A neurological riddle to solve

digital.noface wrote:But these are semantics not truly reaching toward the original question.

But there is not straight way to answer the original question, is there? There are questions to be answered before you can reach it.

I'll grant you that there are instincts preprogrammed in the brain from the start, but they are so basic that I only relucantly acknowledge them. At least in humans. Eat, drink and breathe. An antilope has enough instincts from the get go that you maybe can call it a conciousness.

If you connected our inactive brain to a virtual reality that is so strange I can't even imagine what it would be like, do you think the thought patterns would develop in much the same way they do in the real world?

In terms of the analogy, you say that no matter where or how the rain falls, it will still seek its way to the riverbeds that evolution has made. I'm not so sure, especially since we are able to change the course of the rivers ourselves. (brainwashing)

puma wrote:So a brain with totally no input of any sort from inception would probably die, as stimulus is required for growth

That is also interesting. It almost suggests that those who lack our most important communication senses (sight and sound) have less developed brains, doesn't it? What an outrageous claim against the deafblind, puma! :^)

Apologies for getting metaphysical on ya, but...

There seems an assumption that there is no consciousness before the senses.

Several cases have been found of yogis (advanced yoga practitioners) who remember life in the womb... and before...

But we have senses in the womb. Before the womb, well call me sceptical. :^j

Lucidor wrote:

puma wrote:So a brain with totally no input of any sort from inception would probably die, as stimulus is required for growth

That is also interesting. It almost suggests that those who lack our most important communication senses (sight and sound) have less developed brains, doesn't it? What an outrageous claim against the deafblind, puma! :^)

Helen Keller was blind and deaf ( although not from birth but from a childhood illness) but she had touch, smell, and taste. Therefor she was able to compensate, with the help of Annie Sullivan, a blind woman. If no one had reached out to Helen, what might have become of her?
http://www.go.ednet.ns.ca/lawrencetown/hkteach.htm
To imply that I make an outrageous claim against the deaf and blind I find outrageous of itself.
A fetus is able to feel sensation in the womb. Its really hard to imagine a brain so disconnected from the rest of the body that no input occurs. That is why I think it would die.
The question of what happens to a brain which has had no outside stimuli from any of the five senses ever is the subject here.

puma wrote:To imply that I make an outrageous claim against the deaf and blind I find outragious of itself.

Of course, it was a joke. :^) Hence the smiley.

Hi, Lucidor,
Oh. Well, I'll smooth down my bristled fur then.

If a brain has all 5 senses completely deactivated before it has the opportunity to gain consciousness, and it stays that way until it dies, is it conscious?

Sub-conscious.

If a person loses the ablity to see, if they had a flashback or dream they'll still be able to see at that point.

If someone who went deaf after an accident (EG. An explosion) and someone asked them (in sign) what something sounded like that they'd already heard they'd know.

I'm not quite sure what you mean though. Say this hypothetical person is in a coma or dreaming, they'd have all five senses, assuming they had them once and lost them, not been without them since birth. But in a conscious state they'd have none. So they'd be more conscious while alseep.

The real question is would the real world or their dreams be more real to them?

You're changing the premise, SC. This is about a brain grown in a test tube, it never had any senses at all. Nothing to remember.

But your question is also interesting.

The real question is would the real world or their dreams be more real to them?

I don't think they whould be able to tell the difference between being awake or asleep/coma.

I apologise. I misread the orignal post and looked at it from a different perspective. After reading it back again I have to say I'm completely stumped.