Brain complexity: gene response to light stimuli (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, February 11, 2018, 12:58 (2259 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID’s comment: This demonstrated plasticity shows how intimately the brain modifies itself to the immaterial tasks at hand. The brain and the s/s/c are very intimately connected, even if one is material and one is immaterial. Yet from the NDE reports the s/s/c can exist and record experiences while not in the presence of a functional brain. Clearly dualism.

dhw: Yes indeed, NDEs suggest dualism. And yes indeed, the material plastic brain modifies itself to the immaterial tasks at hand. The task is at hand, and then the brain implements the concept (task) by modifying itself. It does not modify itself in advance of the task being at hand.

DAVID: You've left out God enlarging the brain in each advance in the evolution of Homo sapiens.

dhw: “The brain modifies itself to the immaterial tasks at hand” does not mean that the brain modifies itself before the immaterial task is at hand. It means the immaterial task is already there (at hand) and the brain modifies itself by performing the task. I have left out advance enlargement because what you wrote clearly means that enlargement follows the appearance of the task and does not precede it.

DAVID: 'Modify' and 'enlarge' are two different things. An existing brain modifies itself. That does not explain a new enlargement of the brain.

Language games. “Modify” = “change the structure, character, intent etc.” (Encarta) Are you now saying that your God created a brand new bigger brain from scratch? If not, the change itself simply means adding more cells and connections to those that already exist. Even if you think this is not covered by “modification”, your statement makes it perfectly clear that the brain changes in response to new tasks, not before the new tasks are “at hand”.