Brahman Higgs on zir own ground

Life as we know it is a process running on a substrate of carbon-based molecules. It is not impossible or inconceivable that in other places at other times the process of Life can and does run on substrates that are not based on carbon molecules. The silicone-based life form, for example, is a favourite of science fiction writers. But the substrate need not even be material; "virtual"/"notional" substrates are in principle possible.

If Consciousness is a process, what is the substrate? The brain is a possibility. But it is not impossible or inconceivable that substrates outside of / not part of the Body or Mind provide hospitable environments for Consciousness, Mind, Life. Vague and idle speculation here that some of 'this stuff' is involved in such phenomena as telepathy or telekinesis. A strong intuition that consciousness runs on the/a Higgs F/field --- that which binds everything together, the underlying ground of Reality, cf The Hindu concept of Brahman.

The whole of Reality --- material and immaterial / past, present and future / actual and potential --- comprises the universal substrate on which the universal Deity runs --- Deity that is both process and substrate. And neither the name nor even a name for Deity is Jehovah. Ze was/is not the Creator, merely a demiurge, and a self-admittedly wrathful and jealous one at that. Not to mention psychotic enough to demand human sacrifice, eg from Abraham.

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Unknown said...

Since my father's death, I have been contemplating this sort of thing a lot. Energy never just ceases, it goes somewhere. And I have long been fascinated by the idea of life on other planets. It seems rather chauvinistic of humanity to believe that we are the only type of life form that could exist.

Anonymous said...

I was fortunate to not be raised with the vengeful god concept. My father believed in a benevolent creator. He used the term "God," but we were never forced into submission by dogma and shame.
My father would have loved this essay. He had a nice little collection of old sci-fi. I think that he always wished he could have been one of the first space explorers.

SHUBHAJIT said...

You are reading the words written by me, the words are external sensations that are brought to you by the eyes and the sensory nerves to your brain carry them. We think eyes are the organ of vision but actually the brain is the real organ behind the sensation. We may have twenty eyes but we can’t see the words if our brain is destroyed. Behind every sensation there is one organ that is external instrument and behind that another organ that’s again a physical body. Yet, this is not sufficient. Many of us experience that when we deeply imbibes in something, we can’t hear any other sound for a moment. The pulsation of that sound comes to our ears, hit the tympanum, the nerves into the brain carry the impression and the whole process is complete. Why do we not hear? This is because mind is not attached to it. If mind is detached with the organ, organ may bring any news but it will not receive it. Yet, this is also not sufficient. The whole cycle may be complete, but still perception is not complete. The factor now requires is the reaction within. And what we call knowledge is actually this reaction. Your mind takes it up, and presents it to brain, which groups in relation to perceived impressions, and sends a current of reaction, and with that reaction comes perception. This is called will and the state of mind, which reacts is called intellect.

SHUBHAJIT said...

Yet, this is also not sufficient. A last step is more required to complete the cycle. According to logic, there must be something permanent on which all those impression must be focused. Suppose, if I want to throw a picture on a sheet, what am I to do. I am to guide various rays of light through the camera to fall upon the sheet and become grouped there. Something is essential to have the picture thrown upon, which does not move. I can’t throw a picture that is moving because ray of lights of camera is moving, and these moving rays of light must be gathered, unified, coordinated, and completed upon something that is stationary, otherwise how could be a picture formed. Similar with the case of sensations of organisms in which these organs of ours are carrying inside and presenting to the mind, mind presents it to intellect and the process is incomplete unless there is something permanent in the background, which we unify all the impressions.

SHUBHAJIT said...

Modern scientists say this whole existence is the result of vibration of atom and they deny any vital life thread or something like that. They deny any separate entity that binds all atoms and sub atomic molecules and create this phenomenal universe. Every theory whether Quantum Physics or Relativity or Black Hole or Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle has a common flaw that is they do not have any substratum to support. These “atomists” believe that nature is nothing but an infinite numbers of atoms and with vibration within the atom everything created. Very good. However, every indivisible atom is like geometrical point without parts and magnitude; something without parts and magnitude if multiply indefinite number of times will result only the same. Anything that has no parts will produce no parts. Any number of zeroes added together will not create a whole number. So it is perfectly illogical to say that universe created by only the vibration of atoms.

SHUBHAJIT said...

Each individual ego is an individual center that is called it I. Anything related to that center is mine, and anything referring to the center is me or mine. “I am walking”, “I am eating”, “She is my mother”, “she is my brother”, “this is my money” and so on. The soul what we call or self is the I within or we can say it is the individual ago. Lets take all individual egos from highest man to the lowest vegetables, and take them in totality collectively. And the sum total of these countless egos is the cosmic ego. by studying ourselves first we can understand every other organism in this universe. Suppose, when I lift my hand or move it how do you understand that? Because you do the same by referring to your own self. If we truly sympathize with anyone how can we do it? We just put ourselves in the person’s condition. That is all we do. We gradually understand that there is some immutable, sentient phenomenon, which is acting continuously in the background of this phenomenal world. If we analyze any feeling of others it is actually we are conscious or referring to own sensation or perceptions or feelings that we have in us. There are different personalities, the relations between personalities may be cut off but still there is the sense of I remains. There may be hundred different personalities but there is only one ego or soul, which puts on a different garments of thought form and as a result we see a different personality. How do you know that you are same person who slept last night? This sense of identity is caused by our ego and sensation and perception are pigeon holed in our minds in the form of concept and percept. Next morning sensation is gone only leaving the impressions on mind. But the question is who connect all those numerous impressions?

Starmandala said...

Glad to know I'm not the only one with a big chip on my shoulder about Yahweh! :-)

masterymistery said...

Faycin A Croud,

In physics the Law of Conservation of Energy --- that E can never be created or destroyed, but may only change from one form to another.

Chauvinistic? One of humankind's less endearing qualities. That the colonise-the-universe brigade wants to export to Everywhere.

Petra Ylva Steele, fortunate indeed. Due acknowledgements to your father. So many of us are not that fortunate. All of us who grow up / are brought up / are educated to believe there is no meaning and purpose other than that of of a walking sack of meat and blood.

Shubhajit, your insights are penetrating, liberating. I agree with much of what you say. But I won't jump to any hasty conclusions or responses until I've had the time to digest and analyse your remarks more thoroughly.

Hi Antares, yes it's good isn't it? Word is spreading! The idol has feet of clay. And the clay doesn't have any feet!

All, thanks for your comments. It's good to get a bit of a conversation happening.

masterymistery said...

Faycin A Croud, yes it's that old "Life, Jim, but not as we know it..." from Star Trek! Spock shows more insight than many non fictional biologists today...

weirsdo said...

Hello, and happy holidays. Of course our brains ultimately are built out of the same matter as the rest of the universe, and are even more closely linked by our shared evolutionary bio, so wouldn't that provide a common thread?
Don't agree with Shubhajit regarding atoms, which do have a physical presence.

masterymistery said...

Hi weirsdo,

Interesting point/s. [noting that dark matter and dark energy are present in much greater proportions than non-dark, 'normal' matter and energy.)

Taking it further, not only are our brains of the same matter as the rest of the universe, but ultimately all normal matter (and energy) is based on one simple thing: the electron.

Everything we experience derives from the molecular structure of normal matter, or more specifically, the shape of the electron probability cloud around the atomic nucleus.

All the complexity we experience is based on molecular structure. The taste of honey, the touch of silk, the smell of rotten eggs, the taste of salt, of sugar, the pain of boiling water, the smell of cinnamon, etc etc etc etc

Heat is molecules vibrating; cold is molecules vibrating less energetically.

All of the complexity and diversity emerging from one simple thing -- the electron, not an electron, because each and every electron in the universe is identical in all respects to each and every other electron in the universe. So you're in effect dealing with one 'master' electron spread out in little bits all over the universe.

Thanks for your comments.

Happy holidays and best wishes for 2011.

MM

Anonymous said...

Hi mastermystery,

"all normal matter (and energy) is based on one simple thing: the electron". Umm... sorry, wrong. Matter is based on:
* Electromagnetism - along with alot of other things, holds molecules together & electrons to atoms
* The Strong nuclear force - holds nucleus' & quarks together
* Quarks (most of the mass of an atom)
* ... and electons

Energy is can appear in the form of:
* Photons / electromagnetic energy - they might have been produced by the collapse of electron shells, but they're on their own afterwards
* Kinetic energy (sound / heat / movement)
* Chemical (electromagnetic attractions inside / between molecules)
* Gravitational (an eletron's mass is extremely small compared to neutrons & protons)
* ... and a bunch of other stuff I'm sure

B said...

BTW MM,

It's a bit of a leap to go from "every electron in the universe is identical... every other electron" to "one 'master' electron spread out in little bits all over the universe". I'm not sure how you go from one to 1.2x10^79. Electrons can also be created, and destroyed - what happens to this "master" electon when that happens? What physical process describes the link between individual electrons and the "master" electron?

I like your attempt to describe the touch, it's just that we're really feeling the weak nuclear force and electromagnetic interactions.

@Shubhajit: "every indivisible atom is like geometrical point without parts and magnitude". Incorrect, atoms are composed of a bunch of things, just have a look at a periodic table. Atoms have size as well, just check out the Atomic radius - this is of course a probability cloud as described by quantumn mechanics. Oh, and why the whole strong anthropic argument? We're on a tiny blue dot in a unimaginatively vast, sterile desert - the universe has no requirement to have a "substrate" that runs life.

masterymistery said...

anonymous,

Thanks for your comment. I accept I got it wrong -- appreciate being put right.

If we focus on matter, ignoring energy, then I think it's true to say, that based on our current understanding, all matter is made up of electrons and quarks (assuming that it's true that protons and neutrons are comprised of quarks (ie assuming that electrons and quarks are fundamental particles, cannot be disaggregated further).

But the big issue in this discussion, the issue that renders the whole discussion incomplete and therefore wrong, is the fact of the inter-changeability of matter and energy.

MM

masterymistery said...

B, you're clearly determined to keep me honest! Which is great, and desperately needed. Particularly re matters of fact and hard science. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers, MM