Yet to be characterized. I like this guy's position (have I mentioned this here before?) http://www.possibilian.com/
Note, he's a neuroscientist... -Pete On Mon, 16 Sep 2013, Arthur Cordell wrote: > Consciousness might be real: But what is it??? > > -----Original Message----- > From: futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca > [mailto:futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca] On Behalf Of Ray Harrell > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 7:37 PM > To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Researchers measure consciousness through brain > activity brain activity > > Holy moly! I love this science thing. > > REH > > -----Original Message----- > From: futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca > [mailto:futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca] On Behalf Of pete > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 6:46 PM > To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Researchers measure consciousness through brain > activity brain activity > > > An odd, but sadly not uncommon, outlook: consciousness is a directly > tangible experience, the only thing we can really say we know exists for > certain, while the "material world" is a conceptual costruct we have > conjured from dubious information presented to our consciousness by > demonstrably fallible and spotty sensory inputs whose actual source we only > imagine, due to apparent consistency, is a valid tangible realm. > > A truly thorough employment of the scientific method must lead to the > conclusion that the notion of a material world is simply a theory, and may > be as naive as an earth centred world with a crystal sky. Consciousness, on > the other hand, amazingly, is always right here whenever you remember to > check, and I guarantee you can never find it to be missing, no matter how > hard you try. It is real, whether the material world is, or not. > > -Pete > > On Mon, 16 Sep 2013, Steve Kurtz wrote: > > > An imaginary notion of the 80+-% of homo superstitious-hierarch who > > believe in souls, spirits, deities, universal consciousness, etc. > > (Less than 20% say they are agnostics or atheists.) > > > > Steve > > On Sep 16, 2013, at 1:45 PM, Ray Harrell wrote: > > > > > What is Dematerialized consciousness? > > > > > > REH > > > > > > From: futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca > > > [mailto:futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca] On Behalf Of Steve > > > Kurtz > > > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 5:40 AM > > > To: Futurework list > > > Subject: [Futurework] Researchers measure consciousness through > > > brain activity > > > > > > Dematerialized consciousness takes another hit. > > > > > > Steve > > > > > > > > > > > > http://www.world-science.net/othernews/130814_consciousness > > > > > > > > > <image001.png> > > > "Long before it's in the papers" > > > August 14, 2013 > > > > > > RETURN TO THE WORLD SCIENCE HOME PAGE Researchers measure > > > consciousness through brain activity > > > > > > Aug. 14, 2013 > > > Courtesy of Science Translational Medicine and World Science staff > > > > > > A new study seems to back up pre?vi?ous pro?pos?als that the lev?el > > > of > com?plex?ity of your brain ac?ti?vity largely de?ter?mines wheth?er you?re > con?scious or not. > > > > > > Sci?en?tists de?vel?oped a test of con?sciousness based on the > con?cept?a test that does?n?t re?quire a pa?tient to ac?tu?ally do > an?y?thing, they said. > > > > > > Con?scious?ness is elu?sive, but we know it?s what van?ishes when we > fall in?to a deep sleep and reap?pears when we wake up. Doc?tors typ?ic?ally > de?ter?mine if a per?son is con?scious by their abil?ity to pro?cess and > re?spond to ex?ter?nal com?mands, such as ?open your eyes? or ?squeeze my > hand.? > > > > > > But these meth?ods are su?per?fi?cial, as re?search has shown in the > last dec?ade that a brain to?tally dis?con?nect?ed from the out?side world > may still have some aware?ness. This may hap?pen in brain-injured pa?tients > who emerge from a co?ma but can?t move or un?der?stand in?struc?tions, for > ex?am?ple. > > > > > > One the?o?ry is that in a con?scious brain, dif?fer?ent > > > popula?t?ions of > neu?rons, or nerve cells, car?ry out their own com?puta?t?ional roles, but > can?t com?mu?ni?cate with oth?er neu?ron popula?t?ions. > > > > > > When the brain loses com?plex?ity, some sci?ent?ists pro?pose, > > > neu?rons > ei?ther start to be?have more si?m?i?larly al?to?geth?er (re?sult?ing in a > loss of in?forma?t?ion), or their abil?ity to com?mu?ni?cate is im?paired > (re?sult?ing in a loss of in?tegra?t?ion). For ex?am?ple, if you?re asleep > and you hear a dog bark?ing, your brain will re?spond with ac?ti?vity in the > au?di?to?ry cor?tex, the part of the brain that pro?cesses sound. But if > you?re awake, the same sound might al?so in?duce thoughts of your own dog, > or an?noy?ance at the loud?ness of the bark?re?sponses tied to ac?ti?vity in > the brain?s mem?o?ry and emo?tion cen?ters. > > > > > > These lat?er brain pro?cesses con?tain more in?forma?t?ion. > Neu?ro?sci?en?tists have been try?ing to de?vel?op ways to meas?ure > con?sciousness based on this brain com?plex?ity. > > > > > > In the stu?dy, Mar?cel?lo Mass?mini of the Uni?vers?ity of Mi?lan in > Italy and col?leagues de?vised a tech?nique to meas?ure this brain > com?plex?ity, or how much in?tegra?t?ion and in?forma?t?ion flow is > hap?pening in the brain. Called the Per?turba?t?ional Com?plex?ity In?dex or > PCI, their tech?nique in?volves mildly ?shak?ing? the whole brain with a > strong mag?net?ic stimula?t?ion and re?cord?ing the re?sponse of neu?rons. > This da?ta can then be used to cal?cu?late how much in?forma?t?ion the brain > is able to pro?duce as a whole. > > > > > > The re?search?ers tested the tech?nique in pa?tients with brain > in?ju?ries, pa?tients un?der an?es?the?sia with dif?fer?ent drugs, and in > pa?tients who were awake, in deep sleep or dream?ing. The test re?flected > the par?ti?ci?pants? lev?el of con?sciousness un?der each of these > con?di?tions, they found. > > > > > > The re?sults sug?gest that dif?fer?ent lev?els of con?sciousness are > tightly linked to the com?plex?ity of the brain re?sponse, they added. For > ex?am?ple, find?ing a ?PCI val?ue? above the sleep or an?es?the?sia lev?el > in a pa?tient who is oth?erwise un?re?spon?sive would sug?gest she or he is > con?scious to some ex?tent. Al?though more re?search is needed, the > anal?y?sis could po?ten?tially be a use?ful tool at the hos?pi?tal bed?side > for meas?ur?ing con?sciousness, they added. > > > > > > The find?ings are pub?lished in the Aug. 14 is?sue of the jour?nal > Sci?ence Transla?t?ional Med?i?cine. > > > > > > * * * > > > > > > Send us a comment on this story, or send it to a friend > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Futurework mailing list > > > Futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca > > > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > Futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > Futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > Futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list Futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
