to be continued...

Just a quick note to everyone out there in Consciousness Land...

I've been waylaid by holidays, travel, and a rather pernicious cold. I hope you all are well, and have had an enjoyable set of holidays, whatever you choose to celebrate.

Streams of Consciousness will resume activity after January 1.

Excelsior!
-Kev.

Call for Papers - Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness Conference

ASSOCIATION FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF CONSCIOUSNESS 12TH ANNUAL MEETING
Gis Convention Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
June 19th-22nd , 2008
http:// www.ym.edu.tw/assc12/
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The 12th annual meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC 12) will be held from June 19th to June 22nd, 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan (Gis Convention Center, National Taiwan University).

ASSC12 is intended to promote interdisciplinary dialogue in the scientific study of consciousness. The overall goal of the conference is to promote the scientific study of consciousness in all of its
forms.

This is the first time for an ASSC annual meeting to be held in Asia. ASSC12 provides a chance for you to see Taipei and Taiwan, an island nation with a newly born democracy in Asia. Taipei offers an interesting combination of eastern and western cultures. Taiwan has recently been
selected by the National Geographic Traveler Magazine as "probably the best traveling destination in Asia" among the 111 islands evaluated. The meeting promises to be both intellectually stimulating and culturally interesting!

For latest updates, please check the conference website: http://www.ym.edu.tw/assc12/
The web site will be continually evolving, so please visit often for updated information.

Confirmed speakers include:
Presidential Address:
David Rosenthal, City University of New York, USA

Keynote Speakers:
Thomas Metzinger,
The Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz, Germany,
topic: The Self

Mitsuo Kawato,
Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Japan,
topic: Engineering Consciousness

Tetsuro Matsuzawa,
Kyoto University, Japan,
topic: The Mind of the Chimpanzee

The list will keep growing. You may also visit ASSC12 website for latest information.

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THE FIRST CALL FOR PAPER AND POSTER SUBMISSIONS SUBMISSION MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 1, 2008!
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Speakers in concurrent sessions are invited to talk on any topic relevant to the scientific study of consciousness. Submissions that include anthropological, evolutionary, physiological, psychological, philosophical, or computational perspectives are all welcome.

Submissions for both posters and talks will be accepted (please specify preference). Any person may present only one submission, but may be co-author on more than one. Oral presentations will be limited to 20 minutes, to be followed by a ten-minute discussion period.

You will be asked to include with your submission the information listed here: http://www.ym.edu.tw/assc12/news-4.htm

If you have any difficulties in submitting your proposal, or any other questions regarding the meeting, please contact assc12@ym.edu.tw.

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CALL FOR TUTORIAL PROPOSALS DEADLINE: DECEMBER 17th, 2007
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As in previous years, this notice is also intended as a first call for tutorial presenters. One of the aims of this meeting is to allow researchers to gain a background in areas that they may know little about. Towards that end a number of tutorials are planned. Some participants in the conference would be very interested in learning about technical matters such as fMRI or other important brain imaging techniques. Others might enjoy a seminar on a philosophical topic, or
a tutorial on relevant matters in cognitive psychology or linguistics.

Tutorial presenters are expected not to present just their own material, but to give a broader tutorial overview and encourage discussion and debate. A non-exclusive list of possible topics can be viewed on here: http://www.ym.edu.tw/assc12/news-4.htm

Each tutorial is intended to last approximately three hours. The sizes of tutorials will vary between a minimum of 10 to a maximum of around 25 attendees. Tutorial presenters will be paid US $1,500 and their registration fee for the conference will be waived. The cost of attending tutorials will be $50. Tutorials that do not achieve the minimum enrollment of 10 people may not be offered.

Send the tutorial proposal along with the requirements provided here at http://www.ym.edu.tw/assc12/news-4.htm to Ralph Adolphs (radolphs@caltech.edu ) as soon as possible.

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REGISTRATION
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As in previous years, discounted registration will be available to ASSC members, who will also enjoy a range of book discounts and other member benefits. The registration discount will be greater than the cost of membership, so prospective members are encouraged to join ASSC now! To find out more about the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, and to apply for membership, please consult our website at http://assc.caltech.edu/

Registration will open on Jan. 1, 2008.

ASSC12 Scientific Program Committee:

Ralph Adolphs, California Institute of Technology (Co-Chair)
Allen Houng, National Yang Ming University, Taiwan (Co-Chair)
Max Coltheart, Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, Australia
John-Dylan Haynes, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany
Dan Lloyd, Trinity College, USA
Stephen L. Macknik, Barrow Neurological Institute, USA
Michael Pauen, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Germany
Shinsuke Shimojo, California Institute of Technology, USA

Free Access to the IONS members only site (for a limited time)

From my pal Jason Norris, who not only works at IONS, but plays in the rather amazing band, Aegis Integer:

The Institute of Noetic Sciences, is offering free access to our member's only website until December 25th, 2007.

www.shiftinaction.com

It's essentially one of the largest collections of consciousness studies material on the net, including material from Deepak Chopra, Stanislav Grof, Amit Goswami, Stanley Krippner, Neale Donald Walsch, and much more.

Go to the "Discover" section to check out our audio, video, article, and transcript archives. Honestly, there is a ton of content here, so have some fun.

Upcoming Gary Schwartz Interview on AfterlifeFM

Marcel from AfterlifeFM has forwarded a message. He will be interviewing Gary Schwartz of the VERITAS Research Program for an upcoming episode, and is seeking your help!

Marcel writes:

I will be conducting an interview with Dr. Gary E. Schwartz on December 10th, 2007. You are once again invited to contribute to this interview by submitting your question to my toll-free AfterlifeFM Interview line at 1-877-372-5367. This is a voice mail system that is open and available 24/7.

It is important that you submit your question by midnight on Saturday, December 8th.

Things to keep in my mind:

1. Ask only one question at a time (two parts of same question is acceptable), but do not make it impossible for me to edit.
2. Be clear, concise and conservative with time.
3. Don’t answer your own question or try to declare your own position.
4. Be chipper & charming. This is radio, not a morgue.
5. You can always erase or edit by pressing # sign during/after your recorded message.
   

A Muslim take on "Noetic Sciences"

Dr. Robert D. Crane at The American Muslim has an interesting response to the concept of "Noetic Sciences," namely "Is Noetic Evolution a Secular Substitute for God?"

Crane draws on the works of Jonas Salk, and Edgar Mitchell, criticizing them (and the work at IONS) for both reducing consciousness to the role of "information processor," and for elevating the ego to Ultimate Prime Mover:

The most serious fallacy of the so-called noetics revolution, in my opinion as a nearly life-long student of artificial intelligence (AI), is the reduction of the human being to an information processor, albeit with access to the connective link between mind and matter, evidenced in intuition, psychokinesis, and healing, all of which were normal for humans millennia ago. While Edgar Mitchell’s noetic movement, headquartered in Sausalito, exposes the reductionist mainstream science of physical cause and effect as incomplete, it makes the error of reducing the human being to an information processor that functions as an ultimate cause or ecologically as part of an ultimate cause of both immanent and transcendent evolution.

Astronaut Mitchell writes, “What is the most elemental thing about our nonphysical essence?” His answer is simply “information,” the ability and intent to distinguish between two simultansous states. Like a north pole and a south pole, energy becomes the basis of physical reality and information the basis of consciousness.

The noetic sciences claim to have the most comprehensive solution, “a unified field theory,” for understanding reality by opposing the answers both of physics, which posits matter/energy as the creator of all, and of religion, which says that the creator is the mind of God. Noetics rejects both such “micro-determinism” and “macro-determinism” by regarding the human mind as the source of knowledge and as the ultimate source of cause and effect. The corollary is that human self-consciousness will determine the future by determining its own evolution and through this power the evolution of the entire universe.

This reduction of the theomorphic person by a new anthropomorphic determinism may be regarded as perhaps the most sophisticated polytheism yet invented to restore meaning to what increasingly is being regarded as a meaningless accident, especially the existence of oneself and of humankind. In response to the “death of God” in modern Western civilization and increasingly in global culture, the polytheistic response of the New Agers has always been to create a new god in the form of one’s own ego sublimated to a transcendent level through the delusion that it holds the key to all power.

Whether there is a God or not, is not something I'm really inclined to debate. What I find more interesting is Crane's description of what he perceives to be happening to the ego.

Often in the circles I travel in, I hear the common phrase "you create your reality," which of course has a number of problems when viewed from a strictly egoic standpoint ("if something happens, am I to blame?" and "that suffering person over there must have brought it upon themselves" are two easy traps to fall into - see also, any number of critiques of The Secret).

Also, too, it should be pointed out that the "you create your reality" motif isn't always one of loving, healing wonder, as Ron Susskind found out in 2002.

The Bush aide said this “reality-based community” consists of people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” Suskind nodded in agreement and muttered something favorable about the principles of the Enlightenment, only to be cut off by the aide.

“That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” the Bush aide told the journalist. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to study what we do.”

Of related interest, is Larry Dossey's article Healing and the Mind: Is There a Dark Side? in the Journal of Scientific Exploration.

What Crane doesn't directly mention in his article is the Sufi concept of barakat, or "gifts." These tend to manifest in ways that one might term "powers" or "abilities" such as telepathy, clairvoyance, or the ability to stop bleeding or not experience pain. These sorts of things develop as one progresses along the path (and I have witnessed some pretty impressive displays of these things, which you might want to take my word for, if you're on the squeamish side).

The thing is, these abilities are not the end goal. At best, they are side-effects. At worst, they are distractions.

There is a story of a Zen monk, who after several hours of meditation runs to his master. "Master! I've had a vision! I saw pure light, and at the center of it was the Buddha, smiling at me!"

"Great!" replied the master. "Keep meditating! It will go away!"

When you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.

In any event...as a student in the field of Consciousness Studies, I am very fascinated with the interactions of consciousness and matter/the brain/the body/the universe/whatever. I support the research and inquiry being performed by IONS, and assorted other research centers and independent researchers in the field. What I think Cramer brings to the discussion is a reminder of not getting overly full of ourselves over it all. Beware of the barakat. While I have seen and experienced a few things to indicate to me that there is at least an interplay between consciousness and its surroundings (not to mention over a century of research that also seems to indicate the probability), it would be unwise to think that these are the end goal.

Furthermore, I'm not entirely convinced that IONS or the like is actively promoting the "you are Gods" narrative. I do, however, know that it is an easy (and unfortunately common) way to interpret the research being done. It is normal, and perfectly understandable to become excited by the research being done in this field. I do believe, however, we need to keep an eye on the ego, as well.

Finally, I will take brief issue with the "Noetic Evolution" narrative, as well. Cramer outlines it thusly:

Noetics as developed today is not a new idea. Teilhard de Chardin, who emerged from the collectivist movement of the mid-20th century, wrote many books as a philosophical paleontologist proposing that the universe is evolving and that human evolution is a collectivist process of ascent culminating in Oneness with God.

What is often cited as "evidence" for these sorts of narratives is the development (in an almost X-Menlike fashion) of various abilities (or barakat), or the appearance of "Indigo Children" (which is a whole other discussion), or the fact that the Mayan calendar runs out in 2012 (a narrative also fraught with difficulties, including heavy reliance on Rousseau's/Dryden's idea of the "Noble Savage" narrative). The thing is, these barakat, as Cramer points out, are nothing new. These abilities of consciousness have been reported across cultures for thousands of years.

We now have the ability to study these things. They should be studied. What they should not be, is thought of as some sort of "new" development, nor a birthright to power.

elsewhere in the blogosphere

Michael Prescott has some excellent meditations on the difficulties of the use of the scientific method in discussions of the possibility of an afterlife. There are further meditations as well. Overall, some thought-provoking musings.

Also, Christian de Quincey weighs in on anthropic privilege.

upcoming PBS show featuring neuroplasticity...

Via PositScience:

This December, public television stations across the country will air a special program that explores the brain’s amazing ability to change throughout a person’s life. This phenomenon—called neuroplasticty—is the science behind brain fitness, and it has been called one of the most extraordinary scientific discoveries of the 20th century.

The PBS special, called The Brain Fitness Program, explains the brain’s complexities in a way that both scientists and people with no scientific background can appreciate. The show is narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Peter Coyote and features experts in the field of neuroplasticity, including Dr. Norman Doidge, Sharon Begley, and Dr. Michael Merzenich, founder of Posit Science and creator of the Brain Fitness Program software.

The two-hour show is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about how our minds work—and to find out more about the latest in cutting-edge brain research.

Some airdates and a preview can be found here.

Sleeping and Dreaming Exhibition in London

The Wellcome Collection in London, in collaboration with the Deutsches-Hygeine Museum of Dresden are mounting an exhibition on Sleeping and Dreaming.

There will be a number of events as part of the exhibition:

December 6: The Mystery of Sleep

This event will bring together perspectives from cultural history, psychology and social anthropology to explore the mysteries of dreaming.

Speakers:

• Mark Blagrove, dream researcher, Swansea University

• Iain Edgar, social anthropologist, Durham University

• Daniel Pick, historian, Birkbeck College, University of London

January 25, 2008: Late Night Film Festival

The mysterious nature of sleep and dreams has inspired great screenwriters and directors through the decades...

The film festival will include feature films as well as footage from the Wellcome Library. A confirmed programme will be available in December.

February 22-23: Sleep Talk

The event will begin on Friday evening with a special performance by innovative classical music group Manning Camerata of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti. The pieces selected for performance were written to cure the sleep disorders of the musicians' patrons.

This symposium brings together a panel of international speakers to explore sleeplessness in all its guises. On Saturday join our invited guests from across the world to explore how we understood insomnia in the past, and how that could alter our understanding of sleep today; how insomnia inspires creativity in some artists; why not being able to sleep is bad for your mind and other questions. Just don't expect them to solve your sleep problems.

Speakers:

• David Baddiel, presenter and comedian
• Ann Coxon, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern
• Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, University of Oxford
• Chris Idzikowski, Director, Edinburgh Sleep Centre
• Kenton Kroker, Assistant Professor, Science and Technology Studies, York University, Toronto
• Kevin Morgan, Director, Clinical Sleep Research Unit, Loughborough University
• Eluned Summers-Bremner, Department of Women's Studies, University of Auckland
  

February 28: An End to Feeling Shattered?

If you didn't have to sleep at night imagine how much more you could achieve and experience. Or does the thought of no more long lie-ins make you feel ill? Should drugs used by the military, and for treatment of narcolepsy, become lifestyle drugs for the mainstream? What would be the impact on your body, your relationships and your life? We already use drugs to avoid pregnancy, stop headaches, and prevent impotence…what makes sleep any different?

Join a panel of outspoken speakers to debate whether drugs are the answer to 21st-century life.

Speakers:

John Harris, Professor of Bioethics, University of Manchester.

Danielle Turner, Neuroscience Coordinator, University of Cambridge.

Simon Williams, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick.

There will also be expert-led tours.

The exhibit will run from November 29-March 9.

If you can't make it to London, there's also an online sneak-preview.

Radio Interview...

I will be a guest on Marcel Cairo's Afterlife FM show this afternoon at 4pm Pacific Time!

Join us for a conversation about Consciousness Studies and Visitation Dreams from the dead!

There will be a call-in line for questions as well.

If you miss the show, Marcel will have it in his archives. I won't be able to answer questions retroactively, though, as I'm still working on the time travel thing.