Oddbean new post about login | logout One of my favorite mind-blowing theories is the idea that perhaps consciousness leads to reality rather than the other way around.
States of hypnosis can be reached that allow your body to self-impose anesthesia… I would say the evidence tends to bend in that direction, but who knows…. After all, it could be my subconscious shaping that reality
Or that consciousness *is* reality
Yes, consciousness collapses the quantum wave function! - ALL PHYSICAL MATTER exists as a quantum wave function, with all possibilities in superposition - when quantum wave functions meet they add, they don't collapse so its still a quantum wave function - so to collapse into "reality" it must meet SOMETHING OTHER THAN PHYSICAL MATTER 😁
A key question is what led to consciousness? Atheists assert the matter led to mind. Believers assert that Mind led to matter. How you answer that question may well determine how you try and live your life and what goals you try to achieve.
Wow, definitely. From the perspective of biology, our brain just creates an interpretation of the sensual inputs it gets, optimized for survival in the environment we live in. Reality is what we can see, hear, smell, touch, and measure with instruments. Is reality everything? Is it absolute? I don't think so. It is just a tiny fraction of 'what is'. I ve always been wondering and asking myself how other lifeforms on this planet perceive reality, e.g. whales or ants, or trees. Will we ever be able to communicate with them? It might be mindblowing, confusing, and still mostly incomprehensible. Does reality only exist if we look? If there is no observer, the simulation might simply stop. All users logged out, game room closed 😆
Most interesting topic! The how and why of consciousness is defined as THE hard problem of psychology. And still it ts the only thing in the known universe we can be sure of that it is not an illusion (Sam Harris). Could think about it for days without getting bored
Have you ever experienced anything that happened outside your consciousness? Any time you recall a memory, where is it actually taking place? Any time you look to the ‘future’, where is that experience actually taking place? There is only consciousness. Matter, or reality as you call it, is what cosmic consciousness (pure subjectivity) looks like when viewed by dissociated entities of consciousness (i.e living organisms).
Or.. what comes first. The chicken or the simulation?😂 https://image.nostr.build/96a830e02dd284ad28d612fd0a8c497b6fc68b571e2397c52528f931fcb62fc2.jpg
Your consciousness specifically, or the collective conscious of all living things? Good book I read on this topic: https://amzn.eu/d/gUAGXf7
Similarly, the plot of Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is still very much mind blowing to my little brain. Spoiler: The island and everything in it is just a dream of the Wind Fish, and the monsters were getting violent because of the Fish's nightmares. After waking up the Fish, everything about the island ceased to exist.
I heard something about this topic from nostr:nprofile1qqsw79gu0guq7s98t473fyavx3akwaafmx6l5z4rehd50lrcl2mf4zcpr9mhxue69uhkzer4d36zuvfcwpk82uewwdhkx6tpdsq3vamnwvaz7tmpw3kxzuewdehhxarj9ekxzmnyqy28wumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hssn2wwz Sounds really interesting. Any books suggestion? :)
I've spent s few years researching this and I'm convinced all proponents of this theory are full of shit.
The Bible teaches that God “spoke” and all things came to be… so you’re not far off.
Reminds me of Jan Smuts' idea of Holism. Basically a universal life force that pushes the creation of more complex systems. Evolution by chance apparently doesn't explain the speed of complex adaption of species.
Look at reality, it still lacks lots of conscience. So that theory disproved itself. 😅 Maybe, Life & complexity lead to consciousness. Having each of our individual experiences being experienced by the universe leading to more conscious results & consciousness.
Indeed, powerful creators we are…
