The Agents of F.L.A.S.K.

[Who?]

Does the brain create consciousness —

If consciousness is not “created“ in/by the brain, please explain what you see as its origin. Put another way, where is it “created“ if not in the brain?

 

[Who?]

The story has been picked up by the Miami Herald. This version includes additional information, including confirmation that the depth was 1.6 miles and also that the weird feature was seen on three other dives, including one at 4,900 feet. At least one scientist speculates that the holes might have been created by “the feeding appendage of a large animal.” I’d like to see the artwork accompanying that theory!

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article263826458.html

What? No comments on the Chinese clouds?
Why doesn’t anyone in the press decisively identify the actual, real buildings that are supposedly being reflected? Shouldn’t be that hard.

My guess would be that they impressions in the silt/sediment on the ocean floor, which is probably many miles thick.

As for what made them, I aren’t a clue, but I’m not in the business of wild speculation either. I don’t get paid to write BS. (Alas!)

 

[Tiki Tom]

If consciousness is not “created“ in/by the brain, please explain what you see as its origin. Put another way, where is it “created“ if not in the brain?

The nature of consciousness is, seriously, one of the biggest mysteries out there. And this is not a woo woo, tinfoil hat statement. Materialists (those claiming that consciousness is created by the physical brain) have charted the brain somewhat thoroughly, but are unable to pinpoint where/how the final leap is made from electrical/chemical synapses to subjective awareness, and our very real sensing of consciousness, feelings, otherness, what-have-you. Okay, but —by far— materialism is the standard view of consciousness. It is said that: We just don’t know enough about how the brain works yet.

This is where we get into “Agents of F.L.A.S.K” territory. Serious studies and research have hinted that consciousness may survive after the physical death of the brain. See the University of Virginia’s exhaustive study of reincarnation. See numerous academic reviews of “Near Death Experiences”. Even further out there, see the mounting hard evidence supporting the existence of ESP (You might start with an open minded look at the work of Cornell scientist, Daryl Bem. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4706048/. )

But, of course, if any of the above is true to any degree (as reviewed by rational people weighing the evidence), it clearly has HUGE implications on the nature of consciousness, materialism, etc.

So, if not generated by wet meat jolted with chemicals and electricity, where does consciousness come from?

No idea. But Highly respectable thinkers can’t leave it alone and are floating ideas. The key take away is that a hell of a lot of (non-crazy) people take the question seriously. Anyone who is sincerely interested in one of the biggest questions about the nature of reality should start googling the above topics and the nature of consciousness. It’s not so cut and dried. Is matter fundamental or is consciousness fundamental? Physicists are debating the topic. Crazy stuff!

It’s a perfect topic for the Fedora Lounge Adventure Speakeasy Klub!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-well/201906/does-consciousness-exist-outside-the-brain

https://theconversation.com/science...nsciousness-but-a-revolution-is-coming-126143


https://noetic.org/blog/show-me-the-evidence/

 

[Who?]

Tom;

Thank you for your explanation.

I’m afraid that I’m probably the worst possible person to discuss this with. The only response that I can in honesty give to the second part of your explanation would be a hearty “Oh, Horseshit!”

In hopes that I won’t get dinged for that, you’ll see why I can’t pursue the topic any further.

Hats remain fair game however.

Cheers!
Richard

 

[Tiki Tom]

Dear Richard,
Thank you for your response. No offense taken!
In fact, the “when you are dead, you’re dead” camp clearly holds the high ground, and the “maybe consciousness survives in one form or another” army has not yet been able to storm the fortress.
But it is a great mystery. With just enough documented weirdness to make fair minded people scratch their heads.
Here’s to toasting the fact that not everything has been explained yet!
Best regards and all the best,
Tom

 

[Tiki Tom]

Well, this is FLASK-worthy. (7 minute clip.)
Yes, it looks like he saw something on the mountain. But it looks too big/solid to be a Bigfoot.
As for the rest of it (the military supposedly came, men in black intimidated him, etc.), that sounds like a fantasy. But the final part, where he is furtively glancing around as he tells his viewers it was all a hoax… well, that’s a nice bit of acting. Or is it?
Overall, there’s just enough ambiguity to make it fun. But, what was it that he saw on top of that mountain?

 

[Zombie_61]

Well, this is FLASK-worthy. (7 minute clip.)
Yes, it looks like he saw something on the mountain. But it looks too big/solid to be a Bigfoot.
As for the rest of it (the military supposedly came, men in black intimidated him, etc.), that sounds like a fantasy. But the final part, where he is furtively glancing around as he tells his viewers it was all a hoax… well, that’s a nice bit of acting. Or is it?
Overall, there’s just enough ambiguity to make it fun. But, what was it that he saw on top of that mountain?

Meh. Government doing secret government stuff that they don't want civilians to know about. Happens all the time.

 

[Tiki Tom]

It is a true enough mystery. (But one that has never been able to gain traction here at F.L.A.S.K.) Thankfully, Tucker Carlson is now on the case. No doubt we will soon have an answer.

Really, it is so bizarre that it’s hard to come up with a theory about what’s going on. The “there is nothing going on; it is all natural“ argument seems to be as far fetched as the “it’s Aliens” argument. The cases are numerous and well documented.

https://alaskapublic.org/2022/08/01...n-delta-junction-ranchers-put-up-2500-reward/

https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sec...cle_47e16326-0537-11ec-a50e-c7abb8e5e93e.html

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-...-by-mysterious-oregon-cattle-mutilations.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_mutilation

The most likely explanation, that there is a freaky satanic cult committing these crimes, seems to be almost as outlandish as the other explanations. Is this what bored, rural teenagers do for fun? I am almost tempted to believe that… maybe it is aliens!

On the one hand it is simultaneously gruesome and, yet, not very earth shaking. On the other hand: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

Anyone from cattle country have a thoughtful opinion?

 

[Tiki Tom]

Weird goings on in a Mexican village:

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/crosses-ward-off-feared-sorcerer/

Wait. What? A shape shifter? Same m.o. as at Skinwalker Ranch. Is it a Western North America thing?

I was tempted to mock these people for their superstitious ways… ahem …but then I remembered that we have a cross hanging just inside of our front door. ”People in glass houses” and all that.

 

[Tiki Tom]

A challenge/test. Do you have any psychic ability? Any clairvoyant powers? Have you ever been curious about whether your uncanny aptitudes can be quantified and validated or disproved?
This test comes from the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), which attempts to use rigorous science to test if there is any basis for claims of unusual psychic abilities. IONS has a reputation for being serious about its work. Basically, the test includes eight activities. Your performance will be measured against random chance. Using these tests, IONS is attempting to build a database from which they can draw meaningful conclusions. The test is kind of fun, and I can see how it might become addictive.
You can see your results ...and your ranking... instantly.
I took the test, and (in my case) it took about a half an hour to go through all eight activities. For the record, I do not have psychic powers. Although, in fairness, they state that one running of the test means little: A person would have to take it dozens of times for a meaningful pattern to emerge.

Be sure to let us know how you do!

https://psiarcade.org/

 

[Zombie_61]

A challenge/test. Do you have any psychic ability? Any clairvoyant powers? Have you ever been curious about whether your uncanny aptitudes can be quantified and validated or disproved?
This test comes from the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), which attempts to use rigorous science to test if there is any basis for claims of unusual psychic abilities...Be sure to let us know how you do!

Not well in my case, maybe 20-30% right mostly by random chance rather than any actual skill. Tests like this are too impersonal and meaningless; they're designed to boost the ego of the test taker more than to gauge any actual abilities regardless of how IONS presents it.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Not well in my case, maybe 20-30% right mostly by random chance rather than any actual skill. Tests like this are too impersonal and meaningless; they're designed to boost the ego of the test taker more than to gauge any actual abilities regardless of how IONS presents it.

My take would probably be that the tests are fine (I can’t imagine how else you would test such a thing on line) BUT that psi —if it exists— is not something that you can turn on and off like a light switch. I will probably take the test again at some point. When I took it the first time I scored equal to random chance on 7 out of 8 of the tests. On one, I was far better than random chance, with like a 37% hit rate. But, because I only took the test once, even that can easily be explained as just being a normal statistical fluke. It means nothing, in and of itself.

 

[Tiki Tom]

The truth is out there…
This story is interesting because, unlike most such stories, we know exactly who took the photo (a normal person with no apparent reason to hoax). Additionally, her daughter was with her and took the exact same photo at the same time, but the apparition was not picked up by the daughter’s cell phone camera. Strange, indeed.
On the other hand, it is the easiest thing in the world to dismiss the photo as “just a real woman in an old fashioned dress.” (Someone did raise the question “who dresses like that in the middle of summer?”)

https://www.northumberlandgazette.c...-on-picture-taken-of-tynemouth-priory-3814697

 

[Lean'n'mean]

It must be genuine, it's blurred.

 

[Zombie_61]

My take would probably be that the tests are fine (I can’t imagine how else you would test such a thing on line) BUT that psi —if it exists— is not something that you can turn on and off like a light switch...

That's a large part of why testing such as this won't work--you CAN'T test them online. Psychic abilities are very much a natural/biological occurrence, not something that can be replicated by artificial means like these online tests or any of the other mechanical/electronic devices these "experts" cook up.

 

[Tiki Tom]

News from where I live.
This is a bizarre story. If it walks like a Russian spy and quacks like a Russian spy, must it be a Russian spy? Or are they just very much into imaginary cosplay roles? On the one hand, stealing the identity of dead babies and living under those names is standard procedure for deep cover agents. On the other hand, a lot of their strange behavior seems very amateurish.
I guess I’ll go with “they are most likely Russian spies“ theory. Otherwise, why on earth were they living under false identities?
But something is not quite right here. Could they possibly just be a bored, pathetic couple who made their lives interesting by pretending to be spies? Nah. It’s too bizarre.
Your thoughts?

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/stolen-identities-kgb-uniforms-invisible-153612638.html

 

[Zombie_61]

^ Odd. But unless someone can prove they've been in direct contact with authorities from other nations and have attempted to somehow subvert the United States government or performed other traitorous acts, it seems they're simply two people with rather bland lives who have taken cosplay to an extreme.

Or is that what they want us to think?

 

[Tiki Tom]

Verdict: inconclusive. Talk about a blurry photograph! (I had to examine all the photos in the article twice, before I even saw what they were talking about. A new top secret aircraft? It can be argued both ways.)

Nonetheless, this image and article have some things going for them.
1. illustrates the tremendous amount of open source information that is out there, allowing interested civilians to monitor “things”;
2. If this is a photo from a commercial satellite, imagine the top secret images that the military/spies are looking at.
3. In the article, there is a link to a message board called dreamlandresort.com which looks like FL for Area 51 geeks. A fun message board to noodle around on. note: dreamlandresort even has a German language page, which might be fun for our many Fedora Lounge friends from Germany.

Anyway, as I said, it’s inconclusive as to whether or not this is a behind-the-curtain peak at a classified aerospace project or just the shadow of a cloud. Ha ha. You decide.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/is-this-a-secret-aircraft-at-area-51-or-a-shadow-of-a-cloud

UPDATE: An ex colleague of mine who analyses satellite imagery for a living (don’t ask), says he would guardedly go with the verdict that it is an aircraft.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Love dogs? Interested in psychic ability? This story is for you.

https://www.outtherecolorado.com/ne...cle_6905d606-2721-11ed-84e9-8367e1178712.html

 

[Tiki Tom]

The Loch Ness Monster has been debunked until we are blue in the face. Yet the sightings continue (with photos). The latest is from 27 August 2022. What gives? Are people so attached to cherished fantasies that they can’t give them up? Probably. Does folk lore and a fun tradition trump reality? It seems so. And yet… as with Bigfoot, the sightings by seemingly normal people continue to roll in. Are we missing something? Is there perhaps an aspect of reality that homo sapiens are incapable of comprehending/understanding? Is it just as risky to cavalierly explain-away as to be a knee jerk believer? Are the only options delusional or gullible? No one ever said being a F.L.A.S.K. Investigator would be easy.

http://www.lochnesssightings.com/index.asp?pageid=717286