Re: Penrose on Brains

[Stephen A. Lawrence]

RC Macaulay wrote:

Chris Zell wrote..
 
The difference between ESP and intuitive leaps of understanding is 
simply a matter of degree.  Those who denigrate psychic phenomena
probably have no problem with the sterotype of a light bulb appearing 
above their heads, as new concepts simply pop into their minds.

Chris, thats a stretch. I can accept the intuitative rather than the 
physic. As I read the various posts on this and IT vs. Darwin etc. I 
think about one subject often ignored.

TIME

If we presume time to have a beginning, we place ourselves in a box. 
If we attempt to conceive time as " eternal" with no ending we in turn 
are faced with the question.. what if time had NO start.. it is 
eternal.. no beginning. Tryng to grasp a concept of time eternal is 
impossible to gather into one's focus. It would mean that...

No matter how much time elapses from this moment on into eternity.. 
that measure of time would NEVER equal the amount of time that has 
passed. This is one on paradoxes facing the true scientist. The 
paradox is that it is the one scientific fact that is impossible to 
grasp in its significance.

But according to current theory, time started with the big bang, some 
tens of billions of years ago.  Before that it's just speculation; 
nothing is defined.  The big bang began with a singularity, and at that 
point the space and time coordinates simply terminate.   The time 
coordinate does not extend back past that point.

So, if you want to remain within the bounds of current scientific 
theory, there is no "eternity" looking back.  There was a beginning.

A proper view of time will open understanding to the depth of the task 
facing CF research.

Richard