If I tried, I could draw a connection between this video and photography, however if I did so my comment about this video would be the same as my comments about many of the other links which I have viewed and responded. I will say however, that I continue to find the effort of many of these individuals to link science and philosophy or culture. It seems that so often at our own university the disciplines are kept apart and their similarities minimized as individuals try not to enter one another's intellectual and academic territory. For me, the main point of this video was that the financial situation and bureaucratic nature of the university setting is hindering research and exploration of the world around us rather than effectively promoting such.
As no discipline exists in isolation, and each is in some way interconnected with the others, interdisciplinary research makes so much more sense than single disciplinary funded projects which would have such a great impact if worked on by people who see the world through a variety of conscious lenses.
I think the main idea behind these posts was the idea of portrayal and the metaphysical representations of the lens. Moreover, these posts also ask how these different imaging mediums create the idea of the self. Damasio's presentation provided an essential point of the imaging capability of the brain: the passing through the retina, the reformulation in the cerebral mass, and the focusing once again in the brain stem. Moreover, the recreation of the image involves the transfer of information from the stem back to the memory parts of the brain. As such, the stem serves a dual purpose, both being the receptive and transfer point of information. I attributed this as an illustration of the artistic process: the cyclic sense of observation and regurgitation. However, as implied by Damasio's retina defect, changes and modifications do occur within this process, rendering new art and meaning to concepts and ideas. These new renditions also create the forever-changing self, as argued in previous posts.
This TED talk really made me think about the wonders of our brains. It truly is a miracle that we go to sleep and then wake up with our conscious minds in full swing! It's something few of us ever really think about or consider, and therefore we certainly take such a miracle for granted!! It's interesting to think about the conscious mind as a stream of images but that's truly what it is. But when we are dreaming, aren't we technically unconscious? We are sleeping after all, but we are essentially conscious in our unconscious state. REM sleep is the only stage of sleep in which dreaming can occur because it is the only time images flash through our "unconscious" minds. It really is a cool concept.
I haven't ever really considered my consciousness in this way before; I have to say it is somewhat weird. The presenter was right, we really should be amazed about what is happening when we wake up in the morning and return to consciousness. This is what lets us experience the world and has a lot to do with what we consider "existence." I find it really weird trying to imagine life without consciousness. I know that this exists (bacteria for example) but it is just disconcerting to think about in relation to me. I know that when I am asleep I am still alive and that my brain is continuing to function; however, since I am unconscious it doesn't really seem to exist to me. The presenter sorta lost me when he started getting into more of the neuroscience side of things but I did find it frightening how messed up one can become by slightly damaging a very small part of the brain.
OMG Miss Linda, I loved this video. I wrote a humongous wall of text on this subject and the matter of our own consciousness. I URGE all of you to trek back to my comment and reread it after having watched the video. I honestly feel like my comment pertains more to this video than to that other link which I commented on.
Whenever I see or read something related to neuroscience, I can't get over how incredibly complex the human brain is. I don't spend much time considering the intricacies of my own mental processes. One part of the video that struck me was how fragile the brain actually is. To damage that one section of the brain would result in complete physical paralysis, yet continued consciousness. I find that very unnerving. Being trapped in a body but to still be completely aware is nightmarish. The multifaceted nature of the human mind is something that I take for granted. I just accept it as it is and move on with my life.
I don't completely understand all of this science behind our brain's consciousness and creation of self however I found the basic concepts to be quite enlightening. Damasio explains that to have consciousness we must have a mind, a flow of mental images, and a concept of self, an idea who "me" is. This is created by the brain as it acts as a sort of receptor that processes this information. What fascinates me about this is that as we all have different brains it is therefore biologically proven that everyone has a different vision of both themselves and lens from which they look at the world. When you then think about this you really wonder what reality is, if everyone basically has a different vision of it. Here is where art comes in- with art I think the artists have a way to show the world their particular lens of reality.
If I tried, I could draw a connection between this video and photography, however if I did so my comment about this video would be the same as my comments about many of the other links which I have viewed and responded. I will say however, that I continue to find the effort of many of these individuals to link science and philosophy or culture. It seems that so often at our own university the disciplines are kept apart and their similarities minimized as individuals try not to enter one another's intellectual and academic territory. For me, the main point of this video was that the financial situation and bureaucratic nature of the university setting is hindering research and exploration of the world around us rather than effectively promoting such.
ReplyDeleteAs no discipline exists in isolation, and each is in some way interconnected with the others, interdisciplinary research makes so much more sense than single disciplinary funded projects which would have such a great impact if worked on by people who see the world through a variety of conscious lenses.
I think the main idea behind these posts was the idea of portrayal and the metaphysical representations of the lens. Moreover, these posts also ask how these different imaging mediums create the idea of the self. Damasio's presentation provided an essential point of the imaging capability of the brain: the passing through the retina, the reformulation in the cerebral mass, and the focusing once again in the brain stem. Moreover, the recreation of the image involves the transfer of information from the stem back to the memory parts of the brain. As such, the stem serves a dual purpose, both being the receptive and transfer point of information. I attributed this as an illustration of the artistic process: the cyclic sense of observation and regurgitation. However, as implied by Damasio's retina defect, changes and modifications do occur within this process, rendering new art and meaning to concepts and ideas. These new renditions also create the forever-changing self, as argued in previous posts.
ReplyDeleteThis TED talk really made me think about the wonders of our brains. It truly is a miracle that we go to sleep and then wake up with our conscious minds in full swing! It's something few of us ever really think about or consider, and therefore we certainly take such a miracle for granted!! It's interesting to think about the conscious mind as a stream of images but that's truly what it is. But when we are dreaming, aren't we technically unconscious? We are sleeping after all, but we are essentially conscious in our unconscious state. REM sleep is the only stage of sleep in which dreaming can occur because it is the only time images flash through our "unconscious" minds. It really is a cool concept.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever really considered my consciousness in this way before; I have to say it is somewhat weird. The presenter was right, we really should be amazed about what is happening when we wake up in the morning and return to consciousness. This is what lets us experience the world and has a lot to do with what we consider "existence." I find it really weird trying to imagine life without consciousness. I know that this exists (bacteria for example) but it is just disconcerting to think about in relation to me. I know that when I am asleep I am still alive and that my brain is continuing to function; however, since I am unconscious it doesn't really seem to exist to me. The presenter sorta lost me when he started getting into more of the neuroscience side of things but I did find it frightening how messed up one can become by slightly damaging a very small part of the brain.
ReplyDeleteOMG Miss Linda, I loved this video. I wrote a humongous wall of text on this subject and the matter of our own consciousness. I URGE all of you to trek back to my comment and reread it after having watched the video. I honestly feel like my comment pertains more to this video than to that other link which I commented on.
ReplyDeletewhere is this wall of text?
ReplyDeleteWhenever I see or read something related to neuroscience, I can't get over how incredibly complex the human brain is. I don't spend much time considering the intricacies of my own mental processes. One part of the video that struck me was how fragile the brain actually is. To damage that one section of the brain would result in complete physical paralysis, yet continued consciousness. I find that very unnerving. Being trapped in a body but to still be completely aware is nightmarish. The multifaceted nature of the human mind is something that I take for granted. I just accept it as it is and move on with my life.
ReplyDeleteI don't completely understand all of this science behind our brain's consciousness and creation of self however I found the basic concepts to be quite enlightening. Damasio explains that to have consciousness we must have a mind, a flow of mental images, and a concept of self, an idea who "me" is. This is created by the brain as it acts as a sort of receptor that processes this information. What fascinates me about this is that as we all have different brains it is therefore biologically proven that everyone has a different vision of both themselves and lens from which they look at the world. When you then think about this you really wonder what reality is, if everyone basically has a different vision of it. Here is where art comes in- with art I think the artists have a way to show the world their particular lens of reality.
ReplyDelete