Post by jparise0917 on Oct 3, 2016 4:05:52 GMT
Week 5 Essay Questions
1.) Explain the virtual simulation theory of consciousness.
When watching the video “brain burn: consciousness as a virtual stimulator,” the quote “every deep thought we truly have, every deep thought we truly ponder, is the result of confusion of a neural system then confronted with its own dissociation; consciousness is dissociation,” spoke to me. Dissociation is important because it lets us use our imagination and daydream. The following quote was always brought my attention in the video “brain burn;” “And therein lies its Darwinian advantage, since most of our awareness is “in” our head, it doesn’t have to face the very real and empirical and deathly consequences of being “without.” Being within survives. Being without tends to end up dead.” “The video then goes on to make the point that consciousness is literally a virtual simulator and that is why it has been so helpful in allowing humans to survive globally.”
2.) How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
There are many ways that the brain tricks us and its all for the betterment of our genetic survival. I watched a video on the internet and this example was given to me, I found it to be pretty relevant; pretend you are a human who lived 1 million years ago and you are roaming the plains of Africa, you are just there minding your own business, and out of nowhere, you hear and see the very tall grass swaying and making sounds. Is it a dangerous predator or is it just the wind? If you think the sound in the grass is a dangerous predator and it turns out to be just the wind, you’ve made a type one error; in other words, a false positive. You thought the sound was connected to a dangerous predator and it turned out to be just the wind, there are false positives that are relatively harmless. On the other hand, if you think the sound in the grass is just the wind and it turns out to be a predator, you are now lunch. Due to your lack of judgment, you have taken yourself out of the gene pool before you get the chance to reproduce. Everyone is a descendant of those who make type 1 errors, false positives versus those who make type 2 errors, false negatives. We have evolved to make one kind of error more than another kind of error for the betterment and survival of our species. When watching “a glorious piece of meat,” I realized that our brains in fact do trick us into thinking we are doing all the work ourselves but our brains are the ones doing all the works, especially the unconscious things that we do such as breathe or scratch an itch. We ourselves cannot do very much, our brains do all the work, which an amazement in itself. I find it extremely interesting that our brains can trick us, and most of the time without our conscious knowledge!
1.) Explain the virtual simulation theory of consciousness.
When watching the video “brain burn: consciousness as a virtual stimulator,” the quote “every deep thought we truly have, every deep thought we truly ponder, is the result of confusion of a neural system then confronted with its own dissociation; consciousness is dissociation,” spoke to me. Dissociation is important because it lets us use our imagination and daydream. The following quote was always brought my attention in the video “brain burn;” “And therein lies its Darwinian advantage, since most of our awareness is “in” our head, it doesn’t have to face the very real and empirical and deathly consequences of being “without.” Being within survives. Being without tends to end up dead.” “The video then goes on to make the point that consciousness is literally a virtual simulator and that is why it has been so helpful in allowing humans to survive globally.”
2.) How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
There are many ways that the brain tricks us and its all for the betterment of our genetic survival. I watched a video on the internet and this example was given to me, I found it to be pretty relevant; pretend you are a human who lived 1 million years ago and you are roaming the plains of Africa, you are just there minding your own business, and out of nowhere, you hear and see the very tall grass swaying and making sounds. Is it a dangerous predator or is it just the wind? If you think the sound in the grass is a dangerous predator and it turns out to be just the wind, you’ve made a type one error; in other words, a false positive. You thought the sound was connected to a dangerous predator and it turned out to be just the wind, there are false positives that are relatively harmless. On the other hand, if you think the sound in the grass is just the wind and it turns out to be a predator, you are now lunch. Due to your lack of judgment, you have taken yourself out of the gene pool before you get the chance to reproduce. Everyone is a descendant of those who make type 1 errors, false positives versus those who make type 2 errors, false negatives. We have evolved to make one kind of error more than another kind of error for the betterment and survival of our species. When watching “a glorious piece of meat,” I realized that our brains in fact do trick us into thinking we are doing all the work ourselves but our brains are the ones doing all the works, especially the unconscious things that we do such as breathe or scratch an itch. We ourselves cannot do very much, our brains do all the work, which an amazement in itself. I find it extremely interesting that our brains can trick us, and most of the time without our conscious knowledge!
