Saturday, December 29, 2012

Mind over matter

http://www.newappsblog.com/2012/11/four-people-who-gained-superhuman-abilities-from-brain-injuries-or-missing-senses.html

6 comments:

  1. Other interesting savants include Daniel Tammet

    e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbASOcqc1Ss

    Kim Peek

    e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2T45r5G3kA

    I also find synesthesia intriguing

    e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWGNWgBk76k

    Hyperthymesia (AKA superior autobiographical memory)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthymesia

    Here's a link to an episode of 60 Minutes that dealt with the topic

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zTkBgHNsWM

    Actress Marilu Henner has been diagnosed with hyperthymesia.

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  2. I can imagine someone pointing out that these are cases of the exact opposite : matter over mind.

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  3. How does one account for these abilities? Are they latent within all of us?

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  4. Some people like Aldous Huxley regard the brain as a reducing value that limits perception to keep the input manageable. It filters what we perceive. Otherwise, we'd be overwhelmed.

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  5. I recall the author of Brain Wars arguing along those lines as well. He seemed to suggest that psychedelic drugs perhaps impair the brain's filtering function.

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