Right off the bat, just observe how the mind moves the physical body when issuing intent (movement in a direction) when it has made a choice. But, it is not controlling anything, it merely was willpower to try to move in a direction. Results are all always unpredictable - but at times more probable that others.

What you call mind or self is byproduct of brain activity. It is no wonder that we can only move our body because the movement of our body also is the result of brain activity.

But what causes the “brain activity”?

The Mind.

But what causes the “brain activity”? — Starthrower

External stimuli.

External stimuli. — bahman

That is demonstrably not true, though. It has been well-established that when in complete sensory-deprivation our brains are still very active. We hallucinate. We essentially create our own stimuli.

That is demonstrably not true, though. It has been well-established that when in complete sensory-deprivation our brains are still very active. We hallucinate. We essentially create our own stimuli. — JustSomeGuy

Yes, the brain is processing all experience, etc in later stage of life., while being isolated from sensory system.

This still goes against your claim that external stimuli causes brain activity, though. If that were true, in absence of external stimuli our brains would shut down.

This still goes against your claim that external stimuli causes brain activity, though. If that were true, in absence of external stimuli our brains would shut down. — JustSomeGuy

Could you please tell me what a brain process when it is isolated? Can you program a brain without external stimuli?

Could you please tell me what a brain process when it is isolated? — bahman

The information contained within itself.

Can you program a brain without external stimuli? — bahman

I don't know what you mean by "program a brain".

Could you please tell me what a brain process when it is isolated?
— bahman

The information contained within itself. — JustSomeGuy

But the information contained within itself cannot be more than all stimuli it has had.

Can you program a brain without external stimuli?
— bahman

I don't know what you mean by "program a brain". — JustSomeGuy

Brain consists neurons. Neurons are connected with each other. Programming a brain is about wiring or rewiring neurons.

Look, this is very simple:

If external stimuli causes brain activity, then in absence of external stimuli there cannot be brain activity.

I already mentioned: "But the information contained within a brain cannot be more than all stimuli it has had."

But that has nothing to do with brain activity. If external stimuli caused brain activity, then so long as there was always external stimuli the brain could never stop being active, meaning it would never die.

Brain is a chunk of matter. So whatever rule apply to matter apply to brain too. Brain is just very sophisticated.

Are humans potentially capable of controlling reality? — Starthrower

What do you really think this means?

Being able to teleport, telekinesis, etc.

Some interesting new results regarding the effect of consciousness on double-slit experiments. The results have now been overnight replicated.

http://adrian-nelson-c85m.squarespace.com/origins-of-consciousness/new-evidence-of-mind-over-matter2

https://youtu.be/nRSBaq3vAeY

Mind (consciousness) is a mere effect, a mere {symptom rather than a causal agency{ aka {epiphaenomenon}, an effect-
ON-, OF-, obtained/acquirerd FROM-, ABOUT-
causal agency aka fact, matter.
"Brain activity" is the continual re-arrangement of matter.

Brain activity traces it roots back to how neurons work. A neuron expends the lion's share of its metabolic energy; up to 90%, pumping and exchanging ions. The neuron is actively using most of its energy segregating sodium and potassium ions on either side of the membrane.

This active segregation of ions creates an entropy potential in the membrane. Left to their own devices, the ions would prefer blend to form a uniform solution; highest entropy. The active segregation by the neuron, lowers the entropy and sets an entropy potential.

The second law states that the entropy of the universe has to increase. However, the neuron is going the wrong way in terms of the second law. The analogy is the neuron is like the water pumped up a fountain against gravity. The second law is like gravity that is acting on the water, bringing the water back down to earth.

Brain waves, whether awake or sleeping, is the entropy fountain cascading downward in an attempt to lower the neuron entropy potential.

The result is a dynamic equilibrium in the brain between the needs of the second law; fire the neuron to remove the ion gradient, and the direction induced by the neurons; segregate the ions to increase the entropy potential. The second law is connected to anything that can fire the neurons. This includes all the sensory systems interacting with the world, all of which can induce neurons to fire. The second law is also connected to the spontaneous firing of neurons without direct sensory induction; imagination.

Like the fountain, the water that cascades downward; due to neuron firing, does so, along prescribed paths in the fountain; levels. These paths are connected to our human nature. The flow of increasing neural entropy, down the prescribed paths of human nature, gives humans a common empathy.

Since the net goal of the second law is to increase brain entropy, over time, while individual neurons are constantly fighting this change, locally, by expanding energy and reestablishing the gradient, the long term needed increase in brain entropy, for the second law, needs be achieved in other ways; bulk brain wiring changes; creative output.

The ego or the center of the conscious mind, is also connected to the second law. Hundreds of billions of individual neurons, all trying to lower entropy, requires a lot of second law compensation, in terms of increasing entropy via changes in bulk wiring configurations. The ego evolved as a secondary way to help the second law. Willpower and choice offers new paths.

That is demonstrably not true, though. It has been well-established that when in complete sensory-deprivation our brains are still very active. We hallucinate. We essentially create our own stimuli. — JustSomeGuy

This only goes for brains that were already exposed to numerous stimuli. mammals get brain stimuli even in the womb. It's a fact that even though you feed newborn mice, without physical touch, they die. So what demonstration is there of a brain never having received any stimuli that still shows brain activity? I'm not aware of any, you certainly didn't provide it.

I think of mind as a process of the brain. On my view, mind is specifically the net sum of billions of neurons firing at any given moment. It is already physical, which is to say electrochemical. Mind is a neural, electrochemical process, nothing more, nothing less.

activity. — JustSomeGuy

Is that possible? If the embodied brain is alive in a biological sense. Isn't the lack of sensation a sensory input. Brain to body - What do you see, feel, taste, smell, hear? Body back - nothing. Brain ok nothing there. Seems a thought to me.

I suppose that in the view of an atheist, that would work at least until alien contact or the Singularity. What if something comes along without neurons that can think? I recently started watching Star Trek, and came across the concept in The Skin of Evil, when a puddle of black goo showed sentience, despite having no cells at all that resembled any other race's biology. So, no neurons to fire. What would you say in that case?

Starthrower, thanks for your interesting response.

I was a big Star Trek fan back in the day, but I don't base my current thinking on these matters on imaginative constructs such as "black goo that thinks".

I would say that black goo is not sentient because it does not have sufficiently complex structures to produce mind. The required structures might not be neurons, but complex structure is a must, in my view. I could of course be wrong about that. I've been wrong a time or two.