Let me add a few more challenges to those wandering around this topic.
First, now that I mentioned it in my previous post, I got curious about it myself, so here it goes:
- Are we thinking our thoughts ourselves (active perspective) or
- Are we just observing the thoughts popping up in our heads seemingly out of nowhere (passive perspective)?
- Something in between, some thoughts are ours and other are coming from elsewhere and we have to deal with them
It seems like that silhouette picture of a woman that you can look at both ways - facing front or facing back and there is no right way of looking at it.
Second, what happens when we go to sleep and wake up?
- Is it the same sense of awareness that wakes up each morning? Then why the
same sense of awareness wakes up in a slightly
different body? (atoms and molecules rearrange themselves during the night a bit, so technically the body is different) or
- Is it new sense of awareness that wakes up each morning and the perceived continuity is just an illusion (created in memory)? Then can going to sleep and waking up be compared to reincarnation? What if some day you wake up in a completely different body which is very young and cries all day long pissing their pants and you have no idea how you got there?
Anyway, I've just finished watching the rest of the workshop series about The Holographic Universe (part 4 and 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BshVgi-KTwIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnrPZhbnpmUThey don't insist that this is how it is, but they came up with a model that seems to match the most recent scientific research and might be workable for some. It seems interesting but I'm sure there are still plenty of white spots in that model to colour. You can find the first three videos in the same channel if you want to watch from the beginning.
"Zero worlds" is just another name for solipsism, which philosophers have debated for centuries. Most have concluded it is not a particularly useful model for describing (or predicting) reality; it has all kinds of Ockham's Razor problems.
Can you give some examples of the Occam's Razor type problems this gives?
This is a good point!
I would pick a model with just one singularity (Consciousness) over any model with two singularities (physical Universe out of Big Bang and then Consciousness in a physical Universe). At least that's what Occam's Razor suggests, and remember that consciousness is an observable fact, compared to the physical Universe that might be just a dream.
I've posted this before, but it seems to fit the conversation once again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d4ugppcRUENow if consciousness is primary, how does it split to create an illusion of physical reality?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4DkBWC4Bp4It turns out that the most popular and widely taught interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, so called Copenhagen interpretation, which states that the waves of probabilities somehow collapse as a result of measurement is mathematically untenable.
So? Quantum Mechanics is supposed to be a method for finding approximate solutions to Quantum Field Theory equations. Quantum Field Theory is based on unsound mathematics. One attempt to resolve some (not all) of the inconsistencies is String Theory. String Theory is not developed well enough to take it into account. The entire thing is pretty much work in progress. You can accept it, you can reject it, or you can try to improve it. If you accept it, you are insane. If you reject it completely, you cannot reap the benefits of the existing, even though inconsistent, theory. The only reasonable approach is to accept it partially, with all its limitations and inconsistencies, and try to improve on it.
which states that there is no underlying objective reality at all and we are all creations of our thoughts.
Almost correct, and mostly obvious. The objective reality may or may not exist, we cannot even know that. Our minds are receiving some inputs, we construct theories based on those inputs, we modify or reject these theories if necessary. Partial and inconsistent theories are fine, if you don't have a better alternative. I don't see how one can make a statement that a theory corresponds to "objective reality" in any way. Objective reality, if it exists, cannot be perceived directly. Theories, and inputs of unknown nature, is all we have. Copenhagen interpretation is one of the theories. Doesn't matter if it is consistent or not. What matters is if it is useful to me, in a particular situation.
Yes, it's ok to play with different models and see which one works for you, many people don't even bother doing that and that's ok too!
The real question is how far are you willing to go?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiIEyxZFtxwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KaBPBzlX2Yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq5KO-uQackAre you willing to face the ultimate question?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyf38s4pjD0PS: I will be away from the Internets for the next few weeks, so I won't be posting too often during that period.