Can human beings achieve a 'lizard brain consciousness? Is it scientifically documented? What techniques can one use to access this. [more inside]
posted by Not Supplied on Apr 12, 2009 - 17 answers

Favourite psychedelic / drug / shaman / consciousness related books? My brother met a shaman in South American and has given me his credit card and asked me to order him a bunch of books. Think Terence McKenna, Alex Grey, Alexander Shulgin, Carlos Castaneda, DMT, Ayahuasca... *Documentary/DVD recommendations welcome as well. [more inside]
posted by mjao on Mar 10, 2009 - 36 answers

What are some definitive scholarly sources on the ethics of alcohol? [more inside]
posted by vegetableagony on Oct 15, 2008 - 7 answers

William James-Filter: does anybody know who said this particular thing about him, and where? [more inside]
posted by Beardman on Oct 8, 2008 - 6 answers

The phenomenology / ontology of text: has anyone examined this issue directly in philosophical, literary and/or critical terms? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Sep 18, 2008 - 26 answers

I'm looking for examples of sci fi films that focus primarily on a conflict/relationship between a human and a self-aware computer/artificial intelligence (such as HAL in "2001," but NOT the computer in "War Games" because it wasn't self-aware.) [more inside]
posted by np312 on Aug 1, 2008 - 39 answers

[spoilers within] Please help me understand the ending of Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. [more inside]
posted by drgonzo on Jul 30, 2008 - 11 answers

What kind of computing power would be needed to simulate consciousness? [more inside]
posted by prunes on Jun 11, 2008 - 21 answers

Jill Bolte Taylor uses a very clear cut dichotomy when explaining the respective roles of the left and right hemisphere: one is oriented towards parrallel processing of sense data, the other towards serial, conscious, target-oriented processing. Is this reflective of the modern state of the art neurological schientific knowledge? It's an intuitively attractive explanation. But is it true? It sounds simplistic. [more inside]
posted by jouke on Apr 22, 2008 - 13 answers

Recursion filter: I recently came across the phrase 'Mise en Abyme' and have become fascinated by recursion in literature, language and film. What writings have used these themes in their form to address the questions they posed? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Apr 2, 2008 - 20 answers

Name-my-major, Hivemind. So I go to an unusual school in that we don't have clear-cut majors, and we basically pick an area of "focus". I'm actually currently (unofficially) studying my own brain, because it's strangely hampered in certain capacities (like the process of reading music, despite being very musical and understanding cognitively exactly what's going on), or performing basic math (despite endless repetition). It's also weirdly bolstered in other regards: I have an unbelievable propensity for forming the visual "distortions" one might associate with hallucinogens. [more inside]
posted by dmaterialized on Mar 13, 2008 - 14 answers

I am looking for writings on the infinity of definition. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Mar 13, 2008 - 32 answers

Advice or sources for dealing with inspirational overload? [more inside]
posted by farishta on Feb 26, 2008 - 8 answers

How is the meaning of art and artefacts being altered by the methods we use to: Experience, Define and Preserve them... In other words, in what ways have technologies been used to experience, re-define and/or preserve art and artifacts? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 5, 2008 - 12 answers

I need solid scientific evidence that thought can change matter - how consciousness effects DNA structure, patterns and ultimately reality. Charts, studies, videos, all is welcome as a way of viewing and understanding how the mind's energy works in relation to physical matter. Thank you so much.
posted by watercarrier on Nov 7, 2007 - 51 answers

What are the all-time best science fiction novels which depict Artificial Intelligence? [more inside]
posted by archae on Aug 1, 2007 - 37 answers

I want to be a better person (don't we all?). I'm looking for texts and tips to help me on my journey. [more inside]
posted by Brittanie on Jul 31, 2007 - 29 answers

I had a weird experience with briefly losing consciousness last night. Should I be worried and/or do something about it? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Mar 24, 2007 - 13 answers

I'm on the hunt for sites and/or blogs about big ideas... Who wants to join me? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jul 9, 2006 - 17 answers

The Protagonist: What can you tell me? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jun 8, 2006 - 17 answers

What experiments have been carried out where animals perform better than us at particular cognitive tasks? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on May 9, 2006 - 13 answers

I have a theory about consciousness. Tell me what it's called. [more inside]
posted by greytape on Mar 30, 2006 - 33 answers

What is the label for an entity or idea which began as nothing and came to have identity through its own fictionalisation? That is, notions diametrically opposed to 'simulacra' - in that the entity has no referent to begin with... [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 21, 2006 - 20 answers

How can anthropologists contribute to the answering of questions about the brain and consciousness in the 21st century? [more inside]
posted by eighth_excerpt on Feb 14, 2006 - 8 answers

Why did consciousness evolve? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jan 25, 2006 - 39 answers

Many years ago someone told me the recognised term for the kind of involuntary shudder that commonly affects people at rest. You know the kind that spontaneously rocks you, just for a moment, like you are shaking off the ghoulies, like the cliche says 'someone was walking on your grave'? I have since lost this word to time, and searching the internet has brought only partial results. Does anyone know it?
posted by 0bvious on Nov 15, 2005 - 31 answers

Recommend books about consciousness! [more inside]
posted by josh on Sep 12, 2005 - 38 answers

I read Dennett's Consciousness Explained several months ago. What next? [more inside]
posted by DevilsAdvocate on Jan 11, 2004 - 18 answers