A great problem to have is where you have 3-4 really good solutions and ideas for a problem. Each one seems to speak “pick me” and each time you invest a bit more energy to refine and polish the solution, usually you have one seem to jump forth as the clear choice to follow.
My problem today, is that each time I polish each of the various solutions, they all look better. Not a bad problem to have, yet, it consumes time.
So lets talk about consciousness and the world of artificial intelligence and mankind to get my mind off the designs
Perhaps I should approach this problem from human experience. When one asks, “what is consciousness?” You probably will not get the same definition from any two people. The reality is we can stick a few words together to describe it; we can’t accurately define it and explain how it all works. Such is part of the amazing mystery of the human body, mind and soul.
I bring the idea of the soul into this discussion because, you either believe we are more than the mass of evolution, or you don’t. I happen to believe there is more beyond what we can experience in this giant galactic universe where you can get more atoms in a grain of sand than there are stars in the universe. (Go ahead; try to image the scale and size in your mind. Pretty amazing mind blower when you really try to grasp it all)
Mankind had always had some belief in a spiritual dynamic to the universe. Like trying to define consciousness, he has created religions, which really are a pretty good road map, or rulebook for trying to live your life a certain way. The problem is we have human beings seeming to write the rules and even more folks with issues teaching others the rule. It is either the blind leading the blind, or as an old Capuchin monk I knew said, “god mumbles a lot. Man just writes down what he thinks he hears.” (A paraphrase)
So what is this consciousness? Is it the 21 grams of weight the exits our body upon death that was presented as a research paper 100 years ago and made into a movie?
While it is easier to study the human mind, psychology, physiology, and the human body itself, there seems to be something more that drives the body. If we ever figure out how the human mind keeps the heart beating, our bodies breathing and the millions of other functions it does without us thinking about it that would be amazing. What if we could actually figure out and understand consciousness?
For the world, one has to go beyond the world of religion and the world of simple “we evolved” to look at what is the possibility for a spiritual element in the universe.
I always chuckled when the learned physicists in CERN are trying to find the god particle. It is a great name for the idea of the smallest and most rudimentary building block to creation and the universe. The problem with the idea, is that when they do find what they believe is the god particle, they probably will see shadows of something even smaller that they can’t see. Call it god particle 2.0?
Aren’t you glad I just decided to stare out the window and relax my mind for a bit so when I go back and look at the four design paths I will have a clear mind?
For the past 30 years of my life, I have looked at the ways technology could be used to enhance a human beings performance. In the past 15, I went more towards the religious and then 10 years ago, I met some folks living out in a desert that appear to be living beyond the space most of us live. One can call it the spiritual life, to the normal human living in a world with so many material choices; their lives must look a bit crazy. Yet – these are the people living in some sort of harmonic vibration with the universe, unlike most of us, who are simply trying to get by and find a way to get through the day.
So you read this, and I probably didn’t say much. Perhaps that is why I am so excited with the idea of working up more detail with Augmanity. I sent the latest piece of the puzzle on to members of the team. There must have been some connect, as I was reading an article about how the united states ranked 26 or 27th out of 29 developed nations for emotional intelligence and psychological health.
Sadly, I had to agree, as I see what is trumpeted as good and right inside America, and the idea of pride and greed with living your life to get the most for your self appears to be making more progress over the idea of a good society. (I say this as I think back to being a kid, and the current day Switzerland, while it might seem boring with some ideas, has a fantastic quality of life and social standard…. the funny part is the united states used to be like this just 40-50 years ago)
I digress…so I wrote, “we never put the idea on the table, but can we use this technology for kids? They might like it more than old folks?”
One response was “mark, you have to use it on kids, the elder people are too far gone to change.”
I thought that was harsh, and wrote back, “you mean I am screwed for trying to get better and change? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Human condition, mark. We have to go after the kids to make any real change.”
I still laugh; I must look like a loon to the world. “Is that guy even conscious?”
The coffee tastes really yummy this morn…. fresh beans. I hope you have a great day.
Lets see which 1 of these 4 designs i spend more time on?