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Old 04-11-2009, 06:51 AM
 
Location: OKC
5,421 posts, read 6,506,441 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
Energy pushed through the brain clearly IS self-aware.
No it's not, It's just electricity. No more sapient than the electricity that runs through a computer's CPU. The fact that the CPU uses the electricity to make calculations doesn't change the fact that the electricity itself is not sapient.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
I assume given the composition of the energy in the universe your likely means a 4% or so chance . . . since 95+% is likely NOT to have the same characteristiics as static electricity.
You must see the huge logical mistake you made here, no? Is there any reason for me to refute it?
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Old 04-11-2009, 10:32 AM
 
63,837 posts, read 40,118,744 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxcar Overkill View Post
No it's not, It's just electricity. No more sapient than the electricity that runs through a computer's CPU. The fact that the CPU uses the electricity to make calculations doesn't change the fact that the electricity itself is not sapient.
You are so hung up on materiality you miss the salient point the computer is NOT sapient . . . let me be more specific . . . it never will be despite the delusions of artificial intelligence dreamers. It is a mechanistic logic machine, period. You STILL have not phenomenologically described this "function" you rely on (no definitions, please) . . . what IS IT energically.
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Old 04-11-2009, 07:26 PM
 
Location: Richland, Washington
4,904 posts, read 6,017,633 times
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Evolution is an observed fact. Here is a rudimentary explanation of how it works

NATURAL SELECTION

Imagine an exponential graph.
x axis=time
y axis=population

Over time the population of a species in a given environment gets bigger and bigger until it reaches its peak in which the amount of resources of the given environment can sustain the species inhabiting it. When the population increases to the point where the resources of that environment cannot sustain the species. This is where natural selection takes over and the organisms with the genes that help them survive in that environment survive while those that do not, die off. This gives way to gradual change in a species after numerous growths and declines in a population. An example of this is in sexual selection where there are two stags. One stag has large horns, the other small horns. They are fighting in order to get a mate. The gene that produces large horns is passed on since they are better for fighting.

GENETIC MUTATIONS

There
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Old 04-11-2009, 07:35 PM
 
4,367 posts, read 3,485,611 times
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Helpful link: Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions - life - 16 April 2008 - New Scientist
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Old 04-11-2009, 07:38 PM
 
Location: Richland, Washington
4,904 posts, read 6,017,633 times
Reputation: 3533
Evolution is an observed fact. Here is a rudimentary explanation of how it works

NATURAL SELECTION

Imagine an exponential graph.
x axis=time
y axis=population

Over time the population of a species in a given environment gets bigger and bigger until it reaches its peak in which the amount of resources of the given environment can sustain the species inhabiting it. When the population increases to the point where the resources of that environment cannot sustain the species. This is where natural selection takes over and the organisms with the genes that help them survive in that environment survive while those that do not, die off. This gives way to gradual change in a species after numerous growths and declines in a population. An example of this is in sexual selection where there are two stags. One stag has large horns, the other small horns. They are fighting in order to get a mate. The one gene for large horns is passed on since they are better for fighting

GENETIC MUTATIONS

There are three types of mutations. There are good, bad and neutral mutations. DNA is composed of four different types of amino acids. These amino acids are known as adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine. Adenine pairs with thymine while guanine pairs with cytosine. Mutations occur when the structure of the DNA is altered such as if a guanine is missing a cytosine. Most mutations are either bad or neutral although there are some that are good. An example of a good mutation is sickle cell malaria. Malaria is very prevelant in parts of Africa. In the parts that it is prevelant, over forty percent of the population hold the gene. While it predisposes one to the disease, it also helps one be immune or fight against malaria.

FOSSILS

Here's a list of a few(of many transitional fossils:

Australopithecus garhi
Australopithecus Africanus
Australopithecus Afrensis
Homo habilis
homo erectus

Scientists can tell that certain species are related to each other because of similarities within the fossils(ie brain size or whether the species is bipedal/quadripedal.) For example, in Australopithecus Afrensis(Lucy), they discovered that bipedalism came before developing a larger brain size. They discovered this by finding that Australopithecus showed signs of being bipedal, but had the torso similar to that of a chimp(smaller brain size and forward hanging arms).
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Old 04-11-2009, 08:10 PM
 
17,842 posts, read 14,391,265 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by agnostic soldier View Post
Evolution is an observed fact. Here is a rudimentary explanation of how it works
Unfortunately, some people seem to have an allergic reaction to anything rational that opposes their ideas:

I think the symptoms are:

1. Their eyes start squeezing shut, blurring the words in front of them.

2. A hollow ringing/buzzing noise starts in their ears, so they can't hear anything.

3. They experience an involuntary urge to start muttering "NoNoNoNoNoNoNooooooooooo!" between gritted teeth.

4. They experience a sinking feeling in their stomach.

5. They feel their muscles tense up all over their body.

6. Their blood pressure starts to rise.

7. Their sphincter starts to tighten.

No wonder they don't want to read anything that opposes their views. It's terribly uncomfortable and could lead to things like....ummm... Hemorrhoids.
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Old 04-11-2009, 10:04 PM
 
Location: OKC
5,421 posts, read 6,506,441 times
Reputation: 1775
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
You STILL have not phenomenologically described this "function" you rely on (no definitions, please) . . . what IS IT energically.

That's because your question makes no sense. I don't know why or what you are asking. You've made it clear that you don't want to know what the definition of "function" is. But beyond that, you're not making yourself clear. Each of the individual words you use has a meaning, sure, but added together in the order that you have them your sentence is meaningless. Your question is almost random words, added together with no particular purpose.

A "function" is nothing "energically," (assuming you mean energetically). When one thing is a function of another, then those two things are related to each other, such that a change in one causes a corresponding related change in the other. Height is a function of age, for example.

So your request for me to "phenomenologically describe" the word "function" makes zero sense. Sorry.

Last edited by Boxcar Overkill; 04-11-2009 at 10:13 PM..
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Old 04-11-2009, 10:10 PM
 
Location: OKC
5,421 posts, read 6,506,441 times
Reputation: 1775
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
You are so hung up on materiality you miss the salient point the computer is NOT sapient . . . let me be more specific . . . it never will be despite the delusions of artificial intelligence dreamers. It is a mechanistic logic machine, period.
I never said otherwise.

But without any evidence to support you, you claim that one of the component pieces of the brain used to create sapient thought will continue to be sapient even after the rest of the brain is dead.

But we know that simply isn't true. Without the rest of the brain, the electro-chemical energy in the brain is nothing more than some electrons and protons that attract particles with opposite charges, and repulsion particles with the same charge. They are not capable of thought on their own.
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Old 04-11-2009, 11:24 PM
 
2,742 posts, read 7,496,110 times
Reputation: 506
Quote:
Originally Posted by 17271 View Post
I don't think evolution is real. There are many reasons.

The most obvious is there wouldn't be enough time. I don't care how long one-cells (who apparently came from non-living matter) mate for, it's extremely unlikely they will turn into anything except more one-cells.

The complex and intricate parts of animals and people also disproves it. I know of no evidence, from scientists or doctors, that know of how the beating heart, consciousness or the miracle of birth came to be. There is speculation, yes, but you will not be shown evidence because there isn't any. It's merely guess work by people.

The hummingbirds wings also disproves it. I hear they flap their wings around 20 times a second. I'm quite certain evolution can't do that, and whatever evolutionists say to explain it would be mere guess and not proven. The same with spiders and silk. The same with the wood pecker. The same with the venus fly trap. The same with female bees having stingers. The same with all life. It's mere guessing.

Evolution isn't real. People really need to think for themselves and not let the media force things on them. Evolution can be shown as not real in many manners.

God created this world, He created the earth, He owns it.
You really have no clue, and you should study biology and the beginning of live to understand it.
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Old 04-11-2009, 11:45 PM
 
63,837 posts, read 40,118,744 times
Reputation: 7881
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxcar Overkill View Post
TSo your request for me to "phenomenologically describe" the word "function" makes zero sense. Sorry.
I suspected as much. That means my abstraction level discussion similarly sailed over your head as well. none of the individual components of brain activity do anything sapient. The composite of a sequence of them (self) does . . . just as a sequence of notes individually are not a melody . . . the composite of a sequence is. Do you see the parallel. Melody "exists" only at a higher level of abstraction than the notes that comprise it. It remains an abstraction without reality because it cannot interact with the universe AS A COMPOSITE. Our self is a COMPOSITE of a sequence of brain activity that only comes into being at a level of abstraction above the individual activity . . . EXCEPT that it interacts with the universe AS A COMPOSITE . . . meaning it is REAL and everything that is real and not illusion or pure abstraction is comprised of some form of energy in its composite form.

You would write it off as a "function" of brain activity . . . meaning you have no idea what it is or how it becomes self-aware as a composite. Just as a computer function is a description of some set of mathematical or logic processes that produces an outcome . . . except there is no known "function" that we know of that produces self-awareness from individual brain activity. Since the activity occurs at the quantum level in quantum time (read Penrose) we experience our awareness as instantaneous. But it is a sequence of brain activity that aggregates into awareness in quantum time (a sort of pre-time) . . . because the only time we can measure is that which we measure with our awareness already in existence.
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