Taking a Break

So I haven’t posted in a while, and the reason is, I haven’t had anything to discuss up until today. With my exams in progress this week, I’ve been squeezing all the juicy information out of every single line in the textbooks, with no spare time for my thoughts.

Like a good hypnotist, a close friend subdued me from my studies into a quiet contemplative mood when we were discussing the origin of consciousness. I believe that consciousness is rooted in the brain, specifically, that it is an illusion conjured by the millions of mindless robots we like to call neurons.

If this is correct, then that means if my mind were replaced in the night with an exact copy, I wouldn’t be able to distinguish if I was still the same person. That is, consciousness, isn’t like having a little man in your head looking out through eyes.

This thought is kind of scary, but let’s consider the future for a second. If a brain-machine interface is successfully developed, and we can extend our brain capacity with artificial man-made neurons is it then possible for our consciousness to grow onto these neurons?

Another way to think about it is like going through a teleporter. Lets say the hypothetical teleporter works by disassembling your body, atom by atom, and then reconstructing it with atoms gained from the environment at the end point. Will that still be the same you at the other end?

Common sense tells us the answer is both yes and no. Yes, it will still be you if consciousness is rooted in the brain and if you teleported, but it just doesn’t seem right, because after all, we’re all taught from a young age that we are completely unique.

The only consolation for me is that we still haven’t explored the role of quantum mechanics in the role of the brain, which through the likes of entanglement may offer us a new discourse for viewing consciousness.