Brain complexity: whole brain vision mechanisms (Introduction)

by dhw, Saturday, November 07, 2015, 09:29 (3091 days ago) @ David Turell
edited by dhw, Saturday, November 07, 2015, 09:36

"'The brain is a perplexing organ that we will probably never fully understand," observes Goris. "But sometimes, we find that a simple principle goes a long way in explaining some of its intricacy: The visual world is diverse, and the brain seems to mimic this diversity to maximize the amount of information it can extract.'" (David's bold)-David's comment: I think the thought that we will never fully understand the brain is an honest assessment. Romansh has given me the impression that he thinks the brain is fooling us, while I think it is there to help us. Yes, what we get is secondhand, but is appears to be accurate, so why philosophize that we are not in control of our observations? -I don't think anyone would claim that the brain is objectively reliable, since different people so often see the same thing differently. On our epistemology thread ages ago, I suggested that the nearest we can get to objective truth is some kind of consensus, but I agree with you that when this consensus is achieved, and especially when science and technology confirm the accuracy of our perceptions, it is absurd to assume that none of them are accurate. In fact, our daily lives would turn to sheer chaos if our perceptions did not for the most part correspond to reality.-I would take Goris's statement one step further and suggest that we will probably never understand how thought can emerge from materials. If you agree, perhaps you will stop asking me how cells might be able to ‘think'!