rb@cci632.UUCP (Rex Ballard) (07/21/86)
In article <17000006@uokvax.UUCP> emjej@uokvax.UUCP writes: > >/* Written 7:42 pm Jun 27, 1986 by mouse@mcgill-vision.UUCP in net.sci */ >Karatekas have tried to break things and failed, and failed, >through several tries (bloody hands, etc). Then they get the right >mindset (or whatever you want to call it) and everything goes smoothly. >If it were just a tough hand I can't see how you explain this. Besides, >when was the last time you saw skin tougher than concrete? >-- > der Mouse >/* End of text from net.sci */ > >The fact that one has to be in the right frame of mind to do a thing >doesn't imply that anything supernatural is going on. I find that, as >a singer somewhere between baritone and bass, that at times when my >throat is relaxed I can sing lower notes than at other times. I don't >think that ESP or PK has anything to do with it. > > James Jones There is an interesting aspect of PSI that has not been discussed yet. Psychology and Psychiatry acknowledge the existence of the concious and subconcious mind. In these fields, the focus is to use the power of intellect or the concious mind to control the subconcious mind. For those who haven't tried it yet, take a gander at The Discovery Channel, it provides a number of interesting insights. Much of the more "primitive" forms of "magic" actually have a great deal of scientific basis. In fact, 70% can be explained in terms of simple physics, chemistry, and psychology. Examine the "Rituals" of a primitive culture, then examine a patient suffering from "obsessive/compulsive" behaviour caused by high anxiety. In modern societies, these rituals are self-imposed, but in more primitive cultures, it is provided by the "spiritual leaders". Many eastern cultures engage in practices, such as martial arts as a means of strengthening the subconcious mind itself, and focusing it in many positive directions. The practitioners of Zen, Kendo, Akaido, and the other martial arts are the leaders of industry. Heads of multi-million dollar corporations. Even the discipline of singing or any of the other performing arts requires a substantial amount of subconcious discipline. Remember that performing itself is unnatural, the most common fear is getting in front of a group of people to perform. Actors and singers build characters which temporarily "take over" the concious mind and create a psychological "mask" which enables them to perform. In western society, because the subconcious is not usually channeled and disciplined, there is a tendency for many creative people to show indications of schizophrenia. I was fascinated to see how many people in mental hospitals have profound creative abilities in the arts, music, and sciences. Yet efforts to "override" the subconcious intellectually repeatedly failed. In cases where tharapy was successful, the patient was unable to use his creative abilities without going into relapse. Scientists acknowlege that there is a tremendous power within the subconcious mind. In western society, the undisciplined subconcious can be the source of violent destructive emotions, psychosematic illnesses as real as those caused by virus or bacteria, and criminal behaviour. PSI examines the "effects" of the subconcious mind which may or may not be well disciplined. The important departure here is that PSI seeks to determine the causes as well as effects of the subconcious mind. The subconcious mind is the "origin" of "original thought", fed by what?, the sum of experience?, some "spiritual force"?, or some undetectable interaction between the subconcious of one individual and the subconcious of others. Perhaps there is an undetected "network" which results in a higher intellegence. In primitive cultures, the concept of "evil spirits" often referrs to anything from microbes to emotional illnesses. Yet, there is a great deal of scientific basis behind the "treatment". An amusing theory comes to mind. Today, primitive cultures are a minority. Often, special refuges must be provided to prevent "civilization" from corrupting the "time archive" of these cultures. However, suppose that 10,000 years ago, it was the advanced scientific cultures that were the minority. Perhaps there were cultures where applied chemistry and physics were studied and developed as well as exported in the form of "sharmans" or "priests". It is likely that the more ambitious elements would consider the primitive tribes ripe for control. Control they would lose if their "subjects" understood the technology being used by their "priests". Examining the technology of ancient Egypt, Peking, Japan, or even Central America gives evidence of a scientifically advanced civilization, yet the surrounding "tribes" appear to be very superstitious, and very "magic oriented". The natural assumption might be that the advanced civilization was a superstitious as the nearby tribes. Another possibility is that in these "bronze age universities", knowlege, technology, and science were even more advanced than the remaining artifacts indicate. What is most interesting about these ancient cultures is that they had two languages. One "higher language" such as hieroglyphics or Kanji and a "lower language" such as cuniform or Kana. The most interesting aspect is that these lower languages are actually parsable by computers for speech synthisis purposes (though not for meaning). Even more interesting is that our 20th century society is evolving the same type of "hieroglyphic" language today. It is interesting to observe the "weapons preparation" done by the "priests" of primitive tribes. It almost looks like "steel forging", but in a culture which has no knowledge of even metallurgy, let alone steel. The result, a primitive act appears almost silly, yet may be a trace of a technologically advanced "priest", who once made steel weapons for that tribe, or a rival tribe. PSI research is an attempt to translate the "superstitions" and beliefs of subjects who appear to have "race memories" of a technology they don't in fact understand. What makes it even more difficult is that in many cases, it may be technology modern science doesn't understand yet either. Perhaps PK and ESP were once part of an ancient technology. Perhaps they were even enhanced by technology. Perhaps they are "imitations" of some techological "slight of hand" which may be as significant when it's nature is discovered. Perhaps ESP especially, is the effect of a "harmony" between the concious and subconcious mind. A state where both cooperate to enable good judgements and decisions to be made instinctively, even before the "facts" to support them are uncovered. One can understand the workings of a computer from the simple "switch technology" to "artificial intellegence" if the discipline range of study spans the entire range of the technology. The same is potentially true of the human brain, and life itself. We finally know enough about the DNA and "switch technology" of organisms to begin following the chain up to the source of "creative thought". This is the one aspect which computer technology has failed to duplicate. Obviously, we are missing a few pieces of the puzzle.