http://quantumbrain.info/blog2 A quest for a better understanding of mind and matter Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:20:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I don't think I'm the only one in saying, especially amongst scientists, that I find it difficult to see the point in a lot of, if not all of art. How does it help us? It provides little in the way of scientific advancement, medical care or environmental protection, possibly ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=49 "The logic of biological regulatory systems abides not by Hegelian laws but, like the workings of computers, by the propositional alge- bra of George Boole." (Francois Jacob & Jacques Monod) I have just finished reading this article, Bacterial Computing, written by Martyn Amos of Manchester Metropolitan University. The idea that we might ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=43 So I promised to write one more blog in this series where I muse about Consciousness in several ways. I said that I would describe a possible way in which I think free will might be be manifested in physical reality, doing away with the need for a metaphysical explanation. ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=39 In the previous post of this series on consciousness, I gave my reasoning for consciousness being a trait of behaviour that is an emergent property of nature's evolution. It gives us a sense of purpose in what can be reduced to a very mechanistic world and thus a reason to ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=24 There are several points from the original blog of this title that I would like to review. This comes having attended a seminar given by Dr. Susan Blackmore entitled "What does it feel like to be a rat?". Following a personal communication with her after the talk, she brought my ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=22 In the last post, the question "what is consciousness" was debated and a direction for further investigation proposed, a proposal which I myself wish to pursue. This post looks at another idea bound within the "what" of consciousness, that is, the "why", rather than the "how". So, why do we have the ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=19 So, what is consciousness? Big question. Certain people have rephrased it "what is it to be conscious?" Other questions might be "how does consciousness tie in with brain functionality?" or even "why are we conscious?". Is everything conscious? Is there a cut off point or is consciousness a spectrum? We seek many answers without really ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=16 Abstract In the following discussion I address the role of quantum mechanics with regards to a deterministic universe set in the context of free will. The constraints placed on us by our current understanding of the universe set out the limits of what we can know about free will and indeed ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=14 The conflict between scientific and religious ideas has been a huge player in shaping the world we live in today, culturally, economically and politically. At first it appears obvious why these two apparently contrasting groups of ideas have managed to alter, so much, our very own human existence. Achieving this ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=6 Since the dawn of human kind we have strived to answer fundamental questions on existence and reality in the hope of reaching a pure truth. As part of our quest for a better understanding of 'mind and matter' and that of a conscious being, indeed what consciousness itself really is, we ... http://quantumbrain.info/blog2/?p=1