THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION
  • HOME
  • BEN'S BLOG
  • About The Book
    • BookStore
  • Reviews
  • About The Origin of Religion
  • The origin of spirit
  • FINAL CONCLUSION
  • Contact

BEN'S  BLOG
Click on "Archives" for all blogs since November  2013

Detecting Consciousness

11/27/2017

0 Comments

 
The latest development in research of brain injuries by Christof Koch of the Allan Institute For Brain Science in Seattle, is the development of a method to measure consciousness ”A measurement value derived by researchers enabling them to establish a critical threshold, the minimum degree of complex brain activity supporting consciousness”. This very exiting and important development enables to measure the level of consciousness in patients who are in a vegetable state because of permanent brain damage due to accidents or mental conditions.
 
Findings show that the level of consciousness varies from patient to patient. Some show none, others show different levels of brain activity indicating consciousness. Patients with a high complexity cortical response may experience something yet are unable to communicate with the world and their loved ones. The capability to measure consciousness is, according to Dr Koch “a milestone in untangling the ancient mind-body problem”. This finally settles clearly that consciousness (awareness) is definitely a brain function, closely related to the integrity of the material brain and when the brain is damaged its function is impaired. (Source: Scientific American magazine article Nov. 20,’17)
 
The proposal that consciousness is a so-called supernatural function is a notion that is totally speculative and without evidence. It is a belief that many philosophers and Theists hold and that’s fine as long as we realize what reality shows is, since consciousness needs a living  material brain, that when this brain is damaged, it is impaired. We can only conclude that if the brain is dead, consciousness is also dead.
 
We can observe and measure the impairment of consciousness and awareness in Alzheimer’s as well as brain injured patients. We can now measure it with our technical equipment. That’s reality. It begs the question, if there is a conversion of consciousness upon death, to enjoy an aware afterlife, are all memories that make up the awareness of oneself restored to the level before the onset of dementia or accident and returned to what age and what level? What about the people born with mental deficiencies or mentally disturbed people? Do babies grow up in heaven since consciousness and awareness develop when the brain develops and that did not happen before they died or do they stay babies? There are no reasonable answers. The existence of an afterlife seems logically untenable.
The latest development in research of brain injuries by Christof Koch of the Allan Institute For Brain Science in Seattle, is the development of a method to measure consciousness ”A measurement value derived by researchers enabling them to establish a critical threshold, the minimum degree of complex brain activity supporting consciousness”. This very exiting and important development enables to measure the level of consciousness in patients who are in a vegetable state because of permanent brain damage due to accidents or mental conditions.
 
Findings show that the level of consciousness varies from patient to patient. Some show none, others show different levels of brain activity indicating consciousness. Patients with a high complexity cortical response may experience something yet are unable to communicate with the world and their loved ones. The capability to measure consciousness is, according to Dr Koch “a milestone in untangling the ancient mind-body problem”. This finally settles clearly that consciousness (awareness) is definitely a brain function, closely related to the integrity of the material brain and when the brain is damaged its function is impaired. (Source: Scientific American magazine article Nov. 20,’17)
 
The proposal that consciousness is a so-called supernatural function is a notion that is totally speculative and without evidence. It is a belief that many philosophers and Theists hold and that’s fine as long as we realize what reality shows is, since consciousness needs a living  material brain, that when this brain is damaged, it is impaired. We can only conclude that if the brain is dead, consciousness is also dead.
 
We can observe and measure the impairment of consciousness and awareness in Alzheimer’s as well as brain injured patients. We can now measure it with our technical equipment. That’s reality. It begs the question, if there is a conversion of consciousness upon death, to enjoy an aware afterlife, are all memories that make up the awareness of oneself restored to the level before the onset of dementia or accident and returned to what age and what level? What about the people born with mental deficiencies or mentally disturbed people? Do babies grow up in heaven since consciousness and awareness develop when the brain develops and that did not happen before they died or do they stay babies? There are no reasonable answers. The existence of an afterlife seems logically untenable.

Picture
0 Comments

Vaccines and Autism

11/12/2017

0 Comments

 
The controversy of vaccines causing Autism started when British Dr Andrew Wakefield published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet that a multi purpose immunization vaccine (MMR)could cause Autism. When his research was examined, it was found that his protocol was flawed and his connection with industrial agencies, that had financed his work to the tune of $780,000 was disclosed, The Lancet officially retracted the paper, but the damage was done.
Several researchers have suggested that Autism could be the result of hereditary factors so some parents of autistic children found more comfort in the original paper and viewed the retraction as a cover up by the Pharmaceutical Industry. The result was that after the publication inoculation rates fell from 92 % to a dangerously low of 80%, threatening the “herd” immunity and exposing many children to dangerous and sometime deadly diseases such as Mumps, Rubella and Measles.
Thiomersal, used in some vaccines, but not in MMR, inactive Polio and  Pneumococcal conjugate, contains Mercury. in itself a poison but the mercury compounds used in Thiomersal are not. As an example, Chlorine is a poison but the compound Sodium Chlorate is common table salt.
Exposing your own children to these serious diseases, and thereby endangering other children is not a choice, since the mistaken notion that there is a connection between Vaccination and Autism has been scientifically proven to be incorrect.
The continuing belief in such a false notion is that some parents when their child ‘s autism was discovered shortly after vaccination, not knowing that many such diagnoses were made before vaccination took place, believed a common fallacy POST HOC ERGO PROCTER HOC, “it happened after this , therefor it was caused by this”
Source: Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2017 article called The Dangerous Delusion About Vaccines and Autism by J. Randi.


Picture
0 Comments

    Ben Vande       
    Weerdhof
    Andrews


    Retired Teacher
    Author
    Videographer






    Archives of
    previous Blogs

    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Click RSS feed for previous blogs

Ben's Blog

About Origin OF Religion

About THe Book

BooKStore

Contact

  • HOME
  • BEN'S BLOG
  • About The Book
    • BookStore
  • Reviews
  • About The Origin of Religion
  • The origin of spirit
  • FINAL CONCLUSION
  • Contact