Just in case you're expecting Buzzfeed, Reddit, or Gawker, you're in the wrong spot. This is just a humble response -- maybe an extension -- to another humbly offered blog entry:
Big Thick Glasses Blog
I encourage you to read this entry... and to think about it. In fact, read it first -- otherwise, my blog won't make much sense.
There are no dancing babies (I really don't like the dancing babies), or cute cats (I really DO like cute cats.) But I think we spend way too much time mindlessly absorbing entertaining images and much too little time in looking inward.
I'm going to split this into two blog entries. The first, this one, will offer some extensions, challenges, and critique of BTG's (Big Thick Glasses) original post, one item at a time. The questions in this blog are BTG's. Here goes.
Have we been visited by Aliens; are UFOs alien spacecrafts?
There has not yet been credible, tangible evidence to indicate that UFOs are alien spacecrafts. Photos are invariably blurred and likewise, videos. We're like the movie character that states some insane hypothesis then proves it with the observation, "There's no other explanation." In this case, there are always many reasonable alternative explanations.
I'm inclined to agree with BTG's summation that it's unlikely that we've been visited by alien life forms, mostly for the reason stated that we're simply not interesting enough. We've barely progressed beyond hammering coconuts with stones, or hurling stones at one another -- we just have a machine to hammer the coconut and guns to hurl stones faster!
This said, when I think of our own curiosity which drives us to study, for example, sharks, I'm somewhat more likely to believe that an alien entity might be curious about this murderous, mentally inferior, albeit clever, society. However, I don't think they'd drive their flying saucers here on the intergalactic freeway. I would be more likely to believe that an advanced intelligent life form would have found their way around time and space.
Are “Near Death Experiences” (NDEs) real?--i.e., are they an indication there is a life beyond this one?
While I don't see any reason to doubt that NDEs are "real", I think there's considerable wiggle room when we think about what they are. They seem to be inspiring and, in some cases, life changing for most people who have experienced them. They are "something".
I had an experience recently while recovering from surgery. I'll preface this with the admission that I had taken pain medication -- Tramadol, some powerful stuff -- but it was a small dose and I don't think can be the sole agent of this phenomenon.
I had fallen to sleep in the recliner in our living room... the TV was on and I was alone in the house. I woke up and felt that I needed to visit the restroom. So, I got up from the chair and began the short trip to the bathroom... but halfway across the floor, I happen to glance back at the recliner and was shocked to realize that I WAS STILL THERE! Then, I was back in the chair, realized I must be dreaming and began trying to wake up -- but I could not. A this point, I began fearing I was actually dead and this was an NDE. I had to fight to wake up. All this occurred with the clarity of everyday experience and it left me feeling confused and disturbed. This experience, while NOT an NDE, was certainly "real", but as far as meaning, I don't believe there is any deep meaning. It was just interesting.
Is there intelligent, conscious, advanced life in the Universe outside of Earth?
The Universe is so vast and our knowledge is so pitifully scant, I think we're hardly qualified to determine what is and what is not conscious, advanced life -- or even whether intelligence and consciousness has to inhabit a matter based structure.
That there are humanoid beings with heads and eyes and arms and who walk around and communicate with words... this I doubt. Even just looking around our own planet, there are relatively few species that followed this evolutionary path. And, conversely, there are some REALLY strange paths that were taken in species that have survived for eons.
In addition, the property which we call "intelligence" has been around for only a flash in cosmic terms. There's no evidence that it's stable in evolution. The principle of regression to the mean suggests that overall intelligence will diminish and, as an aggregate, humans will become stupider and stupider, as in Mike Judge's film, "Idiocracy".
Will the human race create AGI?
I think it's inevitable that AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) will be created... but the machines themselves will do it. And, I'm not sure we'll recognize it when they do. Considering that we are only beginning to understand cognitive behavior in our fellow carbon based species on earth, I really doubt that we'll understand a silicon based consciousness that operates at a rate trillions of times faster than our own cognition. If this is going to happen, it will happen with the force of evolution and we'll be powerless to stop it.
Will we enter a post human phase where AGI machines and biological human bodies are combined in some manner (for example, like Star Trek’s “Cyborgs)?
On this question... NO. There's just no evolutionary avenue that leads here. AGI machines would have no use for the "ugly bags of mostly water" as humans are described by an alien life force on Star Trek.
Is consciousness generated entirely within and by the brain, or is the brain (acting as an antenna) and picking it up from a pervasive consciousness “field” of some kind?
Professor Digby Tantum, Clinical Professor of Psychotherapy, at the University of Sheffield,
has been in the news recently for suggestion human brains are connected by a sort of WiFi which allows us to pick up considerably more information that we are consciously aware of. This, in itself, is not the consciousness field, but does help explain much "intuition" or the validity of first impressions.
However, this story came to me from two persons, who did not know each other, and had never heard this story from the other. Both were daughters of mothers with whom they were closely emotionally connected, not always for the better. Both daughters' mothers died unexpectedly in the middle of the night. Both daughters said they woke at the time of their respective mother's deaths saying it felt like someone just snapped a rubber band on their neck. Clearly, this can't be scientifically verified as it would be impossible to collect a test sample, let alone to create a control group. It's disturbing, though, that both women described that experience so similarly.
Here's another anecdotal incident that suggests a strange interconnect. When I was in high school, I had a macabre dream that I was at a football game. I walked past the open backed bleachers and saw a person's detached legs... no body! I couldn't stop thinking about this strange dream. My second period class was Chemistry. I was seated just within earshot of two other students and heard their conversation. One student was relating a strange dream that under the bleachers of a football stadium, he had a found a BODY WITH NO LEGS. I was stunned... I had not told anyone about this dream. This was long before internet, or the 24 hour news cycle that might carry the story of such an actual event, and this certainly wasn't a plot line on "I Love Lucy". So... what happened here? I'll never know.
If there is a universal connection, I don't think it's "paranormal". It's just that we don't understand consciousness at all! We don't understand existence or our situation at all, so it's not surprising that we are ignorant of the consciousness WiFi, if it exists. If the human species can survive long enough, I think we will understand, and when we do, no understanding will be necessary.
One more thought -- it's seems to me that the walling off of our individual consciousness is necessary for survival of the species. If we were intimately connected with all others -- if we actually could "feel" what they "feel", then it would not be possible to make the selfish decisions necessary for daily survival.
Is there a God (or gods)?
I'm not sure what this means. No -- I don't think there's an interventionalist God... that prayers are like letters to Santa Claus... if you just pray hard enough, you'll get your bicycle or your team will win, etc. This is a childishly egotistical belief that the Universe will change just so your individual desires or needs can be attended.
I don't think any sort of Omnipotent and Omniscient God is possible... if God is Omnipotent and Omniscient, then God can't be defined, because to define is to limit. A limited God can't be Omnipotent and Omniscient. So, God can't be defined, and therefore, I can't believe in something that can't be defined!
All this said, I feel connected (see previous question) to the Universe in some non-verbal, intuitive, inherent manner, and that all is as it should be. I don't pray FOR things... but I often try to listen. It's amazing what you hear when you shut up.
Is there life after death?; Does our consciousness continue on after our bodily death?
I don't know and I don't know that there's any way to determine the answer. The TV Series, "The AO", dealt with a "mad scientist" who was trying to establish contact with the afterlife by forcing NDEs on test subjects. It made for good TV, but not much of a real avenue of research.
I think Pascal's Wager is totally invalid. Belief in something such as God, afterlife, salvation, etc., is NOT a matter of decision. Just SAYING that one believes is much different that actually believing. A God that's worth believing in would certainly know the difference between the true believer and the gambler.
Regardless, I think what happens after death is not a matter of belief. I think it happens to all who die... and it will happen to me, no matter what I make up to prepare for the event. It's very comforting to think of being reunited with loved ones.
Hell is clearly a concept concocted by early religious leaders to frighten ignorant adherents into following church doctrine without question. In the Bible, Jesus never once talks about eternal damnation. In fact, Gehenna, the Hebrew word from which "Hell" is derived refers to the place where Kings of Judea sacrificed children. It was also a term for the burning trash heap maintained outside cities in biblical times and into which executed criminals were thrown -- ergo, "burn in hell".
Personally, I've rejected organized religion and "The Church". I do think there's some value in these group insofar as they serve to help the poor, sick and disadvantaged. The evil done by the few -- the mega-church, televangelists, the cult leaders, and the cult of personality -- should not be expanded to condemn all churches. In my adult life, the only church that I have found satisfying is the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship which I attended for a few years prior to my move from Kansas to Texas. I couldn't find a suitable replacement in Texas and consequently stopped trying. I think a personal pursuit of spiritual growth is essential and an organization does little to advance this pursuit after a certain point... that point at which one must lead, not follow.
... to be continued...
Big Thick Glasses Blog
I encourage you to read this entry... and to think about it. In fact, read it first -- otherwise, my blog won't make much sense.
There are no dancing babies (I really don't like the dancing babies), or cute cats (I really DO like cute cats.) But I think we spend way too much time mindlessly absorbing entertaining images and much too little time in looking inward.
I'm going to split this into two blog entries. The first, this one, will offer some extensions, challenges, and critique of BTG's (Big Thick Glasses) original post, one item at a time. The questions in this blog are BTG's. Here goes.
Have we been visited by Aliens; are UFOs alien spacecrafts?
There has not yet been credible, tangible evidence to indicate that UFOs are alien spacecrafts. Photos are invariably blurred and likewise, videos. We're like the movie character that states some insane hypothesis then proves it with the observation, "There's no other explanation." In this case, there are always many reasonable alternative explanations.
I'm inclined to agree with BTG's summation that it's unlikely that we've been visited by alien life forms, mostly for the reason stated that we're simply not interesting enough. We've barely progressed beyond hammering coconuts with stones, or hurling stones at one another -- we just have a machine to hammer the coconut and guns to hurl stones faster!
This said, when I think of our own curiosity which drives us to study, for example, sharks, I'm somewhat more likely to believe that an alien entity might be curious about this murderous, mentally inferior, albeit clever, society. However, I don't think they'd drive their flying saucers here on the intergalactic freeway. I would be more likely to believe that an advanced intelligent life form would have found their way around time and space.
Are “Near Death Experiences” (NDEs) real?--i.e., are they an indication there is a life beyond this one?
While I don't see any reason to doubt that NDEs are "real", I think there's considerable wiggle room when we think about what they are. They seem to be inspiring and, in some cases, life changing for most people who have experienced them. They are "something".
I had an experience recently while recovering from surgery. I'll preface this with the admission that I had taken pain medication -- Tramadol, some powerful stuff -- but it was a small dose and I don't think can be the sole agent of this phenomenon.
I had fallen to sleep in the recliner in our living room... the TV was on and I was alone in the house. I woke up and felt that I needed to visit the restroom. So, I got up from the chair and began the short trip to the bathroom... but halfway across the floor, I happen to glance back at the recliner and was shocked to realize that I WAS STILL THERE! Then, I was back in the chair, realized I must be dreaming and began trying to wake up -- but I could not. A this point, I began fearing I was actually dead and this was an NDE. I had to fight to wake up. All this occurred with the clarity of everyday experience and it left me feeling confused and disturbed. This experience, while NOT an NDE, was certainly "real", but as far as meaning, I don't believe there is any deep meaning. It was just interesting.
Is there intelligent, conscious, advanced life in the Universe outside of Earth?
The Universe is so vast and our knowledge is so pitifully scant, I think we're hardly qualified to determine what is and what is not conscious, advanced life -- or even whether intelligence and consciousness has to inhabit a matter based structure.
That there are humanoid beings with heads and eyes and arms and who walk around and communicate with words... this I doubt. Even just looking around our own planet, there are relatively few species that followed this evolutionary path. And, conversely, there are some REALLY strange paths that were taken in species that have survived for eons.
In addition, the property which we call "intelligence" has been around for only a flash in cosmic terms. There's no evidence that it's stable in evolution. The principle of regression to the mean suggests that overall intelligence will diminish and, as an aggregate, humans will become stupider and stupider, as in Mike Judge's film, "Idiocracy".
Will the human race create AGI?
I think it's inevitable that AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) will be created... but the machines themselves will do it. And, I'm not sure we'll recognize it when they do. Considering that we are only beginning to understand cognitive behavior in our fellow carbon based species on earth, I really doubt that we'll understand a silicon based consciousness that operates at a rate trillions of times faster than our own cognition. If this is going to happen, it will happen with the force of evolution and we'll be powerless to stop it.
Will we enter a post human phase where AGI machines and biological human bodies are combined in some manner (for example, like Star Trek’s “Cyborgs)?
On this question... NO. There's just no evolutionary avenue that leads here. AGI machines would have no use for the "ugly bags of mostly water" as humans are described by an alien life force on Star Trek.
Is consciousness generated entirely within and by the brain, or is the brain (acting as an antenna) and picking it up from a pervasive consciousness “field” of some kind?
Professor Digby Tantum, Clinical Professor of Psychotherapy, at the University of Sheffield,
has been in the news recently for suggestion human brains are connected by a sort of WiFi which allows us to pick up considerably more information that we are consciously aware of. This, in itself, is not the consciousness field, but does help explain much "intuition" or the validity of first impressions.
However, this story came to me from two persons, who did not know each other, and had never heard this story from the other. Both were daughters of mothers with whom they were closely emotionally connected, not always for the better. Both daughters' mothers died unexpectedly in the middle of the night. Both daughters said they woke at the time of their respective mother's deaths saying it felt like someone just snapped a rubber band on their neck. Clearly, this can't be scientifically verified as it would be impossible to collect a test sample, let alone to create a control group. It's disturbing, though, that both women described that experience so similarly.
Here's another anecdotal incident that suggests a strange interconnect. When I was in high school, I had a macabre dream that I was at a football game. I walked past the open backed bleachers and saw a person's detached legs... no body! I couldn't stop thinking about this strange dream. My second period class was Chemistry. I was seated just within earshot of two other students and heard their conversation. One student was relating a strange dream that under the bleachers of a football stadium, he had a found a BODY WITH NO LEGS. I was stunned... I had not told anyone about this dream. This was long before internet, or the 24 hour news cycle that might carry the story of such an actual event, and this certainly wasn't a plot line on "I Love Lucy". So... what happened here? I'll never know.
If there is a universal connection, I don't think it's "paranormal". It's just that we don't understand consciousness at all! We don't understand existence or our situation at all, so it's not surprising that we are ignorant of the consciousness WiFi, if it exists. If the human species can survive long enough, I think we will understand, and when we do, no understanding will be necessary.
One more thought -- it's seems to me that the walling off of our individual consciousness is necessary for survival of the species. If we were intimately connected with all others -- if we actually could "feel" what they "feel", then it would not be possible to make the selfish decisions necessary for daily survival.
Is there a God (or gods)?
I'm not sure what this means. No -- I don't think there's an interventionalist God... that prayers are like letters to Santa Claus... if you just pray hard enough, you'll get your bicycle or your team will win, etc. This is a childishly egotistical belief that the Universe will change just so your individual desires or needs can be attended.
I don't think any sort of Omnipotent and Omniscient God is possible... if God is Omnipotent and Omniscient, then God can't be defined, because to define is to limit. A limited God can't be Omnipotent and Omniscient. So, God can't be defined, and therefore, I can't believe in something that can't be defined!
All this said, I feel connected (see previous question) to the Universe in some non-verbal, intuitive, inherent manner, and that all is as it should be. I don't pray FOR things... but I often try to listen. It's amazing what you hear when you shut up.
Is there life after death?; Does our consciousness continue on after our bodily death?
I don't know and I don't know that there's any way to determine the answer. The TV Series, "The AO", dealt with a "mad scientist" who was trying to establish contact with the afterlife by forcing NDEs on test subjects. It made for good TV, but not much of a real avenue of research.
I think Pascal's Wager is totally invalid. Belief in something such as God, afterlife, salvation, etc., is NOT a matter of decision. Just SAYING that one believes is much different that actually believing. A God that's worth believing in would certainly know the difference between the true believer and the gambler.
Regardless, I think what happens after death is not a matter of belief. I think it happens to all who die... and it will happen to me, no matter what I make up to prepare for the event. It's very comforting to think of being reunited with loved ones.
Hell is clearly a concept concocted by early religious leaders to frighten ignorant adherents into following church doctrine without question. In the Bible, Jesus never once talks about eternal damnation. In fact, Gehenna, the Hebrew word from which "Hell" is derived refers to the place where Kings of Judea sacrificed children. It was also a term for the burning trash heap maintained outside cities in biblical times and into which executed criminals were thrown -- ergo, "burn in hell".
Personally, I've rejected organized religion and "The Church". I do think there's some value in these group insofar as they serve to help the poor, sick and disadvantaged. The evil done by the few -- the mega-church, televangelists, the cult leaders, and the cult of personality -- should not be expanded to condemn all churches. In my adult life, the only church that I have found satisfying is the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship which I attended for a few years prior to my move from Kansas to Texas. I couldn't find a suitable replacement in Texas and consequently stopped trying. I think a personal pursuit of spiritual growth is essential and an organization does little to advance this pursuit after a certain point... that point at which one must lead, not follow.
... to be continued...
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