We All Know That We Are An Amalgamation of Trillions ofCells

[knell]

plus a few trillion bacteria...

so my question is this:

is your consciousness a result of all these cells working together, or is there one cell (a "soul", if you will) controlling all of them?

the choice is yours

bonus points if you can answer in one sentence without resorting to just picking one of the two

[helix]

My dick usually does the thinking for me.

[knell]

extra extra bonus: serious replies only

[ahier]

both neither and both at the same time

[knell]

both neither and both at the same time

scarily truthful

[nousd]

amalgamation isn't the right word imo.
that suggests squashing things randomly together
we ain't random
we is a cooperative
with long tribal memory.
Not perfect
but getting our shit together over time.

[test_recordings]

plus a few trillion bacteria...

so my question is this:

is your consciousness a result of all these cells working together, or is there one cell (a "soul", if you will) controlling all of them?

the choice is yours

bonus points if you can answer in one sentence without resorting to just picking one of the two

They all control each other as a parallel-processing system. It's the difference between computers using linear boolean operator commands and humans managing many, many tasks at once, even compensating for loss of function within organic systems.

If there was one cell controlling everything it would be extremely vulnerable to damage but the way that biology works is a multitude of integrating and slightly over-lapping systems. For instance, your heart can beat fast when you get scared ('Run!') but your heart beating fast can make you scared ('Omg I'm gonna have a heart attack!')

[snypadub]

There is no "one cell to rule them all", all of our cells form a community that thinks and acts together, simultaneously, it is this community that we refer to as, "consciousness".

[kay]

It is only our own misguided belief that we are conscious - we are nothing but a set of programmes.

[pompende]

amalgamation isn't the right word imo.
that suggests squashing things randomly together
we ain't random

2nd'd

not much more to add really...its a tough subject...im pretty sure consciousness operates out of the brain.... when i look at my cat tho I wonder if we really do just have a more advanced brain or if theres something else that separates us from every other animal.

and bugs...are they just little machines?


happy blaze-giving

[Crosby]

i think that what is called a 'soul' is that collection of cells

[BLAHBLAHJAH]

A good thing to consider it is that the components to make a computer for example have always been present on the planet, only in the last few years have they been put together in such a particular (and possibly unique) sequence that allows such materials to generate further properties. There's no reason that anyone at any point in history couldn't of combined the parts in that particular order, but the function only appears when specific interactions are met

With this in mind, it's why I'm pretty enthusiastic about throwing in a few extra chemicals to an already existing chemical system... See what mek 'it tick! Ain't a coincidence when you compare molecular shape of chemicals to their specific actions at each subsequent step after consumption

Can't picture any way one cell could be responsible, when the majority of cells combine the same stock information

Also there's some interesting stuff somewhere about etting into mindsets based on physiognomy; mimicing someone elses general expressions as a means to gaining insight into how they think and function, will try n find the shite on that

Just be grateful your parents shagged and inadvertantly you brought things together in such a way that you're kicking. Go thank them now

[noam]

plus a few trillion bacteria...

so my question is this:

is your consciousness a result of all these cells working together, or is there one cell (a "soul", if you will) controlling all of them?

the choice is yours

bonus points if you can answer in one sentence without resorting to just picking one of the two

They all control each other as a parallel-processing system. It's the difference between computers using linear boolean operator commands and humans managing many, many tasks at once, even compensating for loss of function within organic systems.

If there was one cell controlling everything it would be extremely vulnerable to damage but the way that biology works is a multitude of integrating and slightly over-lapping systems. For instance, your heart can beat fast when you get scared ('Run!') but your heart beating fast can make you scared ('Omg I'm gonna have a heart attack!')

so its a.... splinter cell if you will

[Plasmic aka Hanlo]

If your consciousness was made up of one cell it would HAVE to be made up of billions of neurons making trillions of synaptic connections. Question answered.

[kaiori breathe]

plus a few trillion bacteria...

so my question is this:

is your consciousness a result of all these cells working together, or is there one cell (a "soul", if you will) controlling all of them?

the choice is yours

bonus points if you can answer in one sentence without resorting to just picking one of the two

The first. I'll pass on bonus points.

[jiba]

This sums it up

[hugh]

it's in your brain innit.

[In The Shadows]

There is no "one cell to rule them all", all of our cells form a community that thinks and acts together, simultaneously, it is this community that we refer to as, "consciousness".

Im not sure that holds up though, you can cut off your arms, legs, remove untold internal organs and you are still 'you', you still think of yourself as a conscious entity, the same conscious entity as before. But if you start removing bits of someones brain all manner of crazy shit can ensue and you are obviously messing with someones consciousness at that point. There are the cases I hear about in docs where people have had parts of them replaced and have picked up some of the consciousness or shall we say atributes maybe of the person the limb or organ came from. Is that a real phenomenon or not I dunno, we cant be sure, but if so it sugests something of the whole resides in each part of the community of our body, but I also think it is undeniable that in some way our brain is resonsible for whatever our consciousness is. Who we are is shaped by our experiences, created by them even, which we are pretty much certain are stored in the brain.

You could argue that consciousness is some sort of base state that is being filtered by the brain, but does not actually originate there. Its an idea, and I think its an interesting one but I havent seen any evidence of it. If that were the case then maybe the collection of creatures on this planet are actually creating a higher, single consciousness. I have serious doubts about these sort of theories though, consciousness tends to be thought of as the ability to experience or maybe feel things. But Physical experience and emotional experience, every perference we have, theyre all consiquences of being in a individual, controlable physical form with needs and senses. Without the ability to taste, see or smell food, or the need and ability to eat it to continue to live you would not enjoy food, or even be able to experience it. Without the chemicals in your brain you dont feel any emotion at all, and what emotions you do feel are entirely dependant on them, the physical presence of atoms within the brain. I think youd be seriously hard pushed to make any kind of real argument that consciousness isnt the direct result of and contained within the brain.

Once you take away our emotions, our memory and our ability to sense what exactly would be left? Without the ability to experience or contextualise the lack of experience how can something be conscious at all, and what sort of state of awareness would said conciousness have given it isnt aware of anything, past or present?

Id like to have a more spiritual outlook on things, but for me everything points to the brain.

[2manynoobs]

consciousness is nothing fancy i think. It's just the way our body works. Also, our behavior, and the stuff we do (our decisions) are all the manifestations of impulses and desires that interact with our surrounding. We're basically just very advanced bio-machine computers that interact with our "reality".

all of our cells are circuits, connected and designed to do their job. Our brain is the processor. All impulses from the world around us get processed, then there's our desires (which are sent from Above - kabbalists say) added to it, and the outcome of those factors are our actions and our behaviour. That's how we work.

Imo, trying to back this up with math is just retarded because this theory makes so much senses, and btw it has been proved (i think) already...

But, according to some we also have something else: the soul. And this is a completely different thing from our bodies. That's all I can (pretty much, i think) say for sure about souls...




when cells stop to communicate proppleh, you get cancer.

http://www.anglonautes.com/hist_us_20_w ... n_part.jpg
>illustration 1.1 - CANCER

[2manynoobs]

amalgamation isn't the right word imo.
that suggests squashing things randomly together
we ain't random
we is a cooperative
with long tribal memory.
Not perfect
but getting our shit together over time.

i believe it as well. But lately the opposite is happening more and more. Keep asking myself how w're gonna get ourselfs out of the shit :p