Evolution and humans: big brain size or use (Evolution)

by David Turell , Wednesday, June 28, 2017, 17:28 (2703 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Your concept of brain as a receiver is that it is a passive receiver. I've never said nor implied that.

dhw: The brain as a receiver of consciousness (as opposed to a transmitter) is YOUR concept. I remain neutral. And a receiver by definition is passive.

Your narrow point that the brain may receive consciousness passively, but fails to note the brain is active as I use it.

DAVID: Yes the brain receives the consciousness which it ACTIVELY uses under my direction to create all the attributes of my personality. All of what is created is immaterial, and leaves my body in death to join the afterlife all of which is immaterial. Events in the afterlife have been described, mainly as receiving information. Whether 'souls' discuss ideas, have conversations, etc. is unknown to me.

dhw: How can the receiver brain use YOUR consciousness directed by YOU to create the personality which is YOU? You now have YOU directing the brain to make YOU! Over and over again, you have agreed that you and your consciousness are an inseparable entity. It is that entity which uses the brain. As for NDEs, you know very well that patients report conversations, which you say are conducted by telepathy. On Monday you confirmed your belief that in the afterlife the conscious self continues to exist with its capacity to think. Do you really believe that the ever probing Turell mind will stop thinking for itself and yet you will still be you?

The newborn receives a blank slate consciousness so I create me as I develop. Cautious thinking in the adolescent is not fully present until the frontal loves are fully developed in their 20's. As the brain develops it allows fuller thought capacity. You do not allow for all these obvious interactions. Full consciousness is not present until the brain is fully developed. In afterlife I'm not sure I will develop anything but will be in contact with other souls.>

DAVID: Habilis did not know what it did not know.

dhw: Obviously. But habilis came up with a new idea (a spear), and then its brain had to expand in order to implement the idea.

Hand stone tools, not spears for habilis. Hand stone tools simply rewired the habilis brain as in Indian women reading with our brain. You are totally inconsistent.

DAVID: These woman could learn to read because the brain they were given had a built in capacity to learn to read. All they had to do was use it. You cannot deny that. I'm sure habilis could not read.

dhw: In order for the women to be able to read, their brain had to undergo some rewiring. The concept of reading (new to them) came first, and the effort to read caused the rewiring. Habilis never came up with the concept of reading or of motor cars or of airplanes, but his conscious mind (if you believe in dualism) did come up with the concept of spear-making and spear-throwing, and the effort to implement the concept caused the growth of the brain.

Same rewiring inconsistency. Use at any level of brain size causes brain to rewire. Proven concept.