This is a telling experiment- Richard Dawkins volunteered to be a test subject of Michael Persinger's God Helmet that uses complex magnetic fields to stimulate the temporal lobes and limbic system- this reproduces deep spiritual and strange states in healthy brains with rich temporal lobe sensitivity and creativity potential- however Dawkins only experienced vague body sensations- in his temporal lobe profile it was revealed that his sensitivity/creativity is VERY low- indicating an acutely underdeveloped temporal lobe function-
this explains everything about the athiest/materialist inability to rationally apprehend more complex syntheses of the empirical and logical roots of ideas that lead to rational concepts about Theology and Teleology-
people with underdeveloped temporal lobes cannot process the subtler and more complex implications of nature- so they can only perceive them as disconnected from logic and see only an illusion of fantasy- even when they are carefully and logically broken down- as Plato did - they cannot COMBINE these ideas and see the whole- so they dismiss these rational networks of ideas as irrational- they cannot see the logical connections in the complex network-
in the Cybernetic Dreamtime these sorts of deficiencies will be balanced and boosted through BCI augmentation- the future God Helmet [as a few small buds on a headband/glasses] will be able to shape the magnetic field to make up for the lack of temporal lobe development and provide the rational engine to perceive and experience metaphysical concepts rationally- then the simple atheist/materialist personality type will be properly classified as the product of a mild and functional hereditary mental illness like depression- and that worldview will vanish - becoming an historical curiosity.
Orginal poster - The edge cuts both ways on this one - it also reveals that those with extra-sensitive temporal lobes who have experiences of god - are really mistaking something from THEMSELVES- God is not an other talking to you- that state hints at YOUR potential and the deeper essence of consciousness- Jung was right (The silent partner metaphor has not occurred here, neither has global interconnection via emails)
@moderate- pathology is when dysfunction causes sociopathic behavior and thoughts- when taken to extremes the pathology of athiesm/materialism does just that- and has led to extreme violence carried out through dehumanization of victims- as extreme as any holy war-
but nature USES the useful and ADVANTAGEOUS- aberrations like homosexuality- which became selected millions of years ago for it's ability to stabalize group behaviors of sexual reproducing animals- providing strong community- MANY of your organs and systems are the result of such emergent aberations in function that turn out to be advantageous-
the synthetic atrophy/blindness of materialist thinking- is more of a mixed bag- it provides some early advantages for avoiding cons and bad ideas- but it becomes a detriment once knowledge becomes fully developed because the larger implications remain hidden from view-
my comment about how atheism and materialism will become an historical curiosity is not some kind of threat of control- although I do tend to push that angle when I get irked- I meant that ALL these atheist personalities will CHOOSE to augment- and a by-product of their augmentation will be a 'cure' of their temporal lobe atrophy [as it will be for the religious with overdeveloped sensitivity as well!] that will have the side effect of changing their views about epistemology- and they will start to see the rational network of logic and empiricism that supports things like Simulism and Cosmism and a rational ontology of God
In posthumanity the atheists and the faithful will converge on a more mature Cosmist view of rational epistemology and teleology based on information technology that will see both faith and materialism as primitive and pathological.
"however Dawkins only experienced vague body sensations- in his temporal lobe profile it was revealed that his sensitivity/creativity is VERY low- indicating an acutely underdeveloped temporal lobe function-
this explains everything about the athiest/materialist inability to rationally apprehend more complex syntheses of the empirical and logical roots of ideas that lead to rational concepts about Theology and Teleology- "
Steve Trueblue wrote: The proposition is quite a good call ! It makes much sense to myself, having had years of experience dialoguing endlessly with militant atheists and pseudoskeptics in very large numbers online. Their most compelling feature is Regimented Lock Step robot behavioural conformity. Strongly suggesting a common pathology. Some of the most common features are emotional under-development, infantile reading literalism ( so do many fundamentalists), tendency to lie a whole lot, and what seems to be an autistic tendency, namely attempting to chisel every situation via lying insistence, into their own defective image, into a kind of alternative feeble simplistic existence, to avoid the THB -- the Too Hard Basket where we "normals " ( spiritually minded?) put the many unsolved questions like ESP Afterlife Paranormal etc, awaiting for further evidence. Atheists and pseudoskeptics deny the very existence of the Too Hard basket. Hundreds of thousands of them online in chorus. A group defect.
We also notice they totally lack humour online, and kindness- perhaps the source of the posters comparison of Atheism with Depression.
Atheism is associated with depression, cardio pulmonary illness and reduced lifespan Michigan University study.
The collective lack of brain development, non growth, immaturity is striking in online encounters around my many Pseudoskeptic videos on youtube. I'm kimbo99.
Brian Josephson Nobel Laureate, coined the phrase Pathological Denialism to describe pseudoskepticism so he may agree with the posters proposition
The cause of the non growth of the temporal lobes resulting in near zero sensitivity as in Dawkins case is a fascinating question also. I have pondered if its their lack of pets while growing up? Distant mothers as in deprived wireframe mothered monkeys, or it might just be premature birth which has numerous pathological physical effects in later life.
The BBC docco has been pulled for copyright reasons but only off youtube. It may be available Off Youtube if we just know its name.
The militant atheists/skeptics inability to connect ideas is striking and its hard to determine if they are feigning it or its for real. But its all over the NET
So the posted proposition is not too great a call.
Highest Regards Steve in Sydney http://www.truebluehealer.com
Gnostic CodeSimian briefly quoted here:
Despite my family and friends believing in some kind of god, I was an atheist until around the age of 20, 9 years ago, when I realized that we're all gods. I know that from experience. For example, once I caused a piece of aluminum foil balanced on a needle under a clear plastic box to move continuously for 3 days, similar to in the "psi wheel in a clear closed box 2" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKJGb4RNRB4 youtube video. Then there were a few bigger things and some about the subtle way events fit together.
Even though I think we're all gods, atheism is still closer to the truth than some religions. Also, since we're all gods, there's no reason to worship anyone or anything, and I think its funny the way the atheists (including myself for the first 20 years of my life) don't believe themselves exist.
Now that I've explained why I'm qualified to answer this, I'll tell you why I expect the "God Helmet" to work some, why its very inefficient at what its designed to do, and how to build an extremely more effective one.
The spiritual experiences happen when the path of neural activity is most balanced and divergent, like in quantum superposition, not knowing which path its going to take until it happens, being equally likely to have any thought as any other thought.
In that video, Richard Dawkins said it made him dizzy, pleasantly relaxed, and in total darkness, even though his eyes weren't covered. The "God Helmet" puts magnetic fields in the brain. Therefore the magnetic fields were randomizing, and/or biasing toward one direction which creates other kinds of randomness, his neural activity, which does tend to make the paths of neural activity more balanced and divergent, but not nearly as much as would a device designed specificly to balance the mind between all possible thoughts so it divergently chooses which path at the last possible moment."
Much more techo disucssion on the forum page