Post by Laurel Chaisson on Jan 19, 2006 1:15:24 GMT -5
Quantum superposition is an extremely complex idea and science still has yet to fully understand what it is and how it works, especially in relation to the brain. Superposition means that a quark exists in every possible form and location until a conscious observer perceives it. For example, when you close your eyes, all visual input to your brain is blocked, which reduces the visual aspect of reality to superposition. Essentially, when you can’t see it, the world becomes a chaotic quantum soup without form.
So why doesn’t the ground disappear, leaving you floating in nothingness? Actually, it never existed in the first place. There is no difference between the particles making up your body and those that make up the air you breathe, so the universe is just an unpredictable ocean of spinning quarks and vibrating energy strings. The only thing that allows you to perceive reality as concrete and solid is your mind. Think about it… you experience reality through your five senses, sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste, all of which have a physical and mental component. Your brain, rather than reacting to reality, actually creates the sensations you experience.
Consider this example of hypnosis, which is often used in psychiatry: a person’s hand is placed in freezing cold ice water. In normal circumstances they would feel cold and their hand would hurt after a few minutes of being submerged. While hypnotized, however, merely the suggestion that their hand is buried in warm sand on a sunny beach can make them physically feel the sand, as if they really were handling it. Even with their eyes open, observing their hand in cold water, the person still feels sand. This leads to a sense of dissociation and confusion, naturally, but it actually makes quite a lot of sense.
Another example is a study done by scientists a few years ago. Subjects were asked to look at an image while their brains were scanned. They were then told to close their eyes and visualize the image. The exact same parts of the brain were activated. Your brain can’t tell the difference between what it sees and what it imagines!
How can you, then, say you are seeing something outside your mind?
Source: Laurel Chaisson, Reality as a Product of the Mind. Jan 2006
So why doesn’t the ground disappear, leaving you floating in nothingness? Actually, it never existed in the first place. There is no difference between the particles making up your body and those that make up the air you breathe, so the universe is just an unpredictable ocean of spinning quarks and vibrating energy strings. The only thing that allows you to perceive reality as concrete and solid is your mind. Think about it… you experience reality through your five senses, sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste, all of which have a physical and mental component. Your brain, rather than reacting to reality, actually creates the sensations you experience.
Consider this example of hypnosis, which is often used in psychiatry: a person’s hand is placed in freezing cold ice water. In normal circumstances they would feel cold and their hand would hurt after a few minutes of being submerged. While hypnotized, however, merely the suggestion that their hand is buried in warm sand on a sunny beach can make them physically feel the sand, as if they really were handling it. Even with their eyes open, observing their hand in cold water, the person still feels sand. This leads to a sense of dissociation and confusion, naturally, but it actually makes quite a lot of sense.
Another example is a study done by scientists a few years ago. Subjects were asked to look at an image while their brains were scanned. They were then told to close their eyes and visualize the image. The exact same parts of the brain were activated. Your brain can’t tell the difference between what it sees and what it imagines!
How can you, then, say you are seeing something outside your mind?
Source: Laurel Chaisson, Reality as a Product of the Mind. Jan 2006