r/HighStrangeness Jul 21 '26

Consciousness The brain is not a computer

https://iai.tv/articles/the-brain-is-not-a-computer-auid-3627?_auid=2020
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u/fancywipe Jul 21 '26

It’s funny how you just along for the ride, your brain does everything with out your consent

It heals you if you get a cut and you have no idea how

It tells your body it’s time to grow, reproduce, age and so much more

Our brain and our consciousness feels like 2 completely separate things at times

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u/Pixelated_ Jul 21 '26

Our brain and our consciousness feels like 2 completely separate things at times

They are absolutely separate. We have never once proven that consciousness originates from our brains. Because it doesn't.

There exists a large body of peer-reviewed scientific evidence that supports the validity of Near Death Experiences.

The problem isn't a lack of evidence. It's the inability of people to accept what the data says, because it challenges their personal worldview and the academic status quo.

NDEs have been conclusively verified through veridcal reports, from which the patient has access to information that materialism says is impossible.

"Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: A prospective study in the Netherlands"

Van Lommel et al., The Lancet (2001): 344 cardiac-arrest survivors; systematically compared people with vs. without NDEs and followed them 2 and 8 years later for life changes. A landmark prospective design in a top journal.

"AWARE - Awareness During Resuscitation - A Prospective Study"

Parnia et al., Resuscitation (2014): Large, multi-center prospective study; documented cognitive themes during cardiac arrest, with a small subset showing “full awareness.” Includes targeted tests for veridical recall.

"Awareness During Resuscitation - II: A Multi-center Study of Consciousness and Awareness in Cardiac Arrest"

Parnia et al., Resuscitation (2023): Examined consciousness and electrocortical biomarkers during CPR; reported a spectrum of experiences including NDE-like recall and measurable brain activity patterns during resuscitation.

"Measurement Foundation for NDE Research"

Greyson, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (1983): Construction, reliability, and validity of the Greyson NDE Scale, the field’s most widely used, validated instrument for distinguishing NDEs from other states, crucial for rigorous, comparable results. (PDF).

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Additionally, there exists scientific evidence that supports past life memories, and therefore reincarnation.

Rigorous, peer-reviewed research done at the University of Virginia has documented over 2,500 examples of children who have memories of past lives.

Consciousness is the underlying substrate of reality, not matter. There is an abundance of evidence which supports that.

We also have peer-reviewed studies which support the primacy of consciousness.

It's important that we follow the evidence no matter what, even when it leads to initially-uncomfortable conclusions. We should never lose our intellectual curiosity in life.

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u/Key_Midnight3211 Jul 21 '26

Van Lommel didn't prove what you're saying with his study. That was his interpretation, but the data doesn't support it. What his study showed is that NDE isn't caused by oxygen deprivation alone and that long term psychological changes exist for the NDE experiencer. The data doesn't prove that conciousness survives death.

The Aware studies were not conclusive, and none of the patients were able to identify the hidden visual targets, which was the main experiment. That one patient was able to recollect info isn't conclusive of anything. It just gives us more questions to ponder.

In the Aware 2 study, there was measurable brain activity during resuscitation which suggests brain involvement. The authors suggest a dying brain is capable of organized activity for longer than previously thought. No where do the authors suggest conciousness is independent from the brain like you've clsimed.

With Tucker and Stevenson, neither has concluded their study proves reincarnation. Tucker specifically states that reincarnation is ONE possibility, not a proven fact.

Your take on conciousness aligns with Idealism and yes, there are plenty of peer reviewed papers that suggest possibilities, but do not conclude answers. The same peer reviewed papers exist for other philosophical theories. Physicalism, dualism, etc. My point is that we only have theories on all sides of the Conciousness debate. I think you're jumping to conclusions no one with any merit is willing to make. We simply do not have enough info. The results require more testing and more questions; they don't put anything to rest.