'The Biological Origins of the Fall From Grace'

[Cyjack]

Taken from http://kaleidos.org.uk/home.htm

Introduction

‘Release the genius inside you – Shut down your brain’ announced the cover of the New Scientist in April 2004.

For the last three years scientists at the Centre for the Mind have been attempting to find out if a higher level of mental functioning may be available to all of us.

Professor Allan Snyder has proposed that such functions are latent in everyone and are suppressed by the activity of the ‘evolutionary advanced’ rational side of the brain. By ‘switching off’ the left side of the brain, they hoped to turn ‘normal’ people into ‘geniuses’.

Initially treated with scepticism recent results have caused shock waves in the scientific community. It appears that a whole new layer of function lies dormant in all of us. Have they found the key to our future evolution or are they unknowingly poised to unlock an ancient mystery that has its origins in pre-history?

A new theory of human evolution, proposed by Tony Wright and Graham Gynn in their forthcoming book ‘Left in the Dark’, convincingly argues that the human brain owes part of its extraordinary developement to the bio-chemistry of a specialist fruit diet. The hormone-related chemicals in tropical fruit initiated an internal hormone mechanism that increasingly promoted brain growth and elevated activity. When humans were forced from their tropical forest ‘Garden of Eden’ some one or two hundred thousand years ago, this link with bio-chemically unique fruit was lost. The internal hormone mechanism stalled and the process went into reverse. This caused a breakdown in part of the brain; some functions were lost and the sense of whom we were changed for the worse. It is these effects that are now being uncovered by today’s scientists.

Professor Allan Snyder has suggested that the rational/conceptual mind functions by editing out much of the raw data (reality) that we gather via all our senses. He believes that many processes and skills are lost in this screening. The latest results from the Centre for the Mind do indeed show that if the rational brain areas are ‘shut down’ enhanced artistic and mathematical ability and improved memory emerge. These skills mirror those of autistic savants and also occur in some patients in which the left hemisphere has been damaged. Snyder thinks the human brain has ‘traded in’ these skills for the benefits of the logical reasoning mind, however his research may be beginning to uncover a much larger story. A number of his subjects have reported perceptual changes too – feelings of euphoria and bliss more normally associated with meditation.

If the rational mind suppresses a ‘second self’ that, not only has a number of enhanced skills but also a sense of self that is vibrant, peaceful and ‘connected’, could there be something wrong with it? Could it be that all our stressful, niggling mental activity really does hide a place of energetic calm and well-being? It can be no co-incidence that religious practices from all traditions and ages have been designed to pacify or negate the activities of the logical mind to allow a different sense of consciousness to come through.

This sounds to me like interesting work, but the insight of others would be appreciated.

[Rev]

il have to let u know

just picked up a tray of mangos this arvo from the local co-op. 13 nice local grown fruit for $15

My little girl we call a fruit bat cos fruit is her favourite food

and shes pretty smart

but im her dad so of course id say that

i know many of my ideas come from a sense of 'tuning in'

when im right im insightful ;) and when im wrong im FOS

[devance]

"Every ancient tradition that has been handed down over many thousands of years by some of the wisest members of society explicitly states that something has gone wrong with our state of mind.

The same consistent symptoms are described in virtually all the traditions and sound suspiciously like an unusual neurological condition. "

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Sounds like a load of ,well one can't say crap as a healthy diet is what is suggested to be the key to eat. Vitamin depletion.

But the word statements are a undefined mass of unsubstantiated assumptions..

If one wants to create and run a health spau fine and dandy.

I cetainly would like one with hot water springs.

If one wants to sell organic health products then some hoopla IS NEEDED FOR FREE PUBLICITY.

The mentioning of The New Scientist article is supposed to provide the magical slim thread from vitamin depletion to the sayings of the wisest of the ancients of all societys.

My outlook is that there is a ordinary stream of consciousness that is somewhat like awake sleeping.

But my idea is to simply increase interest in what appears ordinary.

Increased interest means increased memory and cognitive abilitys as anyone with a hobby can tell one.

[Rev]

"Every ancient tradition that has been handed down over many thousands of years by some of the wisest members of society explicitly states that something has gone wrong with our state of mind.

Thats BS

for religion to control people you have to convince them that they need you to mediate between them and a god for their sins. so you have to convince them they are sinners and need redemption, so you give them guilt. The easiets way to give them that is 'original sin' , the notion that mans downfall ocured before their birth and they inherited the debt of sin as a birthright.

Edited March 4, 2006 by Rev

[botanika]

Interesting topic and thoughts. i guess theres more to it than just fruit tho. the worlds climate and environment has changed considerably in the last 200k years, there has been an evolution of human ancestors and side branches (cro-mag, neanderthal etc), adaption process's to our migration patterns and changes to do with increased population - particularly after ag civilisation advancement...

[CaptAmazing]

I think the religious debate is passe and the most unimportant part of this article. What this seems to be a precurser to could be the final mix of mans brain with machines. Being able to turn certain functions on and off will appeal to a large number of people.

If it is true then we might be moving through another phase in history enlightened by math and the arts, or we can only hope.

Edited February 26, 2006 by CaptAmazing

[botanika]

Despite often dreaming of living in a sort of past utopian garden of eden, tribal world, i think we are living in an extrodinary world right now with decentralised and adaptable cyber communications/information plus a huge wealth of historical and current artistic, spiritual and scientific inspiration. We've lost shitloads of information along the way too of course. I hope too the arts, science and languages are developing on deeper and richer levels - I think historically we have been through many loops of enlightenment with arts and maths but I also think biologically, genetically (and possibly now socially) we are limited in how we evolve, particularly if our environment is becoming weaker/more scarse and less connected to us - so what Capt Amazing says about brains mixing with machines is indeed a compelling future because we start to explore the biological and genetic side of things. What sets us apart from other animals is our language, art and technology. We use technology for our sole survival in a way no other animal does and so, ethics aside, nano technologues, genetic engineering and bio-robotics etc surely have to be a valid endeavour for the future, whether you want to be part of it or not. Is genetic engineering THAT much more different from manipulating flint into an axe? Ethically maybe yes, but in terms of the human process of working with our skills and environment maybe not. I dont think religion is unimportant though, its part of the social construct - perhaps more important is the way we have an aptitude for developing secular societies, tribal beliefs and a way of expressing our outer and inner worlds. Unfortunately, as Rev pointed out, the judeo christian belief system screws around with dualistic approachs and many socialist, capitalist and imperial societies do similar things along the lines of sobordination and mass control of beliefs. Many societies are reactionary rather than visionary and this includes tribal societies too.

I wonder if our brains could have evolved stronger rational thinking to survive extremes like environmental changes or larger population dynamics. I read somewhere scientists believed our world population may have been quite low at one point during the last ice age. If this is true I wonder if humans with greater use of their rational sides were better able to survive? The creative sides are valuable to express who we are - maybe the rational focussed sides are more valuable when confronting immediate survival issues. Its also possible our rational and creative sides have been fluctuating over many thousands of years due to a whole range of influences. It may be cyclic or variable. Just because conditions and brain processing was stronger in one area of the brain in the past doesn't mean it might not be again in the future, or that other areas of the brain cannot be developed, manipulated or expanded right now.

It feels incomplete to say there is something wrong with our brain. That's like saying there's something wrong with evolution. If its fruit, or ice ages or the influence of religion thats changed our brain, well perhaps there is a reason for this or perhaps its simply environments shaping us and us shaping environments. Whatever action we take leads to an outcome relative to the context we are in. If we truly want to expand our potential and live better more enlightened lifestyles we need to think less reactionary and more about what the consequences of our actions will be (something the US military and political strategists should be doing more often instead of repating the war mongering) Perhaps the values of artistic, creative, scientific thinking is in remembering. Tying the rythmns of the past with the future.

There is also the question of why our brains have had the potential to forge art, language and technology for 200,000 years but only actually sparked into what we know today only a few tens of thousand years ago. Mckenna has put forth his theories on this, and it could well be true but at the very least its gotta be complex and a lot more than fruit and religion.

might go and read 'the selfish gene' and see if it covers any of this.

Edited February 26, 2006 by botanika

[teonanacatl]

there is a lot of psuedo science going on these days and i think alot of it gets published as books, when writing a book the auther portrays more of his or hers own ideals and beliefs then in a scientific report. so where as some of the science is true in the book alot is personal beliefs. the public reads books not journals. now thats based on my opinion of the books people i know have read and come to me about, so i dont know first hand, although ive read some mckenna and i would say he is responsible for a lot of psuedo science.

[Hagakure]

if it aint published by a respected journal be really freaking skeptical. especially with any of this new age type thinking.

hell a lot of papers that are published are found to be completely bull a few years later.

[MORG]

Going waaay back to the start of this thread, the article mentions a "specialist fruit diet".

Why then have we canine teeth?

Nowadays with the gradual subsidance of simple explanations of our world based on faith, pseudoscience is becoming more prevalent. When non-rational people have their non-rational views dislodged by logic, it seems they often seek to employ those same tools of logic (i.e. science) in the old non-rational way to make them feel comfortable again.

I've heard of alot of modern books written in defence of Christianity which attempt to employ "science". It seems that today "science" is one of the the regular fixtures used in attempting the defence of the Bible (eg. archaelogical evidence for Noah's flood and the current debacle that is intelligent design). Psuedoscience is much easier to write and disseminate than the real thing.

[Cyjack]

I am not sure how much of the actual work is being referenced in these comments, but I cant help but feel that the point(s) have been missed. There seems to be alot more internal rationalisation about the heading, rather than critical speculation about the details. Perhaps the more lathargic readers could gaze at the summary pdf instead of diving into the guts of it.

I found the ideas matched well with my own - but perhaps because I already had similar ideas about reality, and I am not a follower of mainstream media so I am willing to hear (or read in this case) the work of other thinkers. I have read alot of pseudoscience in my time by people that I consider to be great human beings (Jung, Watts - even some McKenna) that has convinced me that there is more value in pioneering work than the accepted wash of institutions (that means you Sagan!)

This type of personal insight shows (me) the efforts of a man possesed by the need to understand, and the attempts to share that understanding with others - in other words, a man like me. The way I see it, these ideas lead one towards the doors of enlightenment - what ever that might be.

Well, whos work is good enough to read then? Dr Seuss taught me alot as a youngster - but is he sanctioned today? What are the limits of simian experience anyway? Who can say?

Peace peeps. -_-

[Hagakure]

oh yeah - i mean im a fan of terrence but some of his stuff you just cant prove either way. that means its really hanging out there and you have to apply your own knowledge to it to gauge its possibilty.

that said some stuff is bullshit. lets be honest. that "what the bleep do we know?" was ripped to shreds by the pysicists they interviewed for it (and misunderstood or ignored what the guy actually said)

im a fan of terrence and some other speakers but i think a lot of the other dudes are just fooling themselves (daniel pinchbeck springs to mind - he has a huge following but from the talks i have heard he doesnt get it)

i'll comment on the actual article later. i gotta get up ealry and am already up too damn late.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Hagakure

[Rev]

Why then have we canine teeth?

to bite mother fuckers like you that try to take my banana

The hormone-related chemicals in tropical fruit initiated an internal hormone mechanism that increasingly promoted brain growth and elevated activity. When humans were forced from their tropical forest ‘Garden of Eden’ some one or two hundred thousand years ago, this link with bio-chemically unique fruit was lost.

i guess that explains why orang utans are seeming to be nearly extinct

they arent really

they are in fact slipping into a higher dimension in light of their brainpower attributable to the magical fruit hormones

The Maya, the anasazi and the ancient minoans knew of this special fruit taught to them from the survivors of atlantis

Lost in the mists of shangri la for 2 millennia this fruit has now been rediscovered and we are establishing plantation of it high in the himalayas where it is tended by buddhist monks

advance orders accpeted

shipping date december 2012

Edited March 4, 2006 by Rev