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Quantum theory hopes to find a single proof that will unify the 4 forces and provide a simple testable description of reality. We have yet to find this proof because we are conceptually bound to an anthropomorphic view of the universe that is linked to the mechanics of our brain and the sensory data it interprets. If we overcome this conundrum, it will be because a person awakens to a new paradigm in consciousness and moves away from limitations of the the bio-mechanical belief systems built into the brain. (Einstein's overhaul of classical mechanics comes to mind.) The state of human consciousness as it relates to religion and philosophy is in a similar state. Our propensity to "believe" is bio-mechanical. The content of belief is cultural. The point of philosophical ideas like atheism, agnosticism, Christianity etc. is to push back against our fear of mortality and clarify our understanding of the universe. Our incomplete understanding of reality arises in the biomechanical belief systems built into the brain. To move beyond this, consciousness must reside in the complete absence of any belief-any ties to our evolutionary and cultural histories. A tall order indeed, but this is agnosticism in its purest form.

kalki 2 July 30
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You almost lost me with the first sentence. It is scientists who hope to find a grand unified theory (GUT), not quantum theory itself. And the universe is not an entity, so it cannot be anthropomorphized. Just as quantum theory cannot hope, it is a personification to attribute human characteristics to the universe.

If your use of the term ‘bio-mechanical’ is synonymous with genetic, I would agree that our tendency toward belief is likely a vestigial relic which conferred a survival advantage. Our understanding of reality will always remain incomplete, as there will always be more knowledge to acquire—we know of no end to the universe, including what precipitated the Big Bang.

I agree with your conclusion that human beings are incapable, at present, of moving beyond a certain point, due to our limited sensory awareness and our evolutionary and cultural biases. But this shortcoming appears likely to be overcome by a higher intelligence that we create. Our successors are likely to be artificial, whether fully apart from human beings, or implants that significantly alter our physiology and vastly enhance our bio-mechanical capacity.

New detectors will be designed and data collected on phenomena we have yet to imagine. Whether we dread this or not, the singularity that Kurzweil and others have predicted, will occur, and solving the GUT, as well as the theory of everything (or TOE, which incorporates gravity) will become a walk in the park—a launch point for future discovery. I can only hope to be there on the Cayley plane! 😉

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Sounds good to me, not sure I have the sort of intelligence to even try to encompass what that would mean; but as I have D.I.D and manage that without believing it and other people can't even imagine it -maybe I am on a track to somewhere

jacpod Level 8 July 30, 2018
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This sounds a little akin to the concept some Buddhist thinkers advance of "embodied consciousness" ... where consciousness is an emergent property, not simply of bioelectrical activity in a brain, but also in a body, a world, a society, a culture.

I think this might have some truth to it because of what we know happens to people who are in sensory deprivation chambers for too long, they go crazy. Although that deprivation usually involves a paucity of ANY input, it seems that there is some sense in which our consciousness is adapted / fitted to our five senses located in a physical body navigating a world of interactions and that this is part of what makes us human.

So what you are really suggesting is that humans need to evolve into something inherently different, which in my view doesn't have to carry the negative connotation "inhuman". Indeed the fear of being "less than human" and even the fear of "superhumans" in popular consciousness suggests that we are quite tied to our evolutionary and cultural past, and uneasy about moving away from it.

When I was at art college I decided as part of my coursework to go in to a sensory deprivation chamber. I came out laughing my socks off because it was if my mind was trying to show off to me all the powers it had at its disposal to make me see feel and think otherwise/differently , I had booked afterwards a hypnosis session which was interesting but much more underwhelming ,though I did some artwork during the hypnosis -

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