GarbageFactory
Softboy™
- Feb 10, 2021
- 11
Recently the question of whether or not it's possible for someone to carry out a fatal act without any fear or panic has been one of the main reasons for my hesitation. I'm no neuroscientist, but I've been doing some research -- and I'll give you a brief summary of what I've found.
Benjamin Libet was a pioneering scientist in the field of human consciousness. A researcher in the physiology department of the University of California, San Francisco. In 2003, he was the first recipient of the Virtual Nobel Prize in Psychology from the University of Klagenfurt, "for his pioneering achievements in the experimental investigation of consciousness, initiation of action, and free will"
His most important contribution was the discovery of a brief delay between the neurological initiation of an action, and then the perceived feeling of having committed to the action. Generally under 10ms, which is about how quickly synaptic feedback is able to relay information to all relevant parts of the central nervous system. Besides providing more potential evidence for the non-existence of free will, libet's delay proves that consciousness is a very fragile framework of input and feedback. Woven together delicately by thousands of independently functional parts of the brain, and carefully curated to include only the most relevant information. Theoretically, there is a period of time after the neurological initiation, and commitment to the action whereby the individual is given the illusion that they consciously chose to carry through. While in reality, libet's experiment would suggest that the brain had already determined what actions to take far before the "conscious" mind has even been made fully aware. Think about it. While you're typing, are you really thinking about what words come next? Are you really aware of how each of your fingers move? Your eyes blinking? Your breathing?
I wonder if there is a way to manipulate this to override self-preservation...
Benjamin Libet was a pioneering scientist in the field of human consciousness. A researcher in the physiology department of the University of California, San Francisco. In 2003, he was the first recipient of the Virtual Nobel Prize in Psychology from the University of Klagenfurt, "for his pioneering achievements in the experimental investigation of consciousness, initiation of action, and free will"
His most important contribution was the discovery of a brief delay between the neurological initiation of an action, and then the perceived feeling of having committed to the action. Generally under 10ms, which is about how quickly synaptic feedback is able to relay information to all relevant parts of the central nervous system. Besides providing more potential evidence for the non-existence of free will, libet's delay proves that consciousness is a very fragile framework of input and feedback. Woven together delicately by thousands of independently functional parts of the brain, and carefully curated to include only the most relevant information. Theoretically, there is a period of time after the neurological initiation, and commitment to the action whereby the individual is given the illusion that they consciously chose to carry through. While in reality, libet's experiment would suggest that the brain had already determined what actions to take far before the "conscious" mind has even been made fully aware. Think about it. While you're typing, are you really thinking about what words come next? Are you really aware of how each of your fingers move? Your eyes blinking? Your breathing?
I wonder if there is a way to manipulate this to override self-preservation...
