On Consciousness

[l0st]

This conversation on "time" remains perplexing to me. So many people seem so very sure of themselves when they declare that "time doesn't really exist." It's not just on these posts, of course. Physics has declared that "time" is the "fourth dimension" and has supplied us with elaborate mathematical equations that seek to prove the issue. I'm not good enough at math to understand the arguments, but I know, for certain, that in logical discourse (the kind you find in departments of philosophy) it is absolutely possible in symbolic logic to prove "A" or "not-A." I'm sure I could not do that now because it has been too long, like fifty years too long, but it has left me with a life-long impression that you can prove anything, including its opposite, depending on how you reduce the elements of a proposition to a conclusion. All you have to do is replace the symbols of logic with declarative statements. This issue is unassailable. Those who don't believe this may want to check out "Introduction to Logic" by Copi and Cohen. I think it is now in its 15th edition. It's all in there.

It is a basic tenant of anthropology that different cultures think in different ways. This goes beyond using different methods of measurement. Yes, OF COURSE metric and Imperial are different. Don't embarrass yourself or others by "pointing out" something so intellectually trivial. But beyond the tools of measurement, different cultures view time in different ways, some of which may not be understandable to the "Western" mind set. OK. That's fine, too, but that's just as trivial. Diminishing the argument to these levels of minutiae feels like the question is being avoided. None of this disproves the existence of time.

I'm not sure how this subset of the conversation relates to consciousness. My original proposition is that consciousness is the program; the brain is the TV set, which allows consciousness to express itself in physical form. That's all you really need to know.

Yes, theoretical physicists have declared time the 4th dimension. A theory is a theory, not proven scientific fact.

I'm not embarrassed, nor is what I pointed out "intellectually trivial." I was simply making the point that the concept of time seems to vary depending on whom dictates the concepts. I'm not avoiding any question. I'm pointing out an important observation the time is different things to different people. I will concede that this alone does not disprove the existence of time, but it certainly doesn't help any argument that time exists if different cultures cannot even agree on what time is.

I've already stated my theory that perhaps these differing perceptions of time are perhaps part of a single greater consciousness. Think of it this way, if there really is one grand centralized consciousness, then this consciousness must be everything to everyone and nothing to nobody all at the same time. This would not preclude various cultures having different concepts of time, only that time exists in different ways to different people. I am making the supposition, in the context of centralized consciousness,  that perhaps all systems are correct in some convoluted way that we do not yet understand.

I think this dovetails straight into what you are saying about consciousness being the program and the mind being the TV set. Perhaps there is more than one program? Remember what I said about multiple possibly infinite realities running in parallel.