Tag Archives: self-awareness

June 11, 2023

Epiphanies

There are four fledgling posts that have nested in my Drafts folder for many years. The first three are based on hand-written notes that go back even further. They’re very personal, so I’ve debated with myself whether to publish them at all.

But a key point of this blog is documenting my life — of leaving my scrawl on the internet wall. Kilroy was here! So was Wyrd Smythe! And it has not escaped my attention, based on page hits and comments, that readers generally enjoy the more personal posts.

These are all “light bulb moments” — epiphanies that gave me key insights to myself (part of the eternal search for who I really am).

18 Comments | tags: anger, self, self-awareness, sympathy | posted in Life

November 5, 2015

Four Doors

By Wyrd Smythe

four doors Last time I introduced four levels of possibility regarding how mind is related to brain. Behind Door #1 is a Holy Grail of AI research, a fully algorithmic implementation of a human mind. Behind Door #4 is an ineffable metaphysical mind no machine can duplicate.

The two doors between lead to physical models that recapitulate the structure of the human brain. Behind Door #3 is the biology of the brain, a model we know creates mind. Behind Door #2 is the network of the brain, which we presume encodes the mind regardless of its physical construction.

This time we’ll look more closely at some distinguishing details.

14 Comments | tags: AI, algorithm, brain, calculator, computationalism, computer model, computer program, consciousness, enchanted loom, human brain, human consciousness, LTP, neural correlates, qualia, self-awareness, slide rule, software model, synapse | posted in Computers

July 6, 2014

BB #36: Heaven and Hell

By Wyrd Smythe

Once upon a time I had a theory that Heaven and Hell were what happened at the very last moment of your life. They say your “life flashes before your eyes” when you’re about to die. What if that’s literally true? What if it really does?

And in that final, eternal moment, when your mind knows “this is the end,” and there’s no more kidding yourself, what if you have to face the person you’ve really been with no filters, no deceptions, no self-rationalizations?

What if, as death stands at our shoulder beckoning, we have an infinite moment of clarity in completely and fully recognizing ourselves.

24 Comments | tags: death, eternal moment, eternity, final moment, heaven, Heaven and Hell, hell, last moment, self, self-awareness | posted in Brain Bubble

October 10, 2013

Johari Window

By Wyrd Smythe

Johari-1 One of the first blog articles I wrote concerned the idea of Yin and Yang. It’s a topic I’ve touched on several times since (and revisited in particular talking about men and women). I reference the concept so often, because I think the duality of opposing concepts is a fundamental truth about the universe.

It’s not the only truth, of course, but it’s a very useful way of seeing things and understanding them. We see duality everywhere! Sometimes it’s something versus the lack of something (heat/cold, light/dark, full/empty). Sometimes it’s truly opposing pairs (north/south, positive/negative, male/female).

Today I’d like to expand on the concept and tell you about the Johari Window.

Leave a comment | tags: duality, ego, four-square, Harrington, how others see us, how we see ourselves, id, Luft, others, psychology, self, self-awareness, self-help, Sigmund Freud, super-ego, Yin and Yang | posted in Basics

August 12, 2012

BB #5: Tiny Bubbles

By Wyrd Smythe

As I watch my Minnesota Twins do their best to lose three games in a row to Tampa Bay, I find myself pondering the difference between “winning,” “losing,” “not winning” and “not losing.”