the same kind of Visual Experience that I do, and I am tempted to say they must fall into the category of people that might not have Conscious Experience for Color. See Some People Might Not Have Conscious Experiences Of Color. But even worse, the theory can never get to an Explanation for any actual Conscious Experience. There is no way this theory can Explain what the IM is within the theory. How does this theory Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about Quantum Consciousness and Holographic Brain Theory with respect to Conscious Experience. Both of these theories claim that Consciousness is the result of certain Quantum Mechanical effects like Entanglement, Superposition, and Tunneling. Proponents say Consciousness is the result of these Quantum Mechanical effects in the sense that Consciousness Emerges from these effects or that Consciousness somehow IS these effects. Note that Connectism, as discussed on this website, does not say Consciousness IS these Quantum Mechanical effects but rather that Consciousness is a whole separate Phenomenon (not Quantum Mechanical) that might utilize these effects to Connect to Brains in Physical Space. So, Connectism is not a Quantum Consciousness theory because Connectism does not say that Consciousness IS Quantum Mechanical effects. Quantum Consciousness, in particular, has been branded as Pseudo Science by many in the Scientific community. Both theories talk about a generalized Consciousness and neither theory can Explain any particular Conscious Experience. The theories are speculations about the functioning of the Brain and so they actually can only claim that they Explain some more Neural Correlates of Conscious Experience. There is no way either of these theories can Explain what the IM is within the theory. Again, I must ask please, will someone show me how either theory can Explain any Conscious Experience?
Next, I would like to talk about the Simulation Hypothesis with respect to Conscious Experience. The Simulation Hypothesis states that our Reality and our Conscious Minds (CMs) are a Simulation executing on some super powerful computer. This is not really a theory about Conscious Experience and it does not even try to claim an understanding of Conscious Experience. But there is a following of people that think this Simulation concept could be true, and that it has something to do with Consciousness. The truth is that Simulations are just Representations or Surrogates for the Processes and Objects they are Simulating. Simulations are not even supposed to be the same thing as what they Simulate. As an example, when a Hurricane is Simulated nothing ever Physically gets wet anywhere. In the same way, if Redness is Simulated there never is any Experience of Redness anywhere. The Simulation cannot create a CM to Experience the Redness. This will still be the case no matter how sophisticated the Computer Hardware becomes and no matter how detailed the Simulation software becomes. Computer Simulations cannot create actual Water for the Hurricane, and Computer Simulations cannot create actual Conscious Experiences for a CM in Conscious Space (CSp). Unbelievably, and without any chain of Logic, the Simulation Hypothesis just assumes Conscious Experience and CMs can arise from executing Computer Programs. In other words, it stipulates for example that the Experience of Redness, the Standard A Tone, and the Salty Taste, in a Conscious Mind, are just code executing in some CPU. This is just another Physicalist proposition. How is an Experience of Redness, the Standard A Tone, or the Salty Taste ever going to arise from lines of code in a computer program? This could only be believed by people that have no understanding of Computers and Computer Software. This is a fun thing to think about, but this is an Incoherent theory of Conscious Experience. It is just Science Fiction. Computers and computer programs exist in Physical Space (PSp), so they cannot create a Conscious Experience, because Conscious Experience exists in a CM, which is in CSp.
Next, I would like to talk about Psychedelic Experience with respect to Consciousness. There are many people that believe taking Psychedelic drugs opens up their Conscious Minds to new realms of understanding. I doubt it. I have always been aware of the fact that taking drugs changes the Brain forever. I look at those changes as a damage to the Brain forever. It seems to me that Messing with the chemistry of the Brain does not and cannot enlighten anything about Consciousness. Instead, people are simply experiencing how a damaged Brain functions. Do these Psychedelic Experiences ever enable someone to understand what any Conscious Experience actually is? I have never taken Psychedelic drugs for the above reasons, so I could be wrong about the benefits. Until there is more Scientific information about the benefits, I will prefer to study Consciousness with my original normal Brain chemistry intact.
Next, I would like to talk about Dualism, which is a more primitive precursor form of Connectism. Dualism presupposes that there is a separate Physical Space (PSp) and a separate Conscious Space (CSp) similar to Connectism. But Dualism assumes that the Conscious Mind (CM) from CSp directly affects the Physical Mind (PM) in PSp. This results in all kinds of criticisms and objections from Physicalists. Dualism does not specify any kind of Inter Mind (IM) connection between the CM and the PM. Before Quantum Mechanics there was no plausible theory that could link the PM to a CM. There was no understanding of Quantum Mechanics at the time of Descartes in the 1600s so the concept of an IM could not be envisioned. But since Dualism specified a separate CSp, the theory did not have to Explain Conscious Experience because it was a Fundamental Phenomenon in the Manifest Universe. This was still one step ahead of what the Physicalists eventually fell back into believing.
Now, I would like to talk about Connectism, which has been developed on this website. Connectism, using the Connection Perspective, specifies that there is a separate Physical Space (PSp) and a separate Conscious Space (CSp). Connectism considers these two Spaces to be different Fundamental Phenomena in the Universe. The Physical Mind (PM) (Brain) exists in PSp and the CM exists in CSp. The PM does not create the CM (as in Physicalism) and the CM does not create the PM (as in Idealism). The Deep Meaning of PSp or CSp is not known at this time. Note that even Physicalism does not provide a Deep understanding of what PSp is, and even Idealism does not provide a Deep understanding of what CSp is. But Connectism recognizes the Processing Gap that exists between the PM and the CM and proposes that there must be some sort of Inter Mind (IM) connection between the two. It is hypothesized that the IM Connection will ultimately involve Quantum Mechanical principles. Connectism fully specifies that the Deep nature of Conscious Experience is not yet known. Also, Connectism will always deal with actual Conscious Experiences, and not some generalized Consciousness Thing. In addition, Connectism does specify what an IM might be. And finally, Connectism is the best theory to work with when using an Engineering approach because of the feasibility of designing Machine Consciousness Experiments. Previous sections have discussed various Experiments that have been accomplished and Experiments that will be designed in the future to prove the IM hypothesis.
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Why All Physicalist Theories Fail
I would like to emphasize the reason why the Physicalist theories of Consciousness fail. The reason is, Ironically, that no Physicalist theory actually Explains Consciousness, and especially Conscious Experience. But Consciousness is nothing without Conscious Experience. There is no generalized Consciousness concept as portrayed in these theories. There always has to be a specific Conscious Experience. If the theory has nothing to say about Conscious Experience then the theory has nothing to say about Consciousness. I suspect that the people who push these theories do not even know what the Consciousness thing is, that they are talking about. They never address the specificity of any particular Conscious Experience. The Hard Problem of Conscious Experience has not been solved, even incrementally, by any of these theories. Also, none of the Physicalist theories has anything to say about what an IM would be within the theory. I have not gotten any feedback on how any of the Physicalist Theories of Consciousness can Explain things like the Experience of Redness, the Standard A Tone, the Salty Taste, the Smell of Bleach, or the Touch of a Rough Surface. I am still waiting. Maybe I am missing something.
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Misapplication Of Causal Closure
Physicalists love to say that Connectism/Dualism is not possible because of Causal Closure. But Causal Closure is not a real Scientific Principle. It is more of a Folk Principle like Parsimony or Occam's Razor. The basic premise is that within Physical Space only Physical Phenomena can Cause effects. Physicalists say that since Conscious Space is not Physical that it can never have any effect in Physical Space. But they go even further and say that a separate Conscious Space does not exist and that all Conscious Phenomena are some sort of Physical Phenomena. But the reality of a separate Conscious Space from Physical Space shatters this kind of thinking. They Misapply Causal Closure by ignoring the existence of a Conscious Space. But Conscious Space will not be so easily dismissed. Conscious Space exists and is a separate Phenomena Space from Physical Space. In the larger Universe that contains both Physical Space and Conscious Space, Causal Closure may very well be true. But the way Physicalists Misapply it, leaves Causal Closure as only a Physicalist Hope. A Physicalist Hope will not invalidate the unstoppable reality of Connectism/Dualism.
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Intellectual Laziness Of Oneness Theories
The two Oneness Theories are Physicalism and Idealism. Physicalism states that everything can be Explained by the known Physics of today. We can look at this as a kind of Physics Oneness. They treat any speculation of new Phenomena that are currently not known to Science as Superstitious and Religious thinking. Idealism states that everything can be Explained by Consciousness. We can look at this as a kind of Consciousness Oneness. They believe that all Physical Phenomena from Science are really Conscious Phenomena in some way.
Proponents for each of these Theories will always invoke Parsimony or Occam's Razor to support their Oneness perspectives. But Parsimony and Occam's Razor are not Scientific Principles. They are at best Folk Science Principles, but mostly they are invoked out of Intellectual Laziness. The Oneness people use these Folk Principles to try and delegitimize any Dualistic or Triplistic perspectives. Oneness Theories are Incoherent with the Manifest Universe that we know. It is clear that there are two separate Phenomena Spaces in the Universe. There is the normal Physical Space of Matter, Energy, Space, Time, Wave Functions, etc. But there is also a very real Conscious Space of Conscious Experiences like the Redness of Red, the Standard A Tone, the Salty Taste, the Smell of Bleach, the Touch of a Rough Surface, Pain, Pleasure, Sadness, Happiness, etc. These two Spaces are separate distinct Phenomena Spaces that must be Explained. Conscious Experiences refuse to be pushed back into the Physics of Neurons and the Physical Neurons refuse to be pushed into some aspect of Consciousness. It is Intellectually Lazy to wave a wand and declare that everything is Physics or that everything is Consciousness, and then further declare that these very Declarations solve the problem of Consciousness.
The damaging aspect of this kind of Oneness thinking is that it stifles further exploration of Consciousness. It again creates an Intellectual Laziness where, for the Physicalist, there is no further open minded thinking or research into Consciousness that is needed. The Physicalists are just standing by and Praying for the Revelation that will finally show how Conscious Experience arises from the Neurons. The Idealists are even worse in their Intellectual Laziness because they believe, by virtue of just saying an Incantation: "Everything is Consciousness", that somehow Consciousness is Explained and therefore no further thought is needed. The believers of these Oneness perspectives are usually verbally militant and arrogantly protective of their individual Doctrines of Oneness. This is probably driven by their inability to Coherently Explain their Beliefs. But it might be more a symptom of their recognition of the Frailty of their Beliefs.
As bad as these Oneness perspectives are on an Intellectual level, it could eventually happen that one of them is found to be true someday because when it comes to Consciousness, everything is still on the table. But Physicalism has been around for at least a couple of hundred years using modern Science and there has been Zero Explanation for how Consciousness is going to Arise from the Neurons. Idealism has been around for a couple of thousand years with no real intuitive Explanation for how the Physical World is made out of Consciousness. I would say that some sort of Statute of Limitations has expired for these Theories. We need a new and fresh evaluation of what we are doing with Consciousness Theories. The Oneness Theories seem like Dead Ends at this time, and we Logically should move on.
A more Intellectually challenging and coherent position to take is to first Recognize and Admit that there are two separate Phenomena Spaces in the Universe and then try to Explain what they are, or at least try to Explain how they might Interact with each other. The Inter Mind Model (IMM) can apply to Physicalism or Idealism, but for Physicalism the Model collapses into Physical Space, and for Idealism the Model Collapses into Conscious Space. The three stages of the IMM must still exist, but they must Incoherently be pushed into one of the Spaces or the other. Each of these Oneness Theories must Explain what an Inter Mind (IM) is within the theory. Connectism as described on this website is a far more Coherent Theory of the Manifest Universe and it does not fall back on Folk Principles like Parsimony and Occam's Razor. Also, Connectism does specify what an IM is within the theory.
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Bogus Emergent Properties Argument
I would like to briefly talk more about the concept of Emergent Properties. Physicalists are sure that Consciousness will end up being some so called Emergent Property of the activity of Neurons and other Electrochemical processes in the Brain. But the example Emergent properties that Physicalists talk about are all False Flags for the expectation of what Consciousness will be. When these example Emergent Properties are deconstructed, it is always found that there is no New Real Property that exists as an actual Phenomenon. You can always understand how the Emergent Property is caused by and constructed from the original phenomenon. Consciousness will not be an Emergent Property because Emergent Properties are never a real thing. They are always Bogus and based on superficial thinking. There is always only the original phenomenon. Emergent Properties are a Philosophical Mind Game. Consciousness is a real Phenomenon in the Manifest Universe and needs a Real Explanation beyond some Incoherent Emergent Property diversion. I will talk about Temperature being an emergent property of molecular activity, and Wetness and Waves as being emergent properties of water. Physicalists continue to insist that these Emergent Property examples show how Consciousness could be an Emergent Property of Neural Activity in some kind of analogous way.
Temperature is not some emergent Real Property of anything. To the Touch, Temperature is a sensation of Coolness and Warmness, which are Conscious Experiences of the Mind and not actual Properties of the Physical Universe. Temperature is what we know it to be, and that is, it is a measure of the average Molecular Energy in a substance. Not a new Property. We cannot measure the energy of each Molecule and then sum them together. So, Temperature is simply a detection method for the average energy in substances. We can do things like put Mercury in a tube (with reservoir) and measure the expansion of the mercury on a scale. This is not measuring some new Property, it is simply measuring the amount of expansion in the Mercury. Note that the expansion and contraction of the Mercury is not an Emergent Property of the Mercury, it is an Actual Property of the Mercury. We can then calibrate the scale to correspond to the freezing point and boiling point of water to get two data points on the scale. Other temperatures are considered to be linearly distributed between these two points. We are detecting the expansion of the Mercury and scaling to known behaviors of water. There is no actual new Property of Science involved. Temperature is just a convention of language used for simplicity of communication.
Wetness is a Measure of the presence of Water and is not any kind of New Property of Water. To the touch, Wetness manifests as a sensation of coolness and slipperiness between the fingers. It is not a Property of the Water, rather it is more a property of how the Human Conscious Mind Experiences the Water. The amount of Water can be measured with certain kinds of instrumentation. The amount of Water can for example be Measured by the changing conductivity of a sensor in the Soil for Moisture or by some other appropriate sensor in the Air for Humidity. A really, really sensitive enough detection device might be able to measure the presence of a single Water Molecule, a group of Water Molecules, or a sea of Water Molecules on a continuous scale. There is no new Property when measuring how many Water Molecules are present. Similar to Temperature, Wetness is just a convention of language used for simplicity of communication.
Waves, on the other hand, are an Actual Property of Water. Waves are not an Emergent Property. Waves are just the movement of Water Molecules. I think it is true that any Physical Phenomenon will have some sort of Wave property. There will be Acoustic Waves in the air for Sound, Electromagnetic Waves in space for Light, Physical Vibration Waves in Solid objects, and etc. The Bogus Physicalist argument is that they claim Waves are an Emergent Property of Water Molecules and that Consciousness Emerges from Neurons in much the same way. But a Wave is made out of Water Molecules, and it easy to see that there are only Water Molecules at work here. There is no New Property that just magically Emerges. It is Incoherent to complete the analogy and say that Conscious Experiences are made out of Neurons. It is virtually impossible to see how Conscious Experiences are made out of Neural Activity. This is Incoherent to the core of any logical thought process, but this is what they will many times push at you. This is just the Hard Problem of Conscious Experience in disguise.
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Reality Argument Undermines Panpsychism
There seems to be an ever increasing number of Consciousness and Neural researchers abandoning Reality in order to preach their own particular brands of Panpsychism. But even something as Alive as a thumb does not have Consciousness. Only the Brain seems to have it. It also seems that only particular areas of the Brain, mainly in the Cortex, have it. There is no ability to feel with a thumb or move that thumb if the Nerves to it are cut. If Consciousness was a pervasive thing that existed throughout the whole Body then there should still be an ability for the Conscious Experience of Touch in that thumb because there would be Consciousness local to that thumb. Instead, what Science has discovered is that the Conscious Experience of Touch for that thumb depends on Brain Activity for the thumb. If the signals do not get to the Brain there is no Experience of Touch. The Conscious Experience of Touch for that thumb starts with Neural Activity in the Brain which is converted by the Inter Mind into the actual Conscious Experience of Touch in the Conscious Mind. The Conscious Experience is not in the thumb itself. It would be completely unnecessary for all the Neural wiring from the Thumb to the Brain if Panpsychism was true. The whole Body would be Conscious, but in Reality it is not.
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Incoherence Of Information, Complexity, And Computation
People will often proclaim that Consciousness is Information, or that Consciousness is Complexity, or that Consciousness is Computation. They might combine some of these and say that Consciousness is Complex Information or that Consciousness is Complex Computation. It is beyond comprehension how they arrive at these Beliefs. There is no Chain of Logic that can take you from something like the Redness of Red or the Sound of the Standard A Tone to things like Information, Complexity, or Computation. I will go so far as to say it is not only not Logical but it is completely Idiotic. It is certainly at least Incoherent and it is definitely not Scientific. With these theories, it is always about some kind of Measure of the amount of Consciousness. The more Information, the more Complexity, or the more Computation, then the more Consciousness. What? Why should that be true? No reasons, they just say it is true. But what even is this varying Consciousness Thing that they are measuring? They never define it or know what it is. They never talk about a particular aspect of Consciousness like the Redness of Red, but always talk in generalities about some undefined Consciousness Thing. So how is the Redness of Red going to be Information, Complexity, or Computation?
The common thread between all these so-called Theories of Consciousness is that the Proponents claim that they have put Consciousness into a Mathematical framework. But this is just another Incoherent claim. The Redness of Red, the Standard A Tone, The Salty Taste, the Smell of Bleach, the Touch of a Rough Surface, Pain, Pleasure, etc. are not Mathematical. These are Conscious Experiences in the Conscious Mind. When you listen to the Proponents talk about these Theories, they almost always emphasize how they have turned the study of Consciousness into a Precise Mathematical endeavor. These Mathematical frameworks are Frauds perpetrated on University funding departments to get research money. There is no Mathematics that applies in Conscious Space. Mathematics is strictly for Physical Space. The best thing that can be said for these theories is that they might involve some of the Neural Correlates of Consciousness (Physical Space), but certainly not Consciousness itself (Conscious Space).
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OTHER APPLICATIONS (Using The Inter Mind Model):
Reality Is A Simulation
Even if Reality is a Simulation we obviously still have Conscious Experiences of that Reality. So there is probably still a Conscious Mind (CM) doing the Experiencing in Conscious Space (CSp). There is probably still an Inter Mind (IM) but it would now connect the CM to the Simulation instead of to a Physical Mind (PM). There are two basic types of Simulations that we can talk about. One type is a Simulation that just runs with us being helpless observers having no ability to affect things that are happening in the Simulation. This means that all our desires, strivings, and actions are just something we Experience, but we really cannot do anything about anything. The Simulation makes us think we have desires and strivings and that we can do things. In this type of Simulation the CM would have no Volitional connections back to the Simulation and would only have connections from the Simulation to the IM and then to the CM. In the other type the CM can, through Volitional connections through the IM and to the Simulation, affect things in the Simulation similar to how the CM can, through the IM, affect things in Physical Space (PSp). The Simulation will make us believe we are actually in PSp, but there would be no difference for us if we were in an Actual Physical Universe or a Simulated Physical Universe. The take away from this is that it does not matter if the IM is connected to a PM or to a Simulation.
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Communication
The following diagram shows how two Minds might be able to communicate using the Inter Mind Model (IMM). There are two Conscious Minds (CMs), two Inter Minds (IM), and two Physical Minds (PMs) involved in the communication.
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The diagram assumes that the Conscious Volition (CV) of Mind A to communicate with Mind B originates in CMA as CVA. IMA monitors CMA and processes CVA into a Physical Volition (PV), let’s call it PVA, which causes PMA to move the mouth muscles and push the right amount of air out of the lungs to speak. This generates the Physical Sound A (PSA) that PMB receives and converts to the Neural Sound B (NSB) that IMB monitors. IMB then converts the NSB to the Conscious Sound B (CSB) that CMB Experiences. But the Experience of the CSB alone does not let CMB understand the spoken words. We know that PMB performs Neural Sound Recognition operations and we know that when we Understand speech or Recognize Sounds that there is a certain Conscious feeling type of thing that is Experienced. So, in addition to the CSB Experience CMB will Experience the feeling of recognition which I will call Conscious Sound Recognition (CSR), which in this case is CSRB. The NSB activity must feed into the Neural Sound Recognition (NSR) section of PMB. And IMB must monitor the NSRB of PMB and produce the CSRB feeling that CMB Experiences. When CMB Recognizes and Understands what CMA is saying it can initiate a CVB response back to CMA using the same sequencing of events but in the opposite direction. Maybe the only reason PSp exists is so our CMs which are in CSp can talk to each other.
From the IMM and the sequence of events as described above it is easy to understand how damage to the NSR areas of the PM can let a CM Experience the CS but not be able to Understand or Recognize the meaning of the CS. There could be another type of PM damage that might allow Recognition and Understanding without an actual CS Experience. These arguments will also hold for the Conscious Light (CL) Experience and the Recognition of CL objects in a CL Scene.
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Search For Extra Terrestrial Intelligence
The current technology that the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) uses can only listen out to about a 1000 Light Year radius. Since the Milky Way Galaxy is 100000 Light Years across, the futility of this is obvious. With this technology we might be able to scan 0.04% of Our own Galaxy. The source signals attenuate too fast for any greater distances.
According to the last Hubble Telescope survey there are 100 Billion Galaxies in the Universe. Let us say there are 1 Million other Planets that have evolved intelligent life forms that have invented Radio transmission technologies. This means that there would be only one of these other Planets in every 100000 Galaxies. So the probability that SETI will find even one of these other Planets in our Galaxy is almost non existent. For SETI to have any possible chance of finding one of these other Planets there would have to be, assuming the Galaxy is a flat disk and using a simple ratio of areas, 2500 of them in our Galaxy. This means that there would have to be 2500 X 100 Billion, or 250 Trillion, of these Planets in the Universe for SETI to be able to find just one of them. Nobody thinks there are going to be that many of these Planets. The only hope for SETI is that these Planets are all transmitting super high power signals for the express purpose of having someone detect them. This is also unlikely. On the other hand maybe there really are 250 Trillion advanced Planets in the Universe. So I think SETI should continue its search until we know more about the Universe.
Most advanced technology Planets probably realize the futility of a SETI search and eventually invent some other technology, not related to Radio transmissions, that will do the job. Maybe Conscious Space (CSp) should be studied to see if it can be used as a way to communicate across the Universe. Since we suppose that CSp is not anything like normal Physical Space (PSp), it might not have the same limitations as PSp. The Inter Mind Model (IMM) supposes that our Conscious Minds (CMs) exist in CSp, but we do not seem to be able to communicate between CMs locally on our own planet. So we should not expect that we will be able to use our CMs to communicate across the Universe. However, a Machine with the proper connections to CSp might be able to instantaneously communicate with any other such configured Machine in the Universe. This is completely hypothetical and we do not have any idea how to do this at this time. But just the suggestion of this might enable someone in the future to discover such a thing. This will obviously require more understanding and study.
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If A Tree Falls In A Forest
The whole question is, "If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one there to hear it does it make a sound?". This classic Philosophical question was not directly asked but was first formulated by George Berkeley in his "A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Knowledge", and in 1883 the actual question appeared in the magazine "The Chautauquan".
From the point of view of the Inter Mind Model (IMM) the answer is clear and obvious. When the tree falls and hits the ground it makes pressure wave disturbances in the air and so there is Physical Sound. But if there is no one (not even an animal) there to hear the Physical Sound then there will be no Neural Sound or Conscious Sound. It is the Conscious Sound that is the only Sound we know. So, the answer to the question is that there is no Sound.
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Extra Sensory Perception
Positive evidence from even the most rigorously conducted Scientific ESP research is highly debated and controversial. But we can hypothesize possible paths for ESP using the Inter Mind Model (IMM) as shown below.
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Direct Conscious Mind (CM) to CM, ESP communication through Conscious Space (CSp), seems unlikely because it would eliminate the need for an Inter Mind (IM) or a Physical Mind (PM). Direct PM to PM, ESP communication using some Physical Space (PSp) phenomenon that is yet to be discovered, also seems unlikely. Direct CM to PM, ESP communication seems unlikely since even the basic single person IMM shows the need for an IM in between. Direct IM to IM, IM to PM, and IM to CM, ESP communications must be left open as possibilities pending a better understanding of what Consciousness and the IM are. Actually, all the Connections must still be considered as possibilities until Science has a Clue about this.
Each CM has its own Personal Light and maybe someday we will understand how to Experience the Light of another CM. Also, maybe someday we will be able to affect and control the Light of another CM, or project our Light to another CM, for purposes of communication. Since we can Speculate that the distance between CMs is irrelevant in CSp, this might be how we will eventually communicate with Beings that have CMs on other Worlds across the Universe.
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Life, Light, And Sound After Death
Since the Conscious Mind (CM) and probably the Inter Mind (IM) are not Physical Space (PSp) things they might be able to exist after death of the Physical Mind (PM). We can say that the CM is shielded from the PM and PSp by the IM. The diagram below shows this situation with an X through the PM to indicate end of life.
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If anything survives death it must be the IM and the CM. If the PM is gone and there is nothing to control the Conscious Light (CL) and the Conscious Sound (CS), not even Dream Neural Activity, then what will life, or at least the CM Experience, be like after death? From this model it seems like it could be very weird. It might consist of uncontrolled visions of Light and Sound, or a disconnected sequence of Memories about everything we have ever known. Maybe without being a slave to a PM we will be released to do things with that CL and CS that we cannot even begin to imagine. We will become the most basic thing that we are and that is pure Conscious Experience. We will be Born into a whole new type of existence in Conscious Space (CSp.) We will not be what we were, but rather we will become what we were always meant to be. We will understand how we actually are the Light that we have always Seen and how we actually are the Sound that we have always Heard. We are Beings of Light and Sound plus all the other Conscious Experiences. It can be said that there is Light and Sound after Death.
Notice that this situation is not anything like the old Religious Soul concept in which the Soul is thought to inhabit the Body and leaves the Body after Death. The Connection Perspective shows that the CM was not in the Body to begin with, but rather it was Connected to the PM in the Body. The Connection has merely been broken. The CM does not go anywhere after Death. It stays where it has always been in CSp.
Let us speculate that the collection of possible Conscious Experiences that we have is limited to what the Physical Body can access. Maybe there are an unlimited variety of other Conscious Experiences that exist in CSp that we cannot even imagine right now. Maybe after we detach from the Physical Body we will be able to tap into this unlimited resource of new Conscious Experiences.
I would like to talk a little about Out of Body Experiences. It is doubtful that these Experiences are anything except Dreams and Hallucinations. The people that claim such Experiences say they are not located in their Bodies anymore but yet are Seeing the World as if they were still in their Bodies. They are Seeing images as if there was Physical Light being focused on Physical Retinas and processed by Physical Brains. But yet they say they are Outside of their Bodies. So how is this happening? From the IMM point of view this cannot be happening. The CM has separated from the PM and there is no Connection back to the Physical Visual System anymore. A separated CM is not going to be able to See like it did when it was Connected to a PM. The Visual Experience is a very special kind of Seeing that requires a PM and Physical Eye system with Optics. Even if the CM could separate away from the PM and have some sort of remote cabled connection to the PM, the only Visual Processing apparatus available is at the location of the PM. Therefore, the Visual Point of View will have to be from where the PM is located. There is no Visual system at the location of a remote CM. CMs do not have Eyes and PMs do have Eyes. We need to get used to the reality that being a separated CM will be a very different existence than being a CM connected to a PM.
We should not forget that there are many other Conscious Experiences not addressed in this paper that could also survive after the death of the PM. One of these is Conscious Pain, which is not a good thought. But if death is a Dream like reality then there probably cannot be Pain because there does not seem to be Pain in our Dreams when the PM is still alive.
While an IM is connected to its PM the Neural Activity of the PM probably overrides any communication attempt from another IM. Maybe after many years of practice as prescribed in Eastern Religions and Philosophies people can learn to quiet their PMs in order to receive communication from other IMs. Maybe some people can naturally do this. I think the record for this actually happening is sketchy at best. However, if two IMs have lost their PMs, it might be possible for the IMs to direct connect in some way that is prohibited when either PM is still alive. Maybe then, the two CMs connected to the two IMs will learn to communicate with each other by sending their Light and Sound as messages.
If Conscious Memories are actually stored in the IM, as discussed in argument 10 of Arguments For The Inter Mind, then maybe we can retain the Memories of our life after we Die. This will have important implications when we Speculate possibilities of interactions with other IMs and CMs after Death.
Maybe all IMs are connected together to some Universal Mind like the New Age people like to talk about. Then maybe the IMs can communicate through the Universal Mind with each other. The IM might be able to plug into something else that we cannot even conceive of for purposes that we cannot know at this time. The important thing is that there might be something left after PM death that is not in PSp and could therefore survive after the PM is gone. In other words, even though we know there is no Hope for the PM, there may be Hope for the CM.
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Concepts From Philosophy
In terms of concepts from Philosophy the Physical Mind (PM) can be associated with the Easy Problem, the Inter Mind (IM) can be associated with the Explanatory Gap, and the Conscious Mind (CM) can be associated with the Hard Problem. Although these three Philosophical concepts are known to be interrelated, I believe putting them into the Inter Mind Model (IMM) nails down exactly what the interrelationship must be. Also, it is seen that the Explanatory Gap is actually the IM of the IMM. It is a “real thing” that we might be able to devise experiments for. One last concept from Philosophy is really rooted in Brain Physiology and that is the concept of the Neural Correlates of Consciousness. I say in this paper that Conscious Light (CL) is correlated with Neural Light (NL) making the NL a Neural Correlate of Consciousness for the CL.
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Religious Interpretations And Is Conscious Space God?
I would like to start with an interpretation from Christianity here. This is more of a stretch than the Hindu interpretation that follows, but there is a Three stage model in Christianity which of course is the Trinity. By any Christian Doctrine that I have ever seen, the Trinity is actually not Explained, and is considered to be a Mystery that the Human Mind cannot understand. But what if the Trinity was meant to be Metaphorical rather than a list of actual Gods? Then we can speculate that the Father is Conscious Space (CSp) or a particular Conscious Mind (CM), and Jesus is the Inter Mind (IM), and the Holy Ghost is Physical Space (PSp) or a particular Physical Mind (PM). We then have an Inter Mind Model. Jesus says that No One Comes to the Father Except by Me. This is a curious thing to say, but it sounds like Jesus is saying he is the IM between PSp/PM (Holy Ghost) and CSp/CM (Father). The interpretation of the PM or Body being the Holy Ghost is the toughest part here because every explanation of what the Holy Ghost could be says it is a Spirit and is not Material. Maybe they are wrong.
Stephen Knapp in The Secret Teachings of the Vedas says that according to Hindu scripture the diagram is as shown below. The scriptures say that the IM is the Super Soul which is God and the CM is the Soul. The PM is of course the Body.
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Saying that the IM is God is not very helpful, because we do not know what God is. But at least they understood that there was a problem with the Body and Soul model hundreds of years ago. They actually postulated God as the IM back then. Also, most religions have some kind of Soul concept and we have to admit that the CM seems like it could be viewed as a new kind of Soul concept.
The Christian and Hindu models preclude us from saying that we are the Conscious Light (CL) and the Conscious Sound (CS) because the CL and CS come from Jesus or God which is not part of what we are. Jesus or God (IM) is awkwardly spliced in between the Body (PM) aspect and the Soul (CM) aspect. But on the other hand, maybe we are a part of Jesus or a part of God. This will then return us to being the CL and the CS.
When the Body dies in the Christian and Hindu models the Soul is still plugged into Jesus or God, which could be a comforting thought. At our current stage of understanding, saying that Jesus or God is the IM is as good an idea as anything. I still think that the IM is a Processing Gap that will be filled someday by some new discoveries and new scientific ways of looking at things.
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Conscious Evolution Versus Intelligent Design
As pointed out in Argument 5 of Arguments For The Conscious Mind, Conscious Evolution is driven by a combination of primitive Conscious Desires, Bio Electrical Chemical processes, Random DNA Mutations, and Environmental Influences. We can define a further refinement of this as Intelligent Evolution, if the Conscious Influences seem to have an Intelligent goal beyond mere survival. I do not think Evolution really is Intelligent if that is the definition, because of the 200 million years of Dinosaurs that occurred. You would expect that an Intelligent Evolution would have taken the highest Life Form way beyond Animal level much sooner than 200 million years. If this was some sort of Intelligent Design by some kind of God then we must ask the question: What was God thinking during the 200 million years of Dinosaurs? Whatever the process was that formed life on this planet, I think we can say it was not Intelligent Evolution or Intelligent Design. However, we should not be so arrogant that we think we are the only acceptable Forms for Consciousness. It could be that the Dinosaur Form is equally acceptable for the Purposes of a Conscious Mind. Not even Science knows what those Purposes are.
However, there is a place for Intelligent Design if we look at what Science can tell us just after the Big Bang. At first, there was just pure Energy. Then Electrons, Protons, and Neutrons formed from the Energy. Why does the Energy want to Form into other Particle things in that way? Next, Stars were formed from these Particles. Why do the Particles want to Form into Stars? Then all the Atoms and Molecules that exist were formed by processes inside the Stars. Why do the Stars want to Form these larger Atomic and Molecular material things? All this Early Stuff was not just random. Science would not have been able to study the original Big Bang Energy and Predict all the things that could Form from it. Who would have guessed the original Energy, when that is all there was, could form into all these things? There seems to be a hidden goal here. That first Energy seemed to have some internal Propensities that were Intentional. This could be where the Intelligent Design was implemented. If there was Intelligent Design, then it was obviously in properties of the original Energy, which ultimately produced our Human Forms and the planet we live on, using the Physical processes that Science has since discovered. The Human Form is not a product of direct Intelligent Design, but rather it is a product of Conscious Evolutionary forces acting on Substances that appeared after the Big Bang. These Substances had built in Propensities and Intentionality (Intelligent Design) to Form into other things. Why were these Propensities and the Intentionality built into the Big Bang Energies when there should have been Nothing? We can say that the Big Bang Energies had a very specific Design. The Energies were not Random. The Energies really did seem to be Intelligently Designed with internal Intentionality.
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MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS AND ISSUES:
Some People Might Not Have Conscious Experiences Of Color
I have always assumed that all normally functioning Human Minds would have at least similar kinds of Conscious Experiences. I have thought this for decades. But after many years of discussions about this with people on various Forums, it has finally become clear to me that some people actually must not have Conscious Experiences or Qualia in the same way I do. I limit this observation to things like the Experience of Redness, the Standard A Tone, the Salty Taste and so on. The Experience of Colors and especially the Experience of Redness has been a major target for my discussions with people on the various Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness Forums. There are people that flat out deny the Existence of the Experience of Redness. I think they give it their best shot at understanding it, but they always fall back to just dismissing the Experience of something like Redness as pure Fantasy, Superstition, Magic, and Illusion. I have become convinced that their denials of Conscious Experience, their very words, show that they truly and simply do not perceive Redness as a kind of Experience. There is no Redness Experience. They are not Color blind so they can Detect Red in their Visual Field in some way but it seems to be more at the level of the Neural Activity. They can somehow sense that their Neurons are Firing for Red and indicate that there is Red in their Field of View but there seems to be no Experience of Redness in their Field of View. They deny any such extra Consciousness Phenomenon is happening. It almost seems like they must have some sort of Color Blindsight from birth.
I used to think they were just messing with me, and I was hoping that after all these years that they would get tired of continuing their Fraud. But I have come to realize they are not messing with me, they truly do not have certain Conscious Experiences or Qualia. In fact, one even said that Qualia were invented by Idiot Philosophers. They (People on the Forums) are very often nasty and arrogant like that and I wonder if that is a symptom of their lack of Qualia. It is interesting that their lack of Qualia would make them living examples of the P-Zombies from Philosophy. One thing I can say is that if they really never have had an Experience of something like Redness then I can completely understand how they would think it was something Magical and Illusory. These people simply deny the Existence of Qualia and are completely stymied by talk of Qualia, which naturally results in their complete inability to understand the Hard Problem of Conscious Experience.
I have been astounded by the possibility that some people (mostly the Physicalists and the people that promote the Higher Order Theories of Consciousness) actually might not Experience the Color Qualia. It is a mystery to me what their Inner Experience of Color could be like. I have always tried to use the Experience of Redness as a discussion point for talking about Conscious Experiences. These people literally will say that there is no such thing as Redness and they always try to compare descriptions of Experiences of Redness to Religious Experiences. I have tried for a long time to get them to describe what the Experience of Redness means to them. After receiving mostly insults, one of them gave me a description of what the Experience of Redness was from their own point of view. He dismissively said that his Experience was the same as everybody else. He described the multitude of Emotions and Memories that were Experienced while Seeing Red. He went on to describe particular Emotions and Memories. I noticed that there was no recognition of the Experience of the Redness itself, but rather it seemed like his Experience of Redness wholly consisted of Associations to other things. This seemed a little odd, but telling. So I then asked him to strip away all the Emotions, Memories, and other Associations from his Experience of Redness and tell me if there was anything still remaining in the Experience. Here is his reply: "How the {!#%@} would I know? It isn't possible for me to 'strip out all the Emotions, Memories, and any other Associations'. Further, I don't believe for a moment that you can either, Steve. This is navel-gazing, pure and simple." This person obviously does not Experience the Redness, but rather Experiences all these other things in place of the Redness Experience. He literally can not figure out what I am talking about. Notice the reference to Navel-Gazing. He still thinks that the Redness is a Religious Experience.
After some further conversations I now understand what an Experience of Redness is for these Physicalists. When they think about Experiencing Redness they always branch off into talking about Emotions and Memories. For them, it appears that the actual Experience of Redness is an Experience of Emotions and an Experience of Memories. That is the Experience for them and there is nothing else for them to report. This is of course why they hate the word Qualia, because it does indeed imply that there is something else happening with the Experience of Redness. I can fully see how they would think that the concept of Qualia is Redundant to their Experience. I can now fully understand why they would think that Qualia and the Experience of Redness are different things. I also now understand why they think that to Experience a Color you need to have a series of encounters with the Color to build up the Emotions and Memories that will be used as the Experience of that Color. They really do not understand how it is possible to Experience the Color before that process. For the Physicalists the Experience of Redness is not what I expected. It is something different than my Experience of Redness. I Experience Redness as a Quale and they Experience Redness as associated Emotions and Memories. In fact, I can say I really do not Experience Redness as Emotions and Memories at all. I just simply and directly Experience Redness as a Thing In Itself.
Another discussion thread I have participated in where the people denied the Existence of Qualia was one where the people were convinced that we cannot see a Color until we have a Word for the Color. This seems like a very strange thing to believe. I tried in vain to convince them that the Word for the Color does not make the Color real but that the direct Experience of the Color is real. They could not understand what I was talking about. This can only make sense if you consider that they might never have Experienced a Color Quale. They instead receive some kind of Signals from their Neurons that give them some type of Indications about the different Colors, but without any actual Conscious Experience of the Colors. I can see how the Words might be of prime importance to them.
But yet another example of People that probably have no Conscious Experiences or Qualia are the people that don't understand the difference between a Computer detecting Red and a Human detecting Red. They probably also just Detect Red in some way but have never had an actual Experience of Redness.
The evidence for this lack of Conscious Experience in some people is continuing to grow. It explains the endless arguments about Conscious Experience and Qualia. These people simply do not have the Conscious Experience of Redness or any other Color, and maybe not Light in general. The Lights are out in their Minds.
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Addressing the Physicalist Delirium
A Physicalist is a Physical Monist or Material Monist. They Believe that all Conscious Phenomena can be explained by Physical Material Phenomena. Some Physicalists go so far as to discount Conscious Phenomena as even Existing at all. The Physicalists have complained about three basic statements that I have made. They seem to show an emotionalism in their replies that reveals a hidden frustration with their inability to address the statements in any coherent way. They are getting more and more Delirious. They are self appointed Guardians of the knowledge base of Science but that knowledge base is empty with regard to questions about Consciousness. They will not admit that there is Zero Scientific understanding of Consciousness so they resort to Insults and other Diversionary tactics that only reveal their ignorance. If Science cannot deal with Something then that Something can only be Supernatural or Religious in their way of thinking. They therefore need to make that Something go away rather than trying to study it more and come up with a Scientific Explanation. This necessarily implies that they think that Science has obtained all the knowledge that it will ever obtain. But this is not the Science that I know. I have been taught and expect that Science is discovering New Phenomena all the time. Here are the three statements that annoy the Physicalists to the point of mental breakdown:
1) Science has Zero, I repeat Zero, understanding with regard to Consciousness.
2) Conscious Experiences are in a whole different Category of Phenomena than any known Scientific Category of Phenomena.
3) The Conscious Experience of Pain can give an Organism or Animal a statistical Evolutionary survival advantage that can affect the Evolution of that Organism or Animal.
As for the first statement, the Physicalists say things like: The Neural Activity IS the Conscious Activity and then they say that Explains it, end of discussion. This is Naive and Shallow beyond all reasonableness. It is not even a good Scientific guess. It is Pure Belief. It is so bad, I have to think the Physicalists are not really serious when they say things like this but are just messing with me. They think that Measuring Neural Activity IS the same thing as Measuring the Conscious Activity. They are Measuring the Neural Correlates of Conscious Experience not the Conscious Experience itself. They treat the actual Conscious Experience as if it did not even exist. I cannot understand how they get to this point in their Physicalist delirium. To perpetuate the Physicalist Belief, they must Deny the actual existence of the Conscious Experience. The Conscious Experience of something like the Redness of Red is a Self Evident reality of the Universe, and they deny it. The Conscious Experience of Redness is something that Science cannot Explain. The Self evident reality of it is that it exists only in the Mind. They know the Redness exists in the Mind because they See it too, but still they must deny this Self Evident Phenomenon of Consciousness because if it did exist Science would have to Explain it. But Science cannot Explain it at this point in time.
The second statement points out how the Physicalists might come to understand that Science does not have any Knowledge of what Conscious Experience could be. If Conscious Experience could be found to be in any known Category of Scientific Phenomena then Science would have had a lot to say about Consciousness by now. Instead we get Silence. Conscious Experience is in a Category all by itself and this new Category of Phenomena has not been integrated into the Scientific knowledge base yet. Science does not know what to do with this Category of Phenomena. Since Science does not know what to do with this Category of Conscious Phenomena the Physicalists say it is Supernatural or Religious. It is neither of these, it is simply not understood yet. Do not be afraid you little Physicalists, those scary Conscious Experiences will not hurt you.
I think the third statement is completely sensible from even the most basic understanding of Evolutionary mechanisms. The Physicalists completely oppose this statement however. I do not know how they can justify thinking that the Conscious Experience of Pain will not actually increase the statistical Evolutionary survival advantage for an Organism or Animal and thus influence Evolutionary outcomes. And it is not just Pain but all the multitudes of other Conscious Experiences that exist in the Universe. It is a logical conclusion to state that even primitive Consciousness can influence Evolution. Evolution is not a completely Mindless, Bio Electrical Chemical, DNA Mutating, Environmentally Influenced process. Rather, Evolution is driven by a combination of primitive Conscious Desires, Bio Electrical Chemical processes, Random DNA Mutations, and Environmental Influences. I suppose the opposition to this is because it admits the existence of Conscious Experience which they Deny. So, because they have to Deny Conscious Experience they must Deny a basic premise of Evolution. They say that Evolutionary literature does not mention Conscious Experience so therefore the Conscious Experience of Pain cannot influence Evolutionary outcomes. This takes Shallow thinking and fear of what is outside the Box to extremes. I will go so far as to say that if Evolutionary literature does not take into account Conscious Experience then Evolutionary literature needs a Big Update.
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Final Comment On Consciousness
It all began a number of years ago when I decided it might be fun to understand how Consciousness occurs in the Brain. I decided that Conscious sensory perception, specifically Light and Sound, were the things I would study. I can see Light and I can hear Sound.
I spent years reading what the Philosophers had to say about Consciousness, only to find that they seem to have hit a pretty hard Brick Wall on the issue. So I began studying Brain Physiology, Eye Physiology, and Ear Physiology for explanations. The thinking was that if I could understand more and more how the physical Brain, Eye and Ear actually worked then the Conscious perception of Light and Sound would become obvious. That was naive. The Brain Physiologists have become pretty good at finding the Neural Correlates of Consciousness but they have also hit a Brick Wall beyond that.
If we are going to break through that Brick Wall then I think it is essential for Philosophers and especially Scientists to let go of the thought that the Conscious Mind (CM) has to be found in the Physical Mind (PM), or that the CM somehow Emerges from the PM, or that the CM is just an illusion. The Inter Mind Model (IMM) is a placeholder in a Framework for exploring Consciousness. I hope that this IMM Framework perspective helps to drive a conceptual wedge between the PM and the CM that serves to emphasize the reality of the separation between them. I also hope that with this Framework, some future Mind will be able to discover the key to Consciousness that leads to a whole new Science of Conscious Mind and ultimately to Artificial Consciousness in Machines. The search for the Inter Mind is on! What really is that Conscious Light and that Conscious Sound that we have always Seen and always Heard?
Thank You
Steven J. Klinko
Date: 10/08/2012
An Analogy to Ponder:
For the Physicalist World is Hollow and I have Touched the Physicalist Sky!
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