Aberatii intelectuale

Back in March 2021 I wrote about the Hard Problem of Consciousness which I consider to be the greatest mystery of all time . In that article I talked about what the hard problem of consciousness is - how can the physical brain produce a subjective experience, qualia ? - and proposed a (speculative) mechanism by which the brain does it - the Chorus Hypothesis - just like in an orchestra or a chorus where the chorus is the combined result of the voices of the singers, subjective experience or qualia is the combined activity of the neurons which sync with each other and produce a pattern of waves - the brain waves. These waves do indeed vary by the state of consciousness (they are different in awake vs asleep individuals, for example). So there is at least that association, if not more. My hunch is that the subjective experience itself is the product of these brain waves (Christof Koch is also interested in this waving patterns in what he calls the local field potential ). I think that t...

When I was little, I used to think all the time about the Universe. This hasn't ever changed. Understanding the universe as it is, without any kind of prejudice, is imperative. But back in the 4th grade I used to consider only the objective, physical world - how did the Universe begin? What is the Big Bang? How does the physical world work? Do you really need mathematics to describe the world or can you use some other tool to do it? This was happening ever since I was very young, like I said above, around 4th grade. But I never concerned myself with questions about consciousness or qualia , the subjective part of the world - the fact that we can see colors, feel touch, hear sound, smell a flower, taste chocolate, love, be sad, having an inner voice talk inside your head, imagine the future, plan, study, learn, memorize, remember, and on and on. It never occured to me that these things should require an explanation, for whatever reason. I always took them for granted. And this persi...

Acum multi ani, in drum spre serviciu, obisnuiam sa ascult un curs audio de filosofie. Primul lucru care mi-a ramas in minte a fost conceptul de "fericire". Scenariul propus de profesorul de filosofie era in felul urmator: "Exista posibilitatea, in principiu, sa existe un buton pe care daca apesi, sa fii fericit?". Cu alte cuvinte, exista posibilitatea "fericirii artificiale", produsa in laborator? E doar un simplu mecanism biologic, si doar atat? Multa vreme m-am gandit la acest lucru (prima data cand am dat peste ideea asta era prin ~2011). Si, evident, mi-am pus problema "ce este, de fapt, fericirea?". Pare un lucru foarte eluziv si greu de exprimat. Si este. La momentul respectiv, gandindu-ma destul de mult timp la acest lucru, am recunoscut, temporar, cel putin, ca nu pot/nu stiu sa dau raspunsul la intrebare si ca pur si simplu ma depaseste. Acum, insa, cred ca pot da raspunsul. Acest post este continuarea fireasca a celui anterior, ...