tebo@gatech.UUCP (W. C. Thibault) (02/08/84)
For those of you interested in the process of introspection, I'd recommend reading the works of a truly impressive introspecter (introspectre?), John C. Lilly, M.D. The inventor and initial pioneer of the sensory deprivation chamber, early LSD experimenter (incl. LSD coupled with sensory deprivation), and speaker-to-dolphins, Lilly has developed, over the course of some 30 years of such investigations, a highly evolved model of brain processes. This model is described in "Self Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer." An autobiographical work describing his experiments and experiences along these lines is "The Center of the Cyclone." This book also gives an explanation of his Human Biocomputer model of brain processes. Briefly, this model has the brain as computer, thought (conscious and otherwise) as programs, and the self as metaprogrammer (operating system?). Part of the model deals with methods of attaining higher states of consiousness through conscious manipulation of one's belief system(s). The reader of Lilly is cautioned (by this writer) to maintain some distance from these ideas, as I have found them to be amazingly seductive to the computer 'scientist.' Lilly doesn't know much about computers, but what he does present can be easily filled in by anyone with a passing familiarity with AI and/or operating systems. I personally believe there's a real danger in thinking of Humans as computers. But, I may be wrong. Other books by Lilly include: "The Mind of the Dolphin," which discusses experiments in man-dolphin communication conducted in the early 60's, and "Simulations of God," a collection of essays, published in the late 70's.