avatarUlf Wolf

Summary

The web content discusses the concept that human perceptions are always of the past, even if only by a fraction of a second, due to the time it takes for neural activity to be interpreted by the brain as sensory input.

Abstract

The article "Perceptions" delves into the philosophical and neuroscientific aspects of human senses, emphasizing that our sensory experiences are not immediate but are instead rooted in past moments. It explains that sensory perceptions, including the Buddhist-recognized sixth sense of the mind, are the result of neural activity that must be interpreted by the brain. The author, Wolfstuff, illustrates this with the example of touching a cold glass of water, where even at the rapid speed at which nerve impulses travel, the sensation registered is always slightly behind the actual event. The text underscores the importance of the brain's interpretation of these signals, which transforms raw nerve impulses into recognizable sensations like sight, sound, or touch. The author reflects on the mystery of how we learn to associate specific nerve signals with particular sensory experiences and concludes that our perceptions, regardless of how instantaneous they may seem, are always based on what has just occurred.

Opinions

  • The author believes that our understanding of sensory experiences is not instantaneous but is always a reflection of the immediate past.
  • Wolfstuff suggests that the process of perception is a form of neural activity that requires interpretation by the brain, which is a complex and not fully understood mechanism.
  • The article posits that even if nerve impulses could travel at the speed of light, our perceptions would still be of past events, albeit an extremely recent past.
  • The author emphasizes the miraculous nature of the brain'

Perceptions

Sensing What Was

Image by Author

The now is so short that our senses reach awareness as what once was

This is something I have reflected on and pondered more and more of late: our perceptions are always, always, always, of the past. Yes, perhaps a nanosecond or two back in time, but of the past nonetheless.

I have read and understand that perceptions — and we normally count only the five: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, while the Buddhists add a sixth, the mind — are neural activity interpreted by the brain. They are, at core, simply neural activity — electrical impulses traveling our nerve channels to arrive in the brain where we interpret this neural activity as, yes, sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch. The mind may or may not travel our nerve channels, but we can rest assured that the sensory impressions we get from the mind are definitely of the past, too: sensory-spiked memory.

Say you touch a glass of cold water; the sense of cool touch is almost instant. Almost. Nerve impulses travel about 50 meters per second, so it will take the cold glass touch signal 1/100th of a second to travel from fingers to brain where it is interpreted (yes, let me stress this again: interpreted) as cool touch as of one-hundredth of a second ago.

Even if the nerve impulse were to travel at the speed of light, which it definitely does not, the interpreted cool touch would still be of the past. The very recent past, yes, but past nonetheless.

Why do I harp on about interpreted? Because the impulse that originates at one of our sense-doors (as the Buddha puts it), i.e. the eye, ear, tongue, et cetera, at birth is nothing but a nerve signal. An electrical-like energy. Give this signal quality any name you want, but it is not sight until it reaches the brain and we interpret that signal as sight, or we interpret that signal as sound, taste, smell, touch. Where and how we learned that this particular kind of impulse should appear like touch or smell or what have you to our awareness, I haven’t a clue.

The one thing I do know, however, is that we do not interpret the nerve signal as: ah, here’s another nerve signal. No, it’s sight, sound, smell, taste, touch for some miraculous (interpreting) reason.

And, yes, as of the recent past.

© Wolfstuff

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Perceptions
Senses
The Past
Neural Event
Interpreted Senses
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