Monti_r t1_iui8aew wrote
Reply to comment by Lost_Vegetable887 in Conscious Reality Is Only a Memory of Unconscious Actions, Scientists Propose In Radical New Theory by mossadnik
We act first unconsciously? What about when I spend 15 minutes thinking about what move to make in chess. Am I already done with my move but spending 15 minutes to rationalize it?
Lost_Vegetable887 t1_iui9vlr wrote
No, but your brain will have decided on the next move a short time before you became consciously aware of it.
While you are weighing different options and strategies for your next move, at some point you will reach a critical decision threshold - when you feel like you accumulated sufficient evidence for a certain move to give the "go" signal. You will reach this point first unconsciously, then you will consciously rationalize to yourself why you make your decision now, after the 15 mins, and not for instance after 14 or 16 minutes.
Think about it, when you decide on your next move, what made you so certain about that move right then? What caused you to go over the tipping point from contemplation to action? Most people will mention that at some point they just "know" they are ready.
Monti_r t1_iuib2am wrote
Except I don’t make a move until it’s rational and logically (hopefully) sound. If I can’t logic my way to a move it is never made and thus a decision is not reached. Once I make a move the clock stops I don’t then think about why I made that move over other moves I am now thinking of future moves. Are you saying that I reached that decision in say 5 minutes then took ten minutes to rationalize? Because I have regularly changed my mind on what piece I’m even going to move while going through the logic of the move.
Lost_Vegetable887 t1_iuj41e4 wrote
You'd probably agree there is almost always more than one logical / rational next step to consider, right? Decision making in chess is about weighing different probabilities, long-term outcomes etc. How do you decide that you've reached the most sound conclusion? How do you reach a conclusion at all?
The unconscious part of that decision-making process lies in the moment just before you determine you've made your most sound decision. While you were circling through different options, at some point your unconscious brain decided it knew enough, and converged on a decision. This choice has been shown to take place fractions before you become consciously aware of the choice. If a neuroscientist were reading out your brain signaling while you were playing chess, they would know you've reached a decision right before you yourself would know you'd reached a decision.
ScriptM t1_iuiw9kr wrote
You and some others are contradictory here. Who rationalizes what?
If brain is just a matter interacting and produces output based on computations inside itself, who rationalizes that afterwards?
There is no one out there. It is still the same dead matter interacting and nothing else. Lifeless atoms do not need to explain anything.
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