Thought Guided Computer

[Capt. Anand Kumar]

Scientists have trained monkeys to use computer using only their thoughts (electrical activity in the brain), as reported by the BBC.

Does it support the Sixth Root Race theory of the theosophy?

Cannot help but wonder what Steve Jobs woud have done with such technology?

[Joe Fulton]

Think of the successor to Apple Siri about 10 years from now.  One of the great coming "surprises" is going to be the opening up to the world of animals.  There is a part of me that wonders if whether or not the distinction that we have between human minds and animal minds are purely arbitrary and a fantasy on our part.

One must remain open to other surprising possibilities, too.  We look hard for alien life, perhaps we should start with the other life on our planet first. 

[Capt. Anand Kumar]

I couldn't agree more.

In early 80's I attended one discourse by Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON in Mumbai. He spoke that by not following the path shown by Krishna, one may be punished to be born as an animal. I got up and asked how does he think that animals are not a better species than us. For all we know they may be laughing at us from inside. I was shouted down and removed from the hall by his supporters.

Ever since the advent of internet, I always thought that the connectivity of all human beings is just round the corner. It will initially be based on the hardware, but later will progress to either DNA altering itself or by synthetic means. A demostrable proof is perhaps now available.

But more importantly, here we need to discuss the social, political and cultural impact of such technological progress and how to guide these devlopments to minimize the few unpleasnt experiences during the transition that are bound to occur. 

[Joe Fulton]

This is actually where the beauty of HPB's approaches shows.  She was actively involved in synthesizing ideas from various sources to come up with new insights.  One may criticize specifics but it is the whole which ends up being far greater than the sum of the parts.  She was part of a generation of spiritual explorers and we are their descendants.

This is what HPB and others bequeath to us that is universally true and is what makes this thing we call theosophy "worth it".

What does this synthesis look like in today's world?  We have numerous fields, ranging from many types of mysticism/occultism/religious thought combined with the latest from the worlds of physics, computer science, game theory, biology, genetics, and a hundred other disciplines.  To ignore any of these traditions/sciences/methods at the expense of the others is to engage in a monumental act of folly, perhaps to our collective peril.  What we have to be careful of is that we use judgment and discernment in figuring out the way to proceed.  It involves imagination, rigorous thought, deep insight and not a small bit of wisdom.

[Capt. Anand Kumar]

Fascinatingly true staement, Joe. Indeed one needs to acknowledge the contribution of so many great spiritual explorers who shaped our thinking and provided dircetion to the humanity. Even if we find a few errors today, one needs to look at the whole picture and seek inspiration from that.

 

I would only like to add, that apart from theoretical exploration of spirituality, we need to somehow look at the practical applications as well, in regard to tackling the various challenges being faced by the humanity. For example, the problem of greed and corruption (behind majority of the problems in the world today including environmental) can only be tackled at the spiritual level and not by legislation or education alone. One wishes that the inheritors of the spiritual mantle will look into that too.