Recent content by Sandglass

I realize that there are already threads on consciousness here, but they seem to derail due to it being a finicky word to pin down. The core question in my mind is "why do I care more about myself than others." Of course the answer is because I am 'conscious' and I am the one with my own...

But then how does it work? Would it progress like a clock ticking with infinitesimally small moments? If that's the most fundamental aspect of nature, I wouldn't expect high speeds or gravity to affect it.

The two are certainly connected, but is it right to assume that time is more fundamental than speed? The crux of what I'm considering is whether time creates movement or movement creates time. Odd as it is, the speed of light is one of the few fundamental components of the universe, whereas all...

Been thinking a lot about time lately and am trying to think through whether this idea has merit: Time exists as a byproduct of a 'constant' speed of light. Breakdown: -As a fundamental aspect of nature, the speed of light is constant (in a vacuum). -Time has no fundamental unit - its...

I think the thing about consciousness is to try to figure out where and how exactly it connects with the physical world. If it isn't based on physics, it can't interact with our brains and has no relevance on us. Some experiments have shown that our body decides what it will do relative to...

Information is physical. Humans might not record information as obviously as a hard drive, but everything is still logged through physical interactions in our brains. If you cut out a chunk of your brain, all the information written there is gone. Anything interacting with us must be physical...

There are a bunch of wave-particles that are the building blocks for everything and trend towards overall equilibrium (entropy always goes up). Due to complex initial conditions, they can take on complex forms and interactions. Calling something a "rock" doesn't change what its made of. The...

Eventually this will have to be done. The only real reason to force human value is bias. We are hardwired to see value in our own endeavors and we also want our species to succeed on an instinctual level. We rig the game of value by happening to care more about what humans are good at relative...

The universe was created with transient initial conditions, not static ones. I don’t think anyone can give a proper answer to why that is the case, but it is. From there, it doesn’t seem too out of the question that some sort of pattern would emerge that replicated itself given a large enough...

Did you want to post that before or after I posted what I did? Whether or not you admit it, my post caused a reaction from you and your followup was the result. I doubt you would have commented if nothing was said. If I was ungodly smart I would be able to convince you to write a different...

If you agree with determinism, free will is merely a matter of semantics. You will think what you're going to think and do what you're going to do - you can't change that. One perspective is that having no ability to change your course of action means you have no free will. The other is that it...

I highly recommend engineering. As everyone knows, it is very good on the practical spectrum which is important for a job and affording a life while you aren't working. As long as you choose your type of engineering (mechanical for me) and find a good company it can be a pretty fun job too.

A lot of people just believe what they are told to at a young age and don't really put much effort into thinking about the logistics. After all why would >smart person< be wrong and lie? The other issue is that while most religions are accepted, many people seem to consider nihillism as the...

While there is nothing wrong with defining morality that way, it still seems arbitrary. The method which the conscious develops a morality also seems random in accordance with universal laws. Pretty much everything humans consider morally good helps themselves and other humans (or related /...

In the universal sense, I do not believe there is any true morality. Using a less general scope, I believe goals or virtues must be listed in order for a morality to be applied as it is a relative term. If you believe the point of society is to benefit its people, then there must be a personal...