On 5 January 2014 20:21, meekerdb <meeke...@verizon.net> wrote: > On 1/4/2014 7:56 PM, LizR wrote: > > On 5 January 2014 16:29, Jason Resch <jasonre...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> On Jan 4, 2014, at 9:16 PM, meekerdb <meeke...@verizon.net> wrote: >> >> You don't really have to say it's an illusion. It's a description of the >> world and the fact that you put different t-labels on events at the same (x >> y z) doesn't undo the fact that there are different events at those >> different t-values. Memory provides an arrow of psychological time - but it >> doesn't always follow the arrow of physics (entropy increase). >> >> Doesn't the von neumann-landauer limit imply information can only be >> stored in the direction of time in which entropy increases? >> >> Surely information being erased is the same as it being stored in > reversed time? However, mainly I agree - I didn't get that either. Brent, > what did you mean by this? > > > I meant amnesia can take one back, psychologically, to an earlier time. > > I suppose so, yes. Interesting comment, although restricted to very rare cases ... obviously memory is (somewhat) "random access" and can take you back to earlier points in your life. Indeed, if the brain is in some sense like a digital computer, in theory all the things that can be done to computers could be done to the brain - memories added as per "Total Recall" or removed as per "Sunshine of the spotless mind" or otherwise messed with - the brain could be rebooted to an earlier time, as effectively happens in "Memento" type cases where you wake up the next day ... over and over again, while inexplicably (and tragically) ageing.
This is all illustrative of the fact that memory is a mechanism for attempting to keep track of useful information, which indicates that the idea of a "self" moving through time is dependent on the correct operation of various support and backup systems, an illusion maintained by the brain because it's useful rather than anything fundamental about the universe. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
