Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Beyond Human What is the mind?

I had a thought this morning and I did a modified image stream to explore it (sometimes I image stream during exersise).

Thi may be totally off, I sure don't have any hard data to support it. It is only a question which I am trying to answer for myself. Any experts out there, feel free to let me know. It is rather long so I hope you bear with it. Here we go:

What is the mind in relation to the brain.

Many think that the brain and the mind are interchangeable terms, or that that mind is contained in the brain, that it envelopes the mind. Or perhaps that the mind is certain inter-related areas of the brain working in combination to produce what we would call conscious thought or subconscious thought. That the conscious and subconscious exist as separate, inter-related entities in the mind is correct. However, that the brain contains the whole of the mind is limiting the aspect of the mind.

The mind, per se, is the whole collection of neurological material that exists throughout the entire body, working together to form a symbiotic functioning unit we refer to as the mind. Your body is a vast, intricate web of nerves, nerve endings and connections between the nerves, or synapses. There are literally billions and billions of these connections and endings throughout your entire body. The brain is the control center, which leads to the misconception that the mind is somehow enclosed within the brain. However, to say that the mind is contained wholly within the brain is equivalent to saying that a computer network is contained solely within a single server. That is of course, not accurate. The network is all the computers, the cables, routers, hubs, switches, and servers acting together to create a unit that is essentially greater than the sum of its parts. The server is, of course only a part, albeit a very important one. The mind is similar to that concept. The brain is similar to a server in this analogy. It is not the whole, nor does it contain the whole. It is part of the whole; the part which directs the flow of thought, but not in and of itself, purely the originator of thought. This relates to both conscious and subconscious thought.

For the longest time, psychologists have been discussing the mind-body connection. It would appear, based on this particular model, that the connection between the mind and the body is that the mind IS the body, or at least a specific system of the body. The tendency, then to “spiritualize” the mind, or to perceive of it as some intangible “force” is to shrink from the task of defining the physiological origin and nature of the mind.

And there is a physiological aspect to the mind. Of that there is no doubt. Have you ever wondered why certain thoughts or feelings produced a physical manifestation? For example, you see something scary, and you get chills over your whole body. Also, how do you explain the fact that certain drugs, like stimulants, caffeine or ephedrine, effect your mood and thoughts, although it is producing its effects on the physical; in the body?

Thought occurs, I believe, as a pattern or series of patterns of electro-chemical reactions. These reactions occur in the brain, but not just there. They are occurring in you body, throughout your body, billions of times a day. I remember Dr. Wegner discussing the process of recognition when a cat was looking for food. The cat was presented two doors and it came to recognize a certain door as the door that contained the food. Dr. Wegner said that up to 10 million neurons fired to produce that simple act of recognition. So, Dr. Wegner articulated that it wasn’t a linear sequence of neurons firing that caused thought, but rather the simultaneous firing of an intricate pattern of neurons that produces thought, be it on a conscious or subconscious level.
If thought, then, exists as the symbiosis of the combined neurological pathways that are constantly firing throughout the body, what gives the patterns a logical, productive flow? In other words, what is the language of neurology? It would make sense that what creates meaning within the patterns is mathematical. All the neural connections in the body exist in two states. Either they are firing or they are not firing. It is the combination of the number and the pattern of these firing neural connections that constitute a thought, a perception, an idea, etc. Binary would then be the basis of thought. In computers, 8 bits (on/off switches) creates the possibility of 256 separate combinations when those bits are processed as a single unit, called a byte. Now, if you take into consideration the sheer number of neurological connections that exists in the body, combined with the number of patterns that can exist as result of the firing of those connections, or groups of connections, the concept becomes staggering. If 8 bits represent 256 separate combinations, that each can express something completely unique, then how many combinations are possible with the firing of 10 million neurons, such as with the cat from Dr. Wegner’s example. Taking that into consideration, there can exist, in theory, a specific pattern for every thought, every memory, every act of recognition, every smell, every taste, every touch, every thing we learn, everything we hear, every thing we read and see.

Learning then would be the reinforcing of certain neurological patterns, so that they fire more “brightly”. Invention, or “ideas” would perhaps be when patterns of neurons fire simultaneously, or interconnect in some way, producing an “aha” experience. That could be the basis of creativity.

What this little concept lacks to consider are the following:

What constitutes conscious thought and subconscious thought?

What is the relationship between these neurological patterns and brainwave patterns? One is binary, and one is cyclic. But, how do they influence one another? Do they influence one another?

These are the questions I hope to formulate a thesis on soon. I’ve got some more image streaming to do.

Let me now, after all this, state the obvious, I am not a psychologist. I am not educated in neuro-physiology. I actually only have a bachelors in Computer Science (big surprise, right). What this means is, I don’t know if this is accurate information or easily debunked mumbo-jumbo. It is simply something I have been thinking about. I’d like to consult all those smart people out there who perhaps have more relevant information than I do, just to see if you have any input. Please, though, be kind though.

W