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Beetzart
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21 Oct 2012, 12:15 pm

I wonder if our brains are not efficient enough to ever comprehend the Universe, quantum mechanics, etc. Ok there are people who can to a point, but where does it end? Could it be necessary for humans at some stage, very slowly, in the future to evolve into a new species with better brains?

Also, I have imagine an ET arriving peacefully on earth and strolling around a city with some President. When after a while the ET comments 'I can't work out what those buildings are with pointy towers. What purpose do they serve?' The President say they are churches for religions to be practised. The ET, who learnt english on his way here, exclaims. 'Oh I remember that. We grew out of it several millennia ago. Made a huge difference I must say!'


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TallyMan
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21 Oct 2012, 12:30 pm

The depth of scientific knowledge is so vast nowadays that even scientists have to specialise in specific areas. It seems that the knowledge has surpassed the ability of most people to comprehend it or even to try to. I studied sciences at university and self-studied beyond that. I still find it bizarre that there are people on the planet who believe in creationism, especially those who believe everything was created 6,000 years ago. Those people are so clueless (for whatever reason) I find it scary. I don't know if it is due to their lack of education or religious propaganda or what. It is literally as though there are still many people who believe the Earth is flat or that the Sun revolves around the Earth - they are literally so far behind what is known to be fact.

When you move to the areas of relativity and quantum mechanics the human brain is again left struggling to understand the nature of reality as uncovered by science. Human common sense simply doesn't cut the mustard as these things are so far beyond the realm of everyday human experience.


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Theuniverseman
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21 Oct 2012, 3:16 pm

TirelessMessenger
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23 Oct 2012, 1:10 am

One of the consequences of the computational theory of mind, if it is correct, is that there is a limit to what our brains can do and therefore to the problems we can solve. Maybe in the future we will genetically engineer better brains, or find a way to sync our current brains to form a super computational mind.



Raymond_Fawkes
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23 Oct 2012, 1:41 am

I wondered similar things although I feel it's all arbitrary. We understand just enough to comprehend things, but our brains individually are limited. NDT once said our genetics are 98% similar to that of a monkey, so imagine if another terrestrial entity were known with a 2% more efficient and powerful brain than our own. Hard to really grasp. It's said by 2050 that one super computer will be more powerful and able to do calculations faster, and more efficient than every human brain on the planet combined. IBM's Watson is like an early predecessor of this technological innovation, perhaps leading the way into trans-humanism of synchrony within the involvement of how future generations work. I always thought about what capacity's a brain the size of Earth could achieve, all workings if unison similar to how our bodies do, but on such a great massive scale. I feel it'd be able to manipulate everything - space, time, even create new universes. Evolution of humans though should continue.. biologically, and synthetically - I can see trans-humanism re-defining the universe itself. It's said today the average human brain processes 3.6 zettabytes of data each day - a staggering sum on our level - but I imagine bigger numbers in the future, I think about being a human and having the entire internet downloaded into your brain, or perhaps being able to connect to it simply by thinking.. That'll be neat for the future. (I love popular pseudoscience, although I can imagine some aspects of these coming true)



naturalplastic
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23 Oct 2012, 9:18 am

There is one small part of the universe that defies the ability of the human brain to understand. And that small part is- the human brain itsself.

One scientist speculated that "if our brains were a little simpler we could figure them out. but then- if our brains were simpler -wed be dumber- and wouldnt be able to figure out our brains. So maybe in the future we will evolve bigger brains- brains that can figure out how our present day brains work- but they wouldnt be able to figure how the more sophisticated brains that will exist then- will work!"

I think the line of understanding rises more steeply than the line of brain complexity on the graph. So we may, in theory atleast, reach the point where our brains will be able to understand our brains.

Anyway... but I think someday soon we will be putting silicon chips into our own brains- to learn new aptitudes- to cure ocdc behaviors- to overcome PSD- and who knows what else.

Someday they maybe able to put a USB stick in your ear- and viola- you will have the whole life memory of another person in your head!



Last edited by naturalplastic on 23 Oct 2012, 11:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

Metalwolf
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23 Oct 2012, 11:23 am

The only bad part about putting electronics into your head is the viruses that someone can send into you. It's pretty bad when someone hacks into your bank account, it's a million times worse when they can do it to you. :wink:


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TallyMan
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23 Oct 2012, 11:34 am

Metalwolf wrote:
The only bad part about putting electronics into your head is the viruses that someone can send into you. It's pretty bad when someone hacks into your bank account, it's a million times worse when they can do it to you. :wink:


Advertisers manage to hack into many people's brains quite easily through TV and other media anyway; though I wouldn't be keen on direct mind control... must... go... eat... a... McDonalds... with... extra... fries... :P


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Ash_Darkside
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23 Oct 2012, 7:30 pm

The way I see it, humans are growing more and more stupid with each passing day.

Without an organized effort towards positive evolution, I don't think the human race has a bright future ahead of it.

As for ETs, if they are smart enough to create an efficient space travel technology, they should be smart enough to keep a safe distance from us (few light years maybe). The most, me thinks, they would do is observe us as a "Don't do that" example.


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AnotherKind
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23 Oct 2012, 8:04 pm

Well, I wonder if our brains are enough adapted to the outside reality so that we can see the physical world accurate enough.
I think the physical world that we see isn't really as we see it. If we take into account the possibility of other dimensions then we're f****d up.

We're just a bunch of pretentious monkeys. Without education, we would be animals with some distinct features and a bit more potential.
Here our knowledge stops. We don't rule the universe. And I don't think this would happen too soon either.

Meaning of life... :roll:

TallyMan wrote:
Those people are so clueless (for whatever reason) I find it scary. I don't know if it is due to their lack of education or religious propaganda or what. It is literally as though there are still many people who believe the Earth is flat or that the Sun revolves around the Earth - they are literally so far behind what is known to be fact.

I used to find it scary in a while. Now I got used to the fact that we are a product of our environment + heredity and not our personal choices.
Free will is the same religious concept as the belief in a vengeful/merciful God is.


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