From: David Musick (David_Musick@msn.com)
Date: Wed Dec 25 1996 - 00:17:28 MST
I made the point that people's minds are linked, forming a larger mind,
because the signals we send each other through our communication are basically
a way that clusters of neurons influence each other between brains. I believe
that this process is not qualitatively different than clusters of neurons
influencing each other within a single brain. Chris Hind responded (rather
bluntly), "Wrong. Externally messages are have a greater delay between send
and recieve and also allow for misinterpretation..."
This may be true. Or maybe not. Different areas of our brain may have just
as long of a lag time in communicating with each other as we do when we
communicate with someone else. We just don't know. Yeah, a neuron can fire
pretty fast, but to transfer a pattern of communication from one region of the
brain to another that has as much complexity as what we communicate through
speech, it may take just as long inside the brain as it does between brains.
Keep in mind that our communication provokes huge storms of association in the
people we communicate with. Think about all the thoughts this message is
triggering in your mind right now.
Chris brought up that our communication with each other allows for
misinterpretation. Why is it assumed that there is no misinterpretation going
on inside a single brain? Do you understand all your thoughts perfectly?
Think about some of your thoughts for a while. After thinking about them for
a while, did you understand them more clearly? If so, then perhaps you
misunderstood yourself when you first considered the thoughts, and by thinking
about them further, you clarified your thoughts to yourself, much the same as
we clarify our thoughts to each other through the course of a conversation.
There is not instant understanding between people, but I don't think there is
instant understanding between regions of the brain either. There is much
exchange and feedback and through a gradual process of alignment, both parties
reach a greater understanding of each other and often of themselves.
Having done much observation of my own patterns of thinking and observation of
the patterns of communication between humans, the process seems very similar
to me. In my thinking, my thoughts provoke storms of association, and they
follow the same sort of winding path that people do when they communicate with
each other. Yes, our communication is unpredictable, and we never know what
we will trigger in other people when we say things, but I think our internal
thoughts are just as unpredictable and we have just as difficult a time
causing ourselves to think a particular thought; we never know what
associations we will trigger in others or in ourselves. We just have a
general idea of what we're trying to get at, and we keep trying to steer the
process in the direction we want it to go, constantly adjusting as we receive
feedback.
In short, I belive that our individual thought processes are part of a much
larger thought process that is a result of the way individual brains link up
with each other. Because we communicate so intensely and assimilate each
other's ideas so freely, we are participating in the processes of a larger
mind, which acts as coherently and intelligently as any individual mind
composing it. This is not any more mystical than the idea that our minds are
the result of the interactions between individual neurons and clusters of
neurons in our brains. I don't think the process of exchange between brains
is all that different than the processes of exchange going on in individual
brains.
When we communicate, we do not *transmit* ideas to each other; we provoke
storms of association in each other. The same thing happens within our minds
when we think of an idea on our own. Parts of our mind provoke storms of
association within other parts of our mind.
Even the way groups of people work together to complete goals is very similar
to how an individual works on a project on their own. Different parts of the
system watch each other and adjust their activities according to what other
parts are doing. Humanity is acting together as a fairly coherent and
intelligent mind. It is very much like a child, learning and growing,
becoming more organized and powerful. It is pulling together spontaneously,
through a process of intense feedback and adjustment among all parts of the
system, much like the neurons in brains do as children (and adults) develop.
Humanity is growing up and learning to take care of itself better, learning to
keep its cells (humans) alive longer and learning how to have them be more
intelligent, creative and productive.
I am curious -- what do you people think of this idea? I would like to
discuss it further, but I need some feedback from all who are interested. Any
criticisms and comments are welcome.
Having multiple personalities makes it easier for me to see the parallels
between an individual mind and the mind of the collective, Humanity. But am I
simply projecting my condition on Humanity as a whole? I see the thousands of
personalities in my own mind interacting to form a coherent, intelligent
entity, and I think that all humans interact to form a similar type of
coherent, intelligent entity.
- David Musick
-- Paying special attention to the subtle details, I watch in amazement as
the seemingly endless stream of experience keeps coming. --
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