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Showerthoughts @lemmy.world

Bluetreefrog @lemmy.world

1y ago

Your brain is sitting in a sealed, completely dark room with wires coming out of the walls.

61 comments

It's also floating in liquid.
- Yea, I was gonna say, it's really wet in there too. But at least it's got a snug blankie membrane of sorts that does all its local feeling for it, since it couldn't actually detect any of these things for itself with no nerve endings of its own.
  
  For a second there I thought you meant feeling as in emotional and was really confused haha
  I just imaged the membrane hugging my brain like "don't worry, I got you, focus on keeping this idiot alive"
  
  It feels everything for us but can’t have feelings of its own. Tragedy. 😔

If you're unfamiliar with Plato's Allegory Of The Cave, you should familiarize yourself.
This shower thought is older than showers!
- Plato’s allegory of the cave is not about what this shower thought it about.
  
  ...
  Yes it absolutely is.
  I am sorry you are failing to connect these painfully adjacent dots.
- yeah I mean I could see not knowing platos cave but boltzman brains are mentioned pretty often in various media including sprinkled regularly in youtube videos. Im surprised someone could avoid it.
- Why? It is just superstitious nonsense from 2500 years ago.

It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
- Showing your age now!
  
  I've come to accept I'm old.
- It actually is not pitch black. And I recall some part of the brain (some gland) needs this light to set our daily cycle.
  
  Don't ruin my Zork reference, man.

- Your eyes are a part of your brain
  nope
- Your eyes are a part of your brain.
  Doesn't seem to match with my understanding. Got any references for that?

And tubes. One of the tubes delivers glucose and caffeine.

Some light does penetrate the skull. So not completely dark. Also the blood brain barrier is semi permeable, so not completely sealed.
- Some light penetrates the skull. Geez, I hadn't thought of this.
  
  The eye sockets do not block the light with bone.
- When you get headaches is cuz the AI is flashing light into your brain to examine how your brain is doing in the simulation

I do wonder if the electrical impulses give off any light
- no they don't
  
  To explain why, the electrical signals is not like how we know electricity like when you see lightning. It’s salt/ion based movements in and out of cells. A lot more boring
- Even if how would the brain detect them?
  
  That's a separate issue. A blind person could still sit in a well lit room.
  
  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seeing-without-eyes1/

Everyone thinks they're talking about the human skull and nervous system but if someone is sitting in ther bedroom on a PC it's really not all that different from being a brain in a jar, it's just a different interface and the brain can leave.

For a moment I thought you reinvented solipsism. ;)
On that page a came across this and I'll just leave it here

It doesn't seem to mind

I think I have mice in the walls chewing on the wires.

Illuminating

What is in your blood impacts you.

It deserve to see the outside world for a bit, get it some fresh air!

61 comments