You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments View context
3 points

Sure, it leaves space for anything. It leaves space for (any) God. It doesn’t make it useful to consider it though. There are literally an infinite number of things we could make up to explain it, but that doesn’t make them equally likely. The most likely is the one that doesn’t require strange assumptions, like the universe caring about consciousness, or that particles are conscious like another person said, or the hand of God literally reaching in to set the states exactly himself. Some hypotheses shouldn’t be entertained because they require so many strange assumptions they’re essentially useless and just a waste of time.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point
*

It doesn’t make it useful to consider it though.

Why not? My own consciousness is literally the one and only thing I have direct, ineffable evidence of existing. Unlike God, you actually have proof of your own consciousness existing, the same consciousness that doesn’t really fit anywhere in our purely quantitative descriptions of the universe. I think that’s reason enough to give the idea some credence.

Some hypotheses shouldn’t be entertained because they require so many strange assumptions they’re essentially useless and just a waste of time

The only “strange assumption” I’m making is that my consciousness actually exists.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

the same consciousness that doesn’t really fit anywhere in our purely quantitative descriptions of the universe.

How does it not fit in our quantitative descriptions? We can measure its activity. It behaves differently when in a coma, or when thinking about different things, or when dead. We can grow neurons and form connections with them outside the brain to do computations. We can’t make anything as complex as the brain yet obviously, but we understand how it functions. What part of it doesn’t fit in a perfectly quantitative description.

I’d love for some mystical thing to exist, but literally every mystical thing people have believed for tens of thousands of years has been wrong. Why should we expect any different here? Lightning isn’t caused by spirits in the mountains dancing, a god throwing lightning bolts, or anything else mystical. We can’t fully describe the mechanisms at work perfectly, but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand it. We could assume it’s something mystical into the gaps because it sounds cool, but theres no reason to think it isn’t something material that can be learned.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

How does it not fit in our quantitative descriptions?

I mean it just kinda fucking doesn’t. Our physical model of reality is a bunch of mathematical models and there’s no mathematical formula for consciousness yet.

I’d love for some mystical thing to exist, but literally every mystical thing people have believed for tens of thousands of years has been wrong.

But you’re literally experiencing the “mystical thing” right now. The mystical part is the part where you don’t really have a mathematical equation for it and yet it exists. Think of it like “dark matter” where you know it probably exists but you can’t really model it properly.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Science Memes

!science_memes@mander.xyz

Create post

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don’t throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

Community stats

  • 12K

    Monthly active users

  • 3.6K

    Posts

  • 89K

    Comments