[extropy-chat] "Dead Time" of the Brain.

Christopher Healey CHealey at unicom-inc.com
Fri May 5 16:15:24 UTC 2006


> Chris Healey wrote:
>
> In troubleshooting complex systems, what appears to be the problem is
> often really just the symptom of a deeper cause.  In a similar way, we
> should be careful that what appears to be an important structure in
our
> model of the mind is not just a surface indication of a deeper process
> at work, a process that may work very differently than its surface
> indications suggest.

Heartland,

Another point of my last paragraph is in regards to the definitions we
use in uncovering truth.  

Whatever we *call* the things we describe, they are only labels, and
ultimately labels shouldn't alter the measurable predictions we achieve.
In doing what human minds do, they may occasionally, or even very often,
do things that you label as dying.  Some of those things could just as
easily be labeled: operating as designed, system hibernation, or plain
old "being alive".  

If it seems like we're dying an awful lot, but nobody seems to mind
much, it's stronger evidence in support of revising our models, rather
than revising our behavior.  

-Chris




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