Many Alzheimer’s patients report having moment of near perfect mental clarity shortly before passing away. Neuroscience is unsure why, or even how, but one theory is that consciousness may not reside INSIDE the brain at all.
Listen here on Soundcloud:
We are made in the image of God…. no wonder we can’t fully understand it. I agree with Bill, the more we learn, the further it gets from us. Like the universe… with each new telescope that can look farther and deeper, we see more and more galaxies that just go on and on. And there are more elements to us to ponder… our soul, our spirit, our heart… and also… our dreams. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. I love the wonder of our unfathomable creator.
Much of what I will write here has been touched on, but not all of it, so I will add my two cents here. I have seen more than a dozen cases where people had a condition known as “hydrocephalus” or more colloquially known as “water on the brain” where pressure builds up until brain damage or death occurs. This is historically treated by drilling a hole in the skull to relieve the pressure. In these specific cases, CAT scans showed that more than 96% of the brain tissue was dead, showing as black. In one case, the only area… Read more »
I suspect we will find a memory peptide that bonds to the inside of nerve walls that stores by its presence, population and state more information than DNA. But its on a per neuron basis, it modulates the neurons response and signal pattern. It develops over time as we learn. Some are hard coded starting states: instinct; A genetic boot drive. There are is each instance has multiple backup deployments in related but distributed neurons.
Biology not quantum magic.
Even saying that God is a quantum mind is too small a god.
I’m a Christian creationist but a separate mind body metaphysic is not universal in Christian theology. The mind is biology. god does not need a disembodied soul somewhere to resurrect people. He is all powerful, all knowing. He knows all the DNA, RNA, neural states and history that makes you you. He can reconstruct from nothing. He does not need a backup saved somewhere. It not quite the same as the simulation hypothesis. The Alternate explanation for terminal lucidity is that the memories are there and the retrieval system is there but the system that chooses what to retrieve and… Read more »
Bill, Steve and Scott, This subject is directly addressed in my book “The Power of the Overview-Answers to Ultimate Questions” which I gave a copy to Bill to review. It contains physical evidence to support Bill’s thesis that our consciousness is not a product of the brain, but is real phenomenon connected through it to our physical experiences. The evidence is people who are conscious, living normally without a brain!. Please someone read it and get back to me as to the validity of this evidence I presented!! Thank You.
The real person is eternal–going to live somewhere forever based on their choice about Jesus. That real person does not disappear because the brain stops doing its job. He/she is conscious always. That is why no matter our age, we don’t “feel” old–forever young. I am 80 and know that to be true from personal experience.
There is a book by neurosurgeon Michael Egnor called The Immortal Mind that goes into great detail on this phenomenon. He describes many different cases and examples, and not just with near death experiences. I can’t describe them all here but it is truly incredible. Essentially, there is quite a bit of “hard” evidence that the mind is more than the just the brain. Check it out.
Very much like Scott, my vocal ensemble once sung at an Alzheimers facilty. Most residents were barely there. When we sung some of the older songs, most perked up and paid attention. Some sang along. At one point, a woman that I guessed was somwhere in her eighties came up and started playing older songs and singing along. We found out later from the staff that she was almost vegetative normally. Also that she was a lounge piano player and singer in the big band era. …which is most of what she played and sung. The staff was freaking out.… Read more »
Touching episode, especially what Steve said.
What Scott said to wrap things up reminded me of a suggestion: if you have an elderly friend or relative that is a Christian, speak the Lord’s Prayer (or “Our Father”) and they will join you–even if they are not “fully there.”