Post by Chloe Wang on Jul 30, 2016 14:11:02 GMT
1. Explain the virtual simulation theory of consciousness.
To better explain the entire topic, one shall truly understand what consciousness really means. Consciousness is a way to prove that people or anything else exists; a way around pure chance by forming an internalized map that can be visualized internally without outside sources. Therefore, virtual simulation theory of conscious suspects that the world we perceive may be a total illusion. In the book “Is the Universe an App,” it mentioned that “some philosophers think that this is not merely a problem about what we can and cannot know, but evidence that consciousness is a metaphysically different kind of thing from brain activity.” Mental events and physical events are completely independent of each other casually; the things hidden in our conscious are sometimes the things that can really trick us. For example, we are often manipulated by the objects around us, if I think that dandelions are prettier than roses, but a friends thinks that roses are prettier than dandelions, and I change my word for it, it still doesn’t change the fact that I think that dandelions are prettier than roses even thought it might be true because I want to believe in the things that I want to believe in. In the video “The Disneyland of Consciousness,” it mentioned that “in a strong dream, so many characters come alive when we interact as if each of them is real, only when we wake up we acknowledge that everything that occurred in the dream was simulated by us.” Consciousness is a fantastic virtual simulator because of its inclusivity and isolated engineering; it has a distinctive tendency to believe in its own imagination as exterior to itself, we as humans always want to believe in the things that we choose to believe.
2. How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
Basically, our brains trick us by making us believe in the things that are real when they are not, and in order to bypass the logic, the complex brain is able to fetch necessary evidences in a deceptive way. In “Is the Universe an App,” it said that “not only can we confuse a robot for a human being; we can also do the reverse.” We notice the things that our brain thinks are important and can process very complex information quickly because our brain sometimes takes shortcuts. Normally we don’t even notice these shortcuts but visual illusions have helped us understand lots of the shortcuts used by the brain. Many illusions are based on one’s expectations, things that one has encountered in the past that have become wired into one’s brain. This is knowledge that influences the way we interpret and experience the world. This is because we assume that the world is fairly reliable based on our previous encounters so we assume that it is predictable. The remarkable thing about illusions is that even when one knows things are not what they seem, they still cannot force their mind to see it any other way. This is because our conscious mind is a product of our brain. The reason why the brain tricks our body by making different choices is to get us out of any tough situation, which helps us to calm down or to protect us.
To better explain the entire topic, one shall truly understand what consciousness really means. Consciousness is a way to prove that people or anything else exists; a way around pure chance by forming an internalized map that can be visualized internally without outside sources. Therefore, virtual simulation theory of conscious suspects that the world we perceive may be a total illusion. In the book “Is the Universe an App,” it mentioned that “some philosophers think that this is not merely a problem about what we can and cannot know, but evidence that consciousness is a metaphysically different kind of thing from brain activity.” Mental events and physical events are completely independent of each other casually; the things hidden in our conscious are sometimes the things that can really trick us. For example, we are often manipulated by the objects around us, if I think that dandelions are prettier than roses, but a friends thinks that roses are prettier than dandelions, and I change my word for it, it still doesn’t change the fact that I think that dandelions are prettier than roses even thought it might be true because I want to believe in the things that I want to believe in. In the video “The Disneyland of Consciousness,” it mentioned that “in a strong dream, so many characters come alive when we interact as if each of them is real, only when we wake up we acknowledge that everything that occurred in the dream was simulated by us.” Consciousness is a fantastic virtual simulator because of its inclusivity and isolated engineering; it has a distinctive tendency to believe in its own imagination as exterior to itself, we as humans always want to believe in the things that we choose to believe.
2. How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
Basically, our brains trick us by making us believe in the things that are real when they are not, and in order to bypass the logic, the complex brain is able to fetch necessary evidences in a deceptive way. In “Is the Universe an App,” it said that “not only can we confuse a robot for a human being; we can also do the reverse.” We notice the things that our brain thinks are important and can process very complex information quickly because our brain sometimes takes shortcuts. Normally we don’t even notice these shortcuts but visual illusions have helped us understand lots of the shortcuts used by the brain. Many illusions are based on one’s expectations, things that one has encountered in the past that have become wired into one’s brain. This is knowledge that influences the way we interpret and experience the world. This is because we assume that the world is fairly reliable based on our previous encounters so we assume that it is predictable. The remarkable thing about illusions is that even when one knows things are not what they seem, they still cannot force their mind to see it any other way. This is because our conscious mind is a product of our brain. The reason why the brain tricks our body by making different choices is to get us out of any tough situation, which helps us to calm down or to protect us.