Free your mind!
There is this wonderful thing called mind. Or Brain, if you like the word more as I do. I believe that the cultures and the times that we have lived through, have created a web of learning around our brain which doesn't let it do what it's made for - "thinking". We use too much of our ancestors' experience. I want you to stop for a moment and do some thinking putting aside the conventional wisdom which is hardly a product of our brain. I want to call on all of you to unlearn the things which stop us from learning new things.I'll need everyone's help here. In fact, instead of being a blog it should be something more like a wikipedia. But, I have to start from here. It is easy and requires least dependency. If the idea grows, I'll move to some other solution.
This blog is in dedication to Feynman. I believe, he was the finest teacher of all time.
Come guys, let's toast for Feynman and freedom!
~manu
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Manu Garg
http://www.manugarg.com
"Truth will set you free!"
posted by Manu @ 2:36 PM
1 Comments:
Don't know how I got here. Interesting thoughts though. But I believe there is a distinct, if not critical difference between mind and brain.
I will try and keep this short. The brain is, if you will, coded at birth, genetically, with the basics needed to survive as well as many other things. It just kind of runs in the background and also takes in a lot of information without us knowing what's going on, for good reason.
The mind at birth, however, is a blank slate/canvas (tabula rasa) that becomes part of our character, personality, soul, beliefs, systems of belief, etc. through experiences and decisions that we have/make throughout our lives. This is also a tricky area…genetics and free will.
But, you are absolutely right about the ghosts of our past and the teachings and beliefs that are passed on. Google the word meme if you don’t know already. Bad memes propagate just like bad, even dormant, genes for whatever reason. We must, in a way, re-program, hack our minds… to unlearn, to see things more clearly.
Some good reference: Dennett-Consciousness Explained, Dawkins, Wolfram, Huxley-Doors of Perception/Heaven & Hell, Hofstadter, Pirsig-Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Buddhism. That’s all I can think of right now.
To Feynman!
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