blogs_blog_1374

I came here expecting to praise EmperorWhenua.

 

Sigh, oh well.

I KNEW WE WERE IN THE MATRIX!

I take Rene seriously. No exceptions.

The Best Emperor BZPower Ever Had

Sorry pal, but you're not EmperorWhenua.

 

But anyway, I'm sticking to my assumption that reality is real, otherwise thinks stop making any sort of sense.

I had a conversation with a friend about this once. She was bothered by the question of reality possibly being a complete illusion, and I kept responding that if it really is a great illusion, we might as well enjoy it as if it were real, because it's so well-done.

 

Also, I'm amused by statements like "you can't prove anything." How can that statement be proved, then?

 

Rene is a silly old man indeed.

 

And as for atoms in the brain being self-aware, well, they just are, I guess. That's where possible justifications are a good place for religion to step in, if one feels so inclined.

 

~B~

I came here expecting to praise EmperorWhenua.

 

Sigh, oh well.

 

Quote

 

The Best Emperor BZPower Ever Had

Sorry pal, but you're not EmperorWhenua.

 

These are the exact two things I was thinking. XD

And as for atoms in the brain being self-aware, well, they just are, I guess.

 

It's not the atoms that are self-aware. It's not the arrangement of atoms either. Awareness is an emergent behavior, so it comes from the interaction of neurons (and thus organelles, atoms, etc.).

Witty.

YES! He finally commented!

 

Merida

It's not the atoms that are self-aware. It's not the arrangement of atoms either. Awareness is an emergent behavior, so it comes from the interaction of neurons (and thus organelles, atoms, etc.).

Derp. Yeah, that's more or less what I was thinking, but I was composing the comment hastily and the actual sentence I ended up typing sounds cringingly moronic. XP I did actually intended to speak more of interactions.

 

~B~

I've always interpreted that as the meaning of the quote--I think, therefore I am, but I can't prove anything else. I myself exist, but because the thoughts of others are incorporeal, and because my mind could very well be screwing with the rest of me, I can't prove anything else exists. Taking everything in faith is pretty much the origin of religion.

 

This explanation begs the quesiton of the definition of 'I'--based on Descartes's quote, 'I' can't really be anything more than my mind, right? My arms could be a figment of my imagination. Heck, my brain could be a figment of my imagination.

 

I'm going to boil my brain in a stew now.

Logic itself could be a figment of my imagination. If people do exist outside of my mind, do they even think the same? Do people see the same colors? Even more, do they feel the same emotions, or is happiness to one despair to another?

 

Basically, I took it to mean the same thing.

 

It's strange that I've been thinking about this stuff as long as I can remember. or at least, I think I thought them, presuming that my own mind and memory can be trusted and that time exists.

 

Merida

Derp. Yeah, that's more or less what I was thinking, but I was composing the comment hastily and the actual sentence I ended up typing sounds cringingly moronic. XP I did actually intended to speak more of interactions.

 

~B~

 

I had a feeling you meant that, but that sort of a goof-up can derail a thread quickly, so I tried to clarify a bit more.