Read this on another board and thought I'd offer it up for discussion here. I suppose it's as practical a theory on reincarnation as you could have. At least there's no afterlife involved. Anyway, here it is exactly as written. I made no corrections to spelling, grammar or punctuation.
I have a personal theory about what happens after death. It's a bit crazy, but follow me on this one.
Do you notice that when you go to sleep and has a dream, you think 10 minutes has passed but actually you slept the entire night? Between the dream and the awaken moments, there's a void in time, below the consciouness area. In this moment, one second feels like five hours... because actually you feel nothing. I guess the same thing happens when you're anesthetized or on a coma (I'm not a doctor). In this "short" moment, we are all "mentally" dead.
The concept of "me" is just the reaction of nerve cells which gives you a sense of existance, hence the famous thought "I think therefore I am" ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito,… ). When you die, that concept doesn't exist anymore, your "myself" cease to exist... but somewhere in the planet, in any moment, a fetus starts to build its first neural synapses. That's you again, but not exactly "you", because "you" are a new "you". And the entire "swap" happens in less than one second, even if dozens or hundreads of years has passed.
Some cultures and religions calls it "soul", for me (as an IT guy) it's like deleting a VirtualBox instance and installing another one. You have absolutely no baggage of your previous life, your "me" starts with the bare minimum (breath, feel pain, cry etc) and the circle of life happens again.
Am I going too crazy?
Discuss.
8
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36 comments (26 - 36)
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.It kinda, sorta, maybe, in a way sounds like he is talking about something similar to the Aaron Freeman Eulogy from a Physicist, but in specific ways that I just can't properly follow.
Amzungu
Level 8
May 19, 2020
1
Thanks for sharing that
Interesting. I’m glad you posted this perspective.
Food for thought.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
May 19, 2020
1
@Sgt_Spanky I found the concept interesting, but I think it still partakes of the supernatural/soul idea with a bit of magic to get that transference to happen. Where does that pattern from the deceased person go to be preserved to imprint the new brain? How is it preserved even though a long period of time has passed?
I understood the post to be about just the general idea of how reincarnation might happen, using the analogy from computers of copying but including changes and applying copy and change to the creation of neural connections in a new human brain from an old one. That concept of copying with changes is a powerful one, since copy with changes is the driver for variety that coupled with selection drives evolution. However, I think the theory still stumbles on the magic aspect of being dependent on preserving the original pattern and then implanting it.
And it's the wee hours and I'm probably rambling anyway [sigh].
Khentyimentu
Level 4
May 22, 2020
0
That's legit. The only response I have is maybe some day with more research, more sophisticated equipment, etc., we might be able to trace and pinpoint how it occurs, IF it occurs. If it does, it's obviously not magic, and the research done up to now certainly is interesting, if not compelling.
As far as, is this 'evidence' of 'god?'
No.
The truth is, we'd have to establish if it's real or not first, before we could even figure out if it's even a clue to ANYTHING.
It's just a theory:
"a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact."
(dictionary.com)
LiterateHiker
Level 9
May 20, 2020
0
Not very likely, but it would be awesome if it was true! It's fun to think about.
Observer-Effect
Level 7
May 20, 2020
0
Very good.
Reincarnation is being thoroughly investigated at the University of Virginia and it has yielded some very compelling results.
It's not necessary to believe in an old-school 'god' to speculate it might be a natural, physically-explainable phenomenon which COULD lead (as is the Buddhist belief) the refinement of the concentrated form of energy some refer to as a 'soul.'
Or, it could lead a person's concentrated energy in one life back into the collective energy stream, with or without the imprint of individuality. Or something else.
I've been thinking it might be useful to erase past religious thoughts from the mind and to use modern concepts and words to talk about reincarnation and other out-of-the-ordinary things, like crop circles and psychism. Using old, moldy, obsolete ones seems to keep a lot of people mired in the past.
How that connects with sleep and dreaming... maybe the similarities of coincidence, or a real way a consciousness can travel...anything's possible.
Storm1752
Level 8
May 19, 2020
0
Do you have any citation or reference for this thorough investigation you mention at the University of Virginia?
"anythings possible" ? No it's not.
@Rodatheist Just tap it out on your phone.
@Rodatheist, @Moravian Figure of speech.
@Rodatheist [whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com]
[skepdic.com]
[rationalwiki.org]
I am concerned that the overwhelming 'evidence' has been focused children's accounts. There is a reason why their testimonies bear less weight than adults in a court of law. They are easily influenced to provide an answer that is likely to please an adult. I'm sorry to disappoint but I suspect that only your atoms will be recycled at death.
@MsDemeanour Well, accounts compiled by competent professionals are only a few taps away on your phone: reincarnation...University of Virginia...Stevenson (or Tucker)...and you can read about it, giving you more information on which to base your suspicions! And there's a lot more, too, but that's a very credible place to start.
@Storm1752 Yes I have looked. Interesting reading. I don't even believe humans have free will, let alone a spirit or soul that can transfer to another body. I am having a similar debate with my son right now on UFOs. He believes in alien visits. Not enough evidence for me yet.
@MsDemeanour Interesting, indeed. Hard to explain.
Not enough evidence of extraterrestrials, sure. Also interesting.
I could argue UFOs either way Reincarnation? I'd need an explanation for the memories and birthmarks which plausibly accounts from them in some other way.
No free will? Do you have the freedom to decide a course of action? Don't you make decisions every day? Please explain what you mean, if you decide to take the time to respond.
@Storm1752 In regards to free will, we are conditioned by our genes and our experience. If I was born with Ted Bundy's DNA and environmental conditions, I would in be him, and would make the same choices he did. Neurologists did research asking people for their preferred answer to questions. They were able to predict what the person was going to choose BEFORE the person had made their choice just by looking at neurological patterns. I'm a big fan of Neuroscientist Sam Harris. He has a book about the illusion of Free Will. It's only 72 pages but a fascinating read.
@MsDemeanour Interesting.
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