[ExI] a fun brain in which to live

[Brent Allsop]

On 1/28/2011 7:13 PM, spike wrote:
> ... On Behalf Of Brent Allsop
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Help with freezing phenomenon
>
> On 1/26/2011 11:44 PM, spike wrote:
>>> ...Mine is a fun brain in which to live.
>> ...  I think your brain would definitely be near the top of brains I'd like
> to try...
>
> You are too kind sir, and yes I do have fun in here.
>> ... I'd also like to try out someones' brain that claims we don't have
> qualia...
>
> Likewise, yours is a brain I would like to try on, just to figure out what
> is qualia.  I confess I have never understood that concept, but do not feel
> you must attempt to explain it to me.

It is turning out to be a relatively simple idea, even simpler than the 
idea that the earth goes arround the sun, rather than the other way 
around, once you get it.

First, you've got to get the idea of   representationalism.  The idea 
that in order for a robot to be able to pick a strawbery in a strawberry 
patch of green leaves, it must have some kind of perception system.  The 
initial cause of the perception process is the 650 nm light reflecting 
off of the strawberries, and the 500 nm light reflecting off of the leaves.

The final result of any such perception process is the robot's knowledge 
of such.  Where is the strawberry amongst the leaves, and relative to 
the robots hand?  All this must be represented or modeled in the robot's 
knowledge if it is to be able to pick the strawberry.

Are we in agreement that there are two parts to perception?  The initial 
cause, and the final result, or our knowledge of such?  If we can get 
that, the rest is easy.

The rest is simply, phenomenal redness and greenness are obviously 
properties of something right?  The earth goes arround the sun idea, 
that the experts consensus (still unlike the popular consensus) is 
clearly converging on, is simply that this phenomenal red property is a 
property of something in our brain, or a property of our knowledge of 
the strawberry, and only has to do with something reflecting 650 nm 
light in that our brain choose to use red to represent 650 nm light.  
The phenomenal red property is obviosly nothing like, in location or 
quality, a property of reflecting 650 nm light.  One is a causal 
property, the other is a phenomenal property.  One is still ineffable or 
blind to cause and effect communication, and the other is not.

Which parts of this much simpler than the idea that the earth goes 
around the sun do people struggle with?

Brent