Cognitive Illusion : A Human Compulsion

Human beings are constantly victim of cognitive illusions. In the book Predictably Irrational the author Dan Ariely has distinctly brought out the follies in human behaviour spanning the entire spectrum of our life. Classified as Behavioural Economics it challenges the assumption that we are rational and how our daily life is an example of cognitive illusions. As such this is not surprising as we are wired from primitive times for survival and hence the brain is developed for survival. Thus under physical threat of life we have appropriate life reponses. It is so cleverly shown in the Man vs Wild series on National Geographic channel. However when it comes to psychological assessment of situation we tend to behave irrationally.We have a tendency to do relative perception which lead to comparative analysis. Visual optical illusion is the most common example relative perception.This same tendency lead us to compare between two individuals or two religion or two races or ethnic groups invariably leading to conflict. As a consumer we do not do our math right and end up making wrong choices. As society or head of the nation or head of the family or head of a religious organisation we fail to display rational behaviour. such irrationality maybe cleverly packaged. A best example can be narrated from Paulo coehlo's book Devil and Miss Prym. In this instance the head of church was willingly ready to put an innocent citizen on gallows at the behest of devil who promised lure of gold for the village. The choice was to be made between life a village prostitute vs pots of gold for village development. And the choice was made to sacrifice the village prostitute at the altar of greed well couched with religious justifications and charitable intentions. This is just a fictional account of wrong choice that human make but reality is not far from stupid irrationalities on daily basis.
(http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_on_our_buggy_moral_code.html ) Dan Ariely in his book writes more about wrong choices in economic sphere of activity but it has widespread ramifications. It can be interpretated in any other dimension of human behaviour. For instance the most glaring example of cognitive illusions is the havoc wrought by belief systems. It invariably leads to comparision and thereby a need to reassert one particular belief system as superior vs the rest. The outcome is wellknown for centuries in the form of war. Belief system and fundamentalism are two sides of the coin. A siamese twin?

Einstein once did comment that the universe maybe infinite but human stupidity is certainly so.

It is now very very clear. Human behaviour can never be trusted to be free,fair,accurate,just and ,rational. Individuals may either betray disoriented behaviour or portray exemplary behaviour. But there is no certainty and hence trusting human behaviour to be ideal by default is not a good idea. At the same time distrusting it as always disoriented is cynicism. Its a challenge and therefore a slightly off the hook distant observervation of human behaviour is a good idea. Its a mirror in which u see your reflection and what are your co-ordinates in the system provided you arenon judgemental about yourself.
In his famous dialogue with Dr David Bohm, J. Krishnamurti emphatically said " I doubt if man is rational. He added , mankind has taken a wrong turn on his journey of life and right turn is always possible . Quit relative perception. Quit comparison.

Universal Consciousness: A quantum World Reality!

My belief in interconnected of reality at subatomic ( quanta) level is based on substantial progress made by modern science on the same. To name a few EPR experiment by einstein, Bell's theorem, Allain Aspects experiments on seperated photon particle and Karl Pribram's theory of holonomic brain model. David Bohm called it implicate order. Einstein called it Ghosts! All these scientists have proved with experiments that there is non local intelligence which is simultaneous information transmission between two seperated subatomic particles . This information is transmitting at a rate faster than velocity of light. It is unmediated action on two seperated bodies.This moots the idea of a holograhic world in whch a whole subdivided also contains all the information of whole. In other words every part is as good as whole as in a hologram. In one experiment sets of mice seperated geographically across continents were monitored for their behavior. It was found that new learning techniques unknown to the species imparted to one set of mice was found to be absorbed by the other seperated group as well as their next generation. Similarly certain behaviour in rats were continued despite scraping off certain portions of brain in a gradual manner. A japanese researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto has shown images of water crystals to establish the effect of environment on it. Water Crystals under peaceful conditions are beautiful and harmonius whereas water crystals under stressed environment such as war display hazy structure. Thus there is universal consciousness and the whole idea of independent objective reality irrespective of the observer itself is a question.


Alain Aspect experiments in Quantum Physics involved splitting light photons. Two paths of light were created out of one. One of the paths of light photons was reoriented using a polarizing instrument. Both paths were then measured for the polarized orientation. It was assumed that one of the paths would retain the reorientation and the other path would be unchanged. No matter how many times the experiment was conducted or the measuring instruments set up, the same result was obtained. BOTH paths of light had been changed.
The results had a dynamic influence on theorists. At one time, it was assumed that you could not have action at a distance; contact of some type had to be responsible for change. The Aspect experiments changed that belief. Today, it is believed that when subatomic particles are involved, they retain their affinity for near subatomic particles no matter how far they are separated. Distance on a subatomic level cannot be treated the same as distance in our visible world.

What is Non-Locality>?

To accommodate the non-locality results described in the Aspect experiment and elsewhere, universal consciousness has to be non-local, but capable of interacting with the consciousness of the observer. To permit the observer to interact with both non-local universal consciousness and at the same time to be a part of the world we think of as real, some believe that there are components of the brain that are like the measuring instruments of an experiment and a second lot of components that act like highly coherent quantum systems. A coherent quantum system is the kind seen with superconductivity, superfluidity, and laser systems.
What is the definition of ‘local’ and ‘non-local’?

Our reality consists of local and non-local phenomenon. All things in space and time tend to be local. Nick Herbert in his book Quantum Reality explains "Yet there are things that we know exist and are real that are not local, for example a thought, love, insight, etc. Many of these things are on a psychological and spiritual level."

Mr. Herbert explains that: “… non-local is an unmediated action-at-a-distance.” A non-local interaction jumps from body A to body B without touching anything between A and B. Most people deny its existence because it does not seem to make sense.


Examples of non-local interactions are intuition, synchronicity (simultaneous occurrences), and spontaneous

Finally, no one can say that consciousness is confined to just the brain, or is local. It has to have a non-local origin, for it is not bound to space and time, nor is it physical .
What was Bell’s explanation of non-local reality?

In 1964, an Irishman named John Stewart Bell developed a mathematical proof that supported a nonphysical part of the universe. This theoretical physicist stated that any model explaining the universe entirely as local or as physical reality is incomplete for it does not include the non-local part. He also stated that there is an interconnectedness to everything in the universe. This proof was called the Bell Theorem and it was verified by many scientific experiments. Larry Dossey, M.D., points this out in his book Recovering the Soul “Whatever model of reality we wind up with in physics … it must be nonlocal… No local model of reality can explain the type of world we live in …

Simply put, the Bell theorem proves that there is another reality (non-local), which can be referred to as Spirit, beyond our current, physical (local) reality. Non-local reality interacts with our reality and is the source and cause of the physical existence or reality. The nonphysical part of the universe is the definitive proof that all science was seeking. Bell’s Theorem proves another realm exists that theology has talked about, but was unable to prove in a theoretical or empirical (experimental) sense. It means we can no longer consider objects as independently existing entities that can be localized in well-defined regions of spacetime.


Einstein ,however was not convinced about Quantum Theory as well as Bell`s theorem.Einstein worked until his death to find the 'missing link' in quantum theory that would disprove Neils Bohr's concept of random occurrence of probabilities.He emphatically stated many times that "God does not play dice", reiterating his firm belief in an underlying plan or consciousness within the quantum possibilities.  In order to disprove Quantum he conducted an experiment now famously known as EPR.The EPR experiment was based on two equal or twin particles. These tiny particles, called A and B, composed a system traveling in opposite directions from each other .Einstein and his colleagues knew they could measure some aspects of the first particle A, such as its position and momentum. From this measurement, they could predict the outcomes of the second particle B traveling in the opposite direction, while not going near the second particle.

What happened here is now very strange. Instead of disproving Neil Bohr’s school of thought that said that any measurement on A also effects B or vice versa, the EPR experiment proved it. Whatever particle was not measured reacted to the changes on the other particle. If the measured particle A began to spin in the opposite direction, instantaneously particle B also began to spin in the direction of particle A.

Since there was no force or energy transferred between the two particles, there seemed to be some form of information transferred from one particle to another.

How does the Bell Theorem prove non-local reality? To resolve this problem the Bell theorem proves that there was instant communication between these two particles. This means a message would have to travel faster than the speed of light that is 186,000 miles /sec. between them. According to the Einstein special theory of relativity this was impossible. Bell showed there is non-local communication between these two particles. This communication is nonphysical and currently science has no explanation for it.


Einstein did not know how to explain this phenomenon and objected to the ‘ghostly action at a distance .Some quantum physicists allow that the "ghosts" are a component of a "universal consciousness." Some call this "consciousness" the "ground of all being." In a short article that follows this, Werner Heisenberg refers to a "central order." David Bohm calls it as quantum potential and implicate order.He was fascinated by the interconnectedness of matter, energy and quantum events. The emerging science of holography gave him a new model for understanding the interconnectedness he documented in his experiments. Bohm's Wholeness and the Implicate Order, published in 1980, did more than just link the various facets of science together, it transfigured them into a new way of looking at reality.
"One of Bohm's most startling assertions is that the tangible reality of our everyday lives is really a kind of illusion, like a holographic image. Underlying it is a deeper order of existence, a vast and more primary level of reality that gives birth to all the objects and appearances of our physical world in much the same way that a piece of holographic film gives birth to a hologram. Bohm calls this deeper level of reality the implicate (which means enfolded) order, and he refers to our own level of existence as the explicate, or unfolded, order"

Scientists brought up in the Eastern world appear to have less of a problem with a term like "universal consciousness." Some, such as Amit Goswami, Professor of Physics at the University of Oregon, occasionally use the word "God," as being the true reality of "universal consciousness.Two thousand five hundred agao greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus continued this philosophical probe into the fabric of nature and man, with some similar, but more holistic, conclusions. He thought it "wise to agree that all things are one"

Conclusion in Einsteins words:

 A human being is a part of a whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty" einstein

Human Brain, Insight And Computer by j. Krishnamurti

J.Krishnamurti : Death is impermanence and possessiveness is hoping for permanence.Happiness is a side-effect, not an end in itself.

Belief atrophies the brain. If you keep on repeating, repeating, as they do, your brain atrophies.


Dialogues with J.Krishnamurti on Human Brain and Computer & Insight


K:
No, the brain is the entire centre of desire, feeling, anxiety, pain, loneliness. The consciousness is all that, the beliefs, fears, sorrow, loneliness, anxiety, the whole….

DB : …. The psychological being.

K : Yes, the psychological structure, confusion. That is the brain. And love is not part of the brain because it is something outside that.

I know. I use that word but, you see, meditation is a very complex business. In meditation there is no meditator at all.

K : That’s all. When you are really looking at something there is the absence of the self.

From what I have discussed with people, Nirvana apparently means a state in which the self is not. The self in the sense of all the turmoil. Come to that point, don’t discuss what Nirvana is you will find out.
: No, I am putting it differently. When you are not hearing with the sensory ear, but hearing inwardly, completely, in that state we are absolutely silent. When absolutely silent, then insight may take place. Perception in which there is no division as the ‘me’, the perceiver and the perceived-right? So the whole mechanical process of thinking, with its conflict, comes to an end.

I wouldn’t ask a human being whether he has insight. That, I think, would be a wrong question. But I would ask: does the mechanical process of thinking ever stop? Or is the brain perpetually occupies?

I follow that, sir. What you are saying is: insight is perception or listening without any examination, any analytical process at all.


DB : If you start with logic, you are starting with your past assumptions that are wrong. You see the difficulty. When you start from insight, you start from something new, a new perception. But if you start from logic, you must start from what you already know, which is always wrong, fundamentally.
So we started out by saying that thought is mechanical. The computer is mechanical. What thought can do the computer can do, up to a certain point. But thought being mechanical, can never capture that which is non-mechanical. And insight is non-mechanical, totally non-mechanical. Now listen to that, don’t argue. You have argued enough now to say thought is mechanical, computers are mechanical; whatever thought can do, up to a certain point the computer can do, it can learn, relearn, adjust, it can do all the kinds of thing that thought can do, based on knowledge and so on. We both agreed to that. David tells me it is perfectly right up to that point. But that doesn’t bring about insight, he tells me. So I say, all right. I don’t say, what am I to do? The moment I say, what am I to do, you are back in the cycle. Right? He says, see that very clearly and don’t move away from that. We have argued about this mechanical process sufficiently. We can go into much more detail and so on but we have got the principle of it. Right? That’s all. Don’t move from there. Don’t say, what is insight? If you don’t move, it’s there. I don’t know if I’ve conveyed this.

K : I would like to discuss that a little. ‘Attending’ means giving all your energy, sensitivity, the whole nervous organism, so that not only your hearing, you eyes, but everything is tremendously alive. In that state of attention there is no centre as the ‘me’ attending. So there is no fear in that. I don’t know if I am making myself clear.

: No, the point is to understand living, the significance of living, not this perpetual battle, struggle, conflict, I must have more, be better, this constant measurement of myself with somebody else – he is famous so I must become famous, he is on television, I am not! This terrible sense of poverty; and in the attempt to be rich there is the burden of fear. I may never get rich because there is somebody much richer.

Yes, You see that’s why one has to inquire, is there a becoming and therefore the ending of becoming is fear.

K : And is there psychological becoming at all? There is a becoming in the world in the sense that one is apprenticed to a master carpenter and you gradually work with him until you become as he is. But that same attitude spills over, or is extended into, the other, the psychological, inner field – I must become something. If I don’t I am lost, I am a failure, I am depressed, look, you have become something, I am nobody.

K : Death is impermanence and possessiveness is hoping for permanence.
So there are two separate entities. The thinker and the object of which you think. Now, what is the thinker?

: To realize that the observer, the thinker, the experience and the observed, the experience are one, are not separate, sir, that means a tremendous, inward, psychological revolution. It means there is no division, there is no conflict. And when you then give attention to the fact, the fact is burnt away. But thought will be kept to plant a tree, to bring that flower into being.

K : No, the ultimate goal, if you can put it that way, is to find that which is completely sacred, totally uncontaminated by thought.

: Of course not, that’s why I said one has to be free of all the illusions that thought has created to see something really sacred which comes about through right meditation.


K : You see, this question is very complex. Putting the house in order means no fear, the understanding of pleasure, the ending of sorrow. From that arise compassion, intelligence, and the process of that we’ll call it process for the moment – is part of meditation and then to find out whether thought can ever stop, which means time has to have a stop. And then out of that comes the great silence, and it is in that silence that one can find that which is sacred.

K : No, when one realize that the observer is the observed, the controller is the controlled, the experiencer is the experience, when one realize it not intellectually, verbally, but actually, profoundly, then that very perception stops it. It’s like seeing danger. If you see danger you move away from it. For example, a human being who is perpetually in conflict may ‘meditate’, he may do all kinds of things but the conflict still goes on; but when he sees the psychological danger, the poison of conflict, then he’ll stop it, there’s an end of it.
You see, then we have to find out what action is. Is there an action that doesn’t create conflict, in which there is no regret, which under all circumstances, whether we live in a poor or an affluent society, is and must always be correct? To find that out one has to go into the question of what our action is now. It is either idealistic action concerned with the future or it is action based on past memories, which is knowledge. Now, is there an action independent of the future, of time? That’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Belief atrophies the brain. If you keep on repeating, repeating, as they do, your brain atrophies.

k :j.krishnamuti. Mystic,philosopher. DB: Dr. David Bohm, swedish physicist.