Hi Wilhelmus,

Thanks for another enlightening essay.

By the way, I never realized the phrase "Everything is best in this best of all possible worlds" was given by Leibniz. I always assumed it was a phrase that Voltaire gave to Dr. Pangloss in Candide.

I am waiting for your new book "Consciousness for Dummies". I promise I will buy a copy.

Glad to see you in this contest. Best of Luck!

Don Limuti

    Thank you Don for your kind words.

    I will post my latest article on your thread.

    best regards

    Wilhelmus

    Hi again Wilhelmus,

    I would be honored to read your latest work on cosmology. My e-mail is don.limuti@gmail.com

    I do appreciate your positive take on the future. I believe you are correct .... I just feel it in my bones.

    Just a thought, have you ever thought of injecting a little humor in the subject of quantum consciousness. The name quantum consciousness is just too ponderous. This is just a fantasy... but I would love to see you collaborate with someone like Mel Brooks on "Consciousness for Dummies". I think it could be a very subversive best seller... I want the movie rights :)

    All the best,

    Don Limuti

    Wilhelmus,

    The time grows short, so I am revisiting and rating. My essay speaks of a more transcendent use of the brain (looking within) as part of steering the future and more intelligence use of science.

    Have you had a chance to read my essay?

    Jim

    Wilhelmus,

    I enjoyed your essay which gave an original approach to one of the great mysteries of life. I agree we have many possible, and possibly rear futures. I'm please to be able to score it well.

    I wonder when consciousness develops in an embryo. I try to draw attention to eugenics are something with both unrecognised dangers and limitations that needs better and more conscious steering.

    Judy

      Dear Judy, thank you for your comment I am going to read your essay right now !

      Wilhelmus

      5 days later

      Dear Wilhelmus!

      I welcome your well-considered essay and several of posts you put on other participants' page. Albeit I haven't concern about the competition (see my end-notes) I rated your essay high, because it has many foundational thoughts.

      There are many views of yours which fall together with mine, which I exerted in my essay, and some of my longer comments also put here to better unfold the meanings of my messages.(see links to my comments)

      1. I especially like, you are a brave one who dare to say exactly phrasing - We are our God(s) having an utmost capability to create our own realities by conciousness, thus we have the potential to steer our life course -.

      2. I also deeply appreciate your dictum: "DELETE the word "Property" and replace it for "Responsibility".

      3. I think, we need to further elaborate on: What would the LIVING IN a Total Simultaneity mean in the context of non-causality, reincarnation (= until it has been an unscientific term, - but the contemporary string and M-theory may be near to describe it -, for one's, ones' experiences, memories as a consciousness imprints having folded and recorded into subtle energy light bodies, and how the fabric of Time and Space, Space and Time frameworks created truly for being been not only a holographic representation of several of 3D alternative realities as probabilities patterns, but factually arranged ones too into physical/genetically coded bodies, who think probably for answering to themselves: What and how to control our reality creation, what is desirable to steer.) and being fully aware of what we should do, how to decide in the Right NOW MOMENT, so the created Technologies by us basically for our well-being there not be an Existential Risk!

      In a nut shell in my essay: I distinguish two states about the 'Reality'. I suppose there is an 'Original reality' as an unconditionally given existence, may be called 'Natural order of things'. This reality contains the stratum of all living being both material (crystals, plants, animals) also non-material kinds may be called energy, information, consciousness, thoughts etc. At the apex of existence, I suppose there is an - original naturally arranged and cosmic Man- theologians label GOD-Man. WHO is composed of all both material and non-material inside and outside of his environment. This Man as the sum total of originally not created Nature can live his life either he knows about how all inside and outside him should work. This state may be called the - non-causality - going on its own course (Herakleitus), a non intentionally steered evolution. However, owing to this Man also has an unconditionally given inherent capability for thinking, so he is always propelled to know about his inner and outer environment. That is the phase of his self-recognition(Hegel). The latter - we should call CREATION - during which one would make simulations separately running from his natural living, somehow both may be synchronized, even one can research himself with real-time. The everlasting questions is - what to do with the knowledge one gains during his self scrutiny I supposed, and suggested a model how one (on solipsistic simulation way) could do researches with very himself, and how else ones might be involved unintentionally. Even, I gave a kind of else simulation technology where a team might be involved. I pointed out those simulation technologies 'not necessarily based on contemporary computer technology', and of what basics for our present us is not yet completely apprehended, but our recent technologies should exceed the original conception.

      4. Due to I strongly suppose the supremacy of NATURE is, because it exists unconditionally, thus it is not a CREATED one by any means (either GOD/GODs, or by us)! Furthermore, it unconditionally contains all information at every field of stratum involving both the subtle energies fields attributed to consciousness and materially arranged matter. Thus, I think probably you are wrong in that statement that the Original material reality is an illusion. However that may be a goal to couple with a causally created holographic(illusionary perceived material reality). As far as, I can guess the meaning of contemporary best cyclic 'The Steinhardt-Turok model' tries to describe it. (as per wikipedia explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_Model: In this cyclic model, two parallel orbifold planes or M-branes collide periodically in a higher dimensional space.[8] The (My addition: HOLOGRAPHYCALLY) visible four-dimensional universe lies on one of these branes. The collisions correspond to a reversal from contraction to expansion, or a big crunch followed immediately by a big bang.)

      5. My message is: What a new step in our understanding may be - This GOD-Man comprises the advanced humanity as a WHOLE UNITY of a complex organism in his every living state in the NO time and NO SPACE = RIGHT NOW, and inherently IMMORTAL, because never created and unconditionally exists! We need not to overcome this supremacy what basically unconditionally encoded in the NATURE, in our nature and in our original genetic make up!

      6. We can create Technologies, however it is desirable to do basically for our well-being.

      End-notes:

      I've not a concern of the competition! I participated here to speak at first time during my last 25 yrs. tremendous working behind the scenes, because I wished to disseminate essential information to those who were seriously working on to repair faults taken in our past and even our far or near future we should have commited that, but with a worse outcome.

      My only hope truly, the eventual decision making process behind all of this discussion of a very crucial theme at the point in the possible right NOW MOMENT for getting a satisfactory grant for a proper project goal will be for our best mutual interest, keeping humanity on the right steps avoiding a worst cataclysmic event (some times probably that have already happened)

      All the best for you and all of us.

      You can reach me at my email given in my essay.

      High regards,

      Valeria

      ------ If you keep me interesting you can read my comment conversions threads put on essays marked with (***) special importance, but unfortunately non-replied.

      REALITY, ONCE by Joe Fisher

      How Should Humanity Steer the Future? An interview with Einstein in Heaven by Vladimir F. Tamari

      The Spiritual Big Bang: Origin of Universe by Damon Joseph Sproc(***)

      How Can People Plan for the Technological Future and Who Should Be Their Guides into the Future? by David Brown(***)

      How to Hack Human History by John Brodix Merryman

      The Tip of The Spear by George Gantz

      Humanity does not steer, but should enjoy the ride by Stephen Ashworth

      Protogeometer: Falling Into Future by Vladimir I. Rogozhin

      An end to steer by, and a means by Michael Allan

      How Should Humanity Steer the Future ? by Margriet Anne O'Regan

      Life under ground Cosmic mystery and physical reality by Petio Hristov

      Steering the Future to Education by Don Limuti

      Removing the Element of Surprise by Aaron M. Feeney

      Planetary Procreation by Turil Sweden Cronburg

      my essay

      Hi Wilhelmus,

      As promised, in response to your reminder on my page, I'm commenting on your essay before any others, as there has already been a considerable delay.

      I like that you include a wide range of interesting topics, but I was looking for something I have not found (maybe you can help). I was looking for the main thing your essay advocates that we should focus our efforts upon in order to improve the world. Yes, it suggests that we should "educate... [our children] not to strive for (short) economic profit but to strive for the growth of their own consciousness."

      I certainly agree with that statement, but for that to have been the whole point of an essay which mentions so many other things would be puzzling to me. (As you know, of course, many parents have been educating their children in just that way since the '60s, under the motto, "be you, and follow your dreams.") Unfortunately, what we teach our children and what the world forces upon them when they leave the nest are often at cross purposes, especially when it comes to survival and material desires. I think we need something more powerful than a change in educational tactics to noticeably alter our course as a species toward a more fruitful direction. Please inform me if I have missed the main point of your essay, it is possible that I may have missed it.

      With that being said, I have faithfully rated your essay according to the rating system I advocate, so the rating I gave was higher than what you had previously.

      Warmly,

      Aaron

      P.S., I would like to know reference #17 from your paper, it appears to have been cut off.

        Hi Wilhelmus,

        I've replied to you on my own page, but I think we should have our actual conversation here. I wrote above, "for that to have been the whole point of an essay which mentions so many other things would be puzzling to me." So I was not indicating that I believe that teaching our children in a certain way was the whole point of your essay, I was saying that it seems to me that that could not have been its whole point. Maybe I should have been clearer about that.

        Essentially, what I was portraying is that I could not easily find its point. The conclusion section is where an author generally puts that sort of information. While I did read your whole paper, I was seeking its main point in the conclusion.

        If you were to write a conclusion to your paper to only sum up its point, what would that conclusion look like? May I request that you write that as a response?

        Aaron

        Aaron,

        I feel very sorry that you were not able to recognise the essence of my paper.

        pls read the extract or the post that i left on your thread.

        Consciousness is not always available it seems...

        best regards

        Wilhelmus

        Dear Wilhelmus de Wilde

        I also defend quantum consciousness (QC). This is evident in the old essay. We both gave essays, but we did not read each other. You wrote: "The steering of our future lies in a deeper understanding of our consciousness". You will see that my new essay gives the same message.

        Probably I have a little different approach to QC as you. My principle is panpsichism, but yours is causal and non-causal part ...

        Do you know that the newest news is, that quantum biology is proved. Maybe quantum consciousness will also be.

        You gave some good links. It is a problem with such amateur theories that rarely one read and comment them. I read yours, I hope the you will read mine. Who still advocates quantum consciousness on this contest?

        My essay

        Best regards

        Janko Kokosar

          Dear Wilhelmus,

          I am impressed with your attempts to relate the very most cutting-edge physical theorizing with the ultimate questions of mind and the basis of reality, reminiscent yet bolder than as explored e.g. by Roger Penrose and John Wheeler (I note similarities to the latter's conscious self-creating "participatory universe" loop idea, often symbolized by the picture of the eye looking at the end of its own optic nerve. (See for example at Your Life is a Game.) I note you share Sir Roger's and my interest in microtubules and quantum processes being important to how the brain expresses consciousness.

          You clearly think that matter and mind are a unified entity instead of set apart, yet not by the shallow method of reductionistic crunching of mind into arid AI protocols. This is a difficult task even to get a handle on and even more difficult to test, but people need to be at least thinking about it and asking questions - whether I am yet be convinced of your particular ideas and claims on this.

          I agree with you on the issue addressed below - at least where perception and basic experience are concerned - although not for quite the same reasons (briefly, our experiences are "qualitative" in a way going beyond even extending from stark 0/1-black/white binary to a "gray" scale, note for example of course, our perceptual experience of colors! Yes, that could be considered as an analogy but color perception is actually quite pertinent to the issue.) I quote from your essay:

          "Consciousness/Intelligence can not be realized just by black and white thinking and by creating machines that are working on algorithm's . An "algorithm" indicates a step-by-step operation, beginning with an initial state and input, followed by instructions describing the computations to realize, till an output is reached. Each step in this process is always between two extremes (in computation for example zero and one), the infinite tones of gray are not involved. This is the reason why [neither] intelligence nor consciousness can emerge from this process."

          Readers may be interested in parallels in my own essay, giving a different argument for why our minds can't just be computational, as well as support for some kind of free will (global directedness.)

          Well, there is just way too much for me to dwell on and I wish you luck as I bounce around the essays, so many good ones drawing me this way and that. Cheers.

            dear janko,

            I replied on your thread after having read your essay.

            best regards

            Wilhelmus

            Dear Neil,

            I thank you very much for your support and gave a list of my published articles on your private mail.

            best regards

            Wilhelmus

            Dear Wilhelmus,

            I am very close in spirit to your ideas. We go in one direction, but a little different our views. But closer to the position necessary to make a good "brainstorming." Consciousness need growth and turnaround. Here the main task - to change the education system. All of us Earthlings, we need Great Dream and Great Common Cause to save Peace, Nature and Humanity. Great Dream always go alond with Freedom without fear, Hope, Love, Justice. It's time. New Era and "Generation SkyPe" says: We start the path.

            Best regards,

            Vladimir

              7 days later

              Hello Wilhelmus,

              I enjoyed your essay very much but am myself on the fence when it comes to the role of consciousness in the universe. I am suspicious of us projecting our own unique subjectivity onto the whole of existence. Though, I do think it can be said that a universe without some form of life within it to provide "feedback" can in someway be said to not exist at all.

              The question of why there is something rather than nothing I find a fascinating one as I do the question of whether we exist in the best of all possible worlds.

              I'd be interested in your thoughts on a post I recently wrote on that subject:

              http://utopiaordystopia.com/2014/05/04/why-does-the-world-exist-and-other-dangerous-questions-for-insomniacs/

              Rick

              Dear Wilhelmus,

              Thank you for the comment under my essay, and I agree the discussions can continue. Good luck to the contest!

              Best regards,

              Cristi