The mind and brain are like an illusion. Appearance and Illusion

It is no coincidence that the name of this philosophical movement is consonant with the word “illusionist,” which we use to mean “magician.” Philosopher and writer Keith Frankish, author of Illusionism as a Theory of Consciousness and a PhD candidate at the University of Sheffield in the UK, explains the concept of illusionism through magic tricks.

Imagine: you see on stage how a magician performs telekinesis - that is, moves objects “with the power of thought.” You can offer several explanations for this phenomenon. The first is that it is real, quite understandable from the point of view of science, we just have not yet discovered those laws of physics that could give a rational justification for this. The second is that the trick is carried out with the help of well-studied physical phenomena, such as electromagnetism. In this case the event is still real. Finally, there is a third option: decide that this is all an illusion and no telekinesis is happening - and then try to explain how the magician managed to trick your brain so much.

So, the first two interpretations correspond to the concept of realism, and the last one corresponds to the philosophical concept of illusionism. Illusionism denies the reality, the objectivity of any phenomenon - and focuses on how the perception of it as real, existing in this world arises.

Consciousness = illusion

The column, which Keith Frankish published in the culture and philosophy magazine Aeon, begins with an already annoying reference to the film “The Matrix.” Red or blue pill, Neo? A pleasant illusion or a brutal truth about a reality that is actually not real at all? Frankish offers his readers another “pill” that encroaches on something even more sacred than the existence of our world: the reality of human consciousness.

He explains this again with a simple example. There is a red apple that lies on the table in front of you. You see an apple because light reflected from the surface of the fruit hits the light-sensitive cells in the retina. Next, they send a tranche of electrochemical impulses along the optic nerve to the brain, and voila - you become aware of the image of a red apple. But are you really aware of it?

This is where the conversation about the illusion of consciousness begins. The apple is real (unlike the spoon, which “does not exist” in The Matrix), and no one argues with the fact that we see it. But our perception of this apple, like all the sensations associated with it - memories, desires, associations - do not add any information to the physical world. Emotions and sensations are not made of atoms, they are ephemeral - which means how can they have any influence on anything, even our own thoughts and actions?

Why are illusions needed?

Keith Frankish believes that nature created for us the illusion of consciousness in the process of evolution for some good reason - which means that for some reason this illusion is needed. Even if it does not carry any additional physical meaning.

But Yuval Noah Harari in his book Homo Deus expresses an even more radical idea. He suggests that consciousness as the perception of one's own self, all our sensations and emotions, are just a “side effect” of the evolution of our complex brain. In this case, consciousness is no more useful than wisdom teeth and male nipples.

Harari goes so far in his reasoning that even the creators of The Matrix would be jealous. He takes the idea of ​​consciousness to the point of absurdity: the only proof of its existence, says Harari, is a person’s own experience. “I think, therefore I am.” But at the same time, you, as a conscious person, will not be able to check in any way whether your partner, colleague, neighbor and Harari himself have consciousness. What if the only one who has consciousness is you, and the rest of the people are soulless robots or avatars from virtual reality?

Let's go further: where did you get the idea that your consciousness is real, and that you really are not in the “Matrix”? Because if we assume that there are millions of imaginary worlds, then the probability that you are in the real one tends to zero. Therefore, from a mathematical point of view, it is quite logical to say that consciousness is an illusion created with the help of virtual reality, and you are in the “Matrix”.

If you think about it too much, you can seem to go crazy. Therefore, let us return to the premise that the world is real. But consciousness - why is it needed? And how does it appear? Harari explains: scientists only know that the sense of self, emotions and feelings are born as a result of the interaction of a mass of electrical impulses. But, even if we were not aware of our sensations - for example, fear, attraction, hunger, and so on - these same impulses would still force us to look for food, mate and in every possible way fight for survival.

Why then be aware of all this, and, as a result, experience suffering, reflect, search for the meaning of life? Isn't this the main bug of our highly developed brain?

How to live?

The idea that our consciousness is a) illusory and b) useless is, of course, difficult to come to terms with. But there is good news: for now, this is still not an absolutely reliable scientific theory, but just one of the concepts of consciousness.

Keith Frankish believes that it is necessary to prove the theory of illusionism - to collect ironclad arguments in favor of the fact that all our feelings, judgments and experiences are illusory. After this happens, in his opinion, the problem of the existence of consciousness will cease to concern people.

Another well-known philosopher, professor of philosophy and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University Daniel Dennett, agrees with Frankish in his reasoning. Dennett wrote a book, Concsiousness Explained, where he says: since there is no qualitative carrier of sensory perception (he calls it qualia), then from the point of view of philosophy we are all “zombies”. And the one who looks like a person and behaves like a person is one - no additional characteristics of the type of consciousness are needed.

This idea, which was expressed in the early 90s, is today interesting to consider in the context of robotization. If we can recreate the functioning of a human brain in a robot, does this mean that human ethics will have to be applied to the robot? After all, it turns out that neither one nor the other will have consciousness - and therefore the attitude towards them should be the same.

Harari, by the way, also raises several ethical questions. On the one hand, he says, even if only humans have the idea (aka illusion) of their own consciousness, this does not mean that animals do not have consciousness (by the way, the famous brain researcher Dick Swaab agrees with this). And if we cannot verify the presence of consciousness in other people, then what can we say about dogs and cows! Does this mean it's time to disband farms and go vegan - just in case animals can still perceive pain and fear?

On the other hand, if consciousness is just a side effect of evolution, then one might think: why take it into account at all? If everything that happens to us is just a flow of electrical impulses in the brain (and it can be neither “good” nor “bad”), then why can’t we rape and torture people (or animals)? Harari warns that one must be careful with such reasoning, because it can go very far.

Of course, not all scientists agree with the concept of the illusory nature of consciousness. Many neuroscientists are now trying to unravel the mystery of consciousness - precisely in order to explain how desires, thoughts and feelings are born from a mass of electrical impulses. And why they are more than the sum of their parts.

In the meantime, you can apply the concept of the illusion of consciousness in your life when you start to take everything too seriously - and your emotions seem unbearable. Perhaps then you will be consoled by this thought: everything that consciousness does to you is just a set of electrical impulses in the brain (but this is not certain).

In this article, you will learn what mental illusions are and how to learn to see mental illusions in your head.

In this article we will talk about what illusions of the mind are. To begin with, I want to say that the mind is a wonderful tool that Genesis has endowed us with. The mind is not the brain, there is no need to confuse them. Brain, body part. But at the same time, the mind can be both our greatest friend and our greatest “enemy.” If the mind is constantly droning in your head, it is an inner voice that constantly tells you what to do and what not to do.

We can’t even sleep normally because our mind is constantly buzzing. So, everything that the mind tells you about, everything that it thinks about is all illusions, it does not exist in reality. You need to understand this. Once again, everything you think about or your mind is not there. Why? Yes, because our thoughts are either about the past or about the future, mind you, often a negative future.

There are a lot of options for the development of events, but we are used to seeing everything in a negative light most often. This is all because we are unconscious. We don't understand that the mind is not us. We don't realize that this voice is inside us, not our voice. Anyone who has at least a modicum of awareness understands what is being said here because a conscious person has the opportunity to observe in his head all these shows and illusions that our mind gives us. The problem is that we believe him. Our mind deceives us and not because it is “bad” or wants to harm us, it is simply what it is if we are not aware. Even in India, there is a saying “the mind is Maya,” that is, an illusion.

THESE ARE JUST THOUGHTS. You shouldn’t take them too seriously and perceive them as absolute reality. Stop believing them. Thoughts have nothing to do with your life situation, with you, with the world.

I would like to give an example from the life of the spiritual teacher Etkhart Tolle and his incident in life, he talks about a woman who
loudly arguing with another person out loud in her head, no one was nearby, she just continued to angrily argue with a person who was no longer nearby:

What I witnessed left me somewhat disheartened. As an adult, twenty-five-year-old first-year student, I considered myself an intellectual, and was convinced that all answers could be found and all problems of human existence could be solved with the help of intellect, that is, thinking. At that time I did not yet understand that unconscious thinking and There is the fundamental problem of human existence. Professors seemed to me like sages who knew all the answers, and the university was a temple of knowledge. How could she be a part of all this?

Before entering the library, still thinking about the strange woman who was talking loudly to herself, I went into the men's room. I washed my hands and thought, “I hope I don’t end up like her.” The man standing next to me glanced in my direction, and I suddenly realized with shock that I had not only thought, but also muttered it out loud. “My God, I’m already the same as her,” flashed through my head. Wasn't my mind working as continuously as hers? There was little difference between us. The dominant emotion in her thinking seemed to be anger. In my case, anxiety prevailed. She thought out loud. I thought mostly to myself. If she's crazy, then everyone is crazy, including me. The difference is only in degree.

For a moment I was able to step back from my mind and see it as if from a deeper point. There was a brief shift from thinking to awareness. I was still in the men's room, only now alone, looking at the reflection of my face in the mirror. At the moment of separation from my mind, I laughed out loud. This may sound crazy, but my laughter came from a sane place. It was the laughter of a pot-bellied Buddha. " Life is not as serious as the mind makes it out to be " That's what the laughter seemed to communicate to me. But it was just a glimpse, and very soon it was forgotten. I spent the next three years in a state of anxiety and depression, completely identified with the mind. And before awareness returned to me, I happened to come very close to the thought of suicide, but then it was already much more than a glimpse. I freed myself from obsessive thinking and the imaginary “I” created by the mind.

We can conclude that not all problems can be solved with the mind; you also need to use your heart more often. It is important to understand that the only thing you need to pay attention to is our feelings regarding this or that aspect of our life, feelings best reflect what is, note feelings, not emotions, they need to be distinguished. Feelings are the only reality because we feel them now, and not somewhere in the past or future. I recommend watching the 2005 film “Revolver”; this film covers this topic very well, the topic of obsessive thinking.

Behind the thoughts, and then you will see their illusory nature, and not take them for reality!!!

Let's summarize:

• everything you think about is an illusion, it doesn’t exist;
• all your ideas about life, the world and yourself are illusions of the mind;
• all your thoughts about yourself, what you can or cannot do, are illusions of the mind;
• all your ideas about anything or anyone are illusions of the mind.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true, it’s impossible to think about truth, as soon as you start thinking about it, truth ceases to be truth, because truth is only in the moment now, and thoughts are either in the past or in the future. The only thing that will help you get rid of illusions is the regular practice of MEDITATION.

Optical illusions are created by color, contrast, shape, size, patterns and perspective and trick our brains. But how exactly does this happen? Why do straight lines appear slanted, and identical segments appear different in length?

Optical illusions, different realities, and the behavioral benefits of vision errors: neuroscientist Bo Lotto explains how the brain creates visual illusions (optical illusions) and why the world is not really what it seems.

Take a close look at the floor tiles in the picture below. First, focus your attention on the tile that is directly below the houseplant, in the shade of the table. Then look at the tile on the right, which is outside the table.

Which one is brighter? Left?

Alas! In fact - and you can see this in the image below - the colors of the tiles are identical. This trick is known as the brightness illusion. We perceive an object against a light background as darker, in contrast to the same object against a dark background. This optical illusion occurs because our visual systems are tuned to perceive contrasts, which help us distinguish shapes (such as an advancing predator). It turns out that we do not always see things as they are.

As a neuroscientist who studies illusion at University College London, Beau Lotto knows all about the ways in which the brain tricks us, distorting reality for our evolutionary advantage. Nautil.us journalist Claire Cameron spoke with him about the fraudulent nature of perception and tried to figure out whether we will ever be able to see the world as it is.

The beautiful thing that visual illusions and optical illusions teach us is that everything we do is based on an assumption.

KK: What did the brightness illusion tell us about how we see?

B.L.: Everything we do is connected with our perception. Our experience of ourselves, other people, the world - everything we think about, believe in, understand, begins with perception. And brightness is a simple mode of visual perception whose function is limited to simply seeing light. The illusion of brightness tells us that even at the most basic level we cannot see everything. The brain has not evolved to the ability to see something absolute. It has evolved to acquire the ability to see relationships and look, which is more useful from a behavioral point of view. If it works with brightness, it must be true about a variety of things, even down to abstract concepts.

KK: Do you mean that we learn to navigate the world by recognizing patterns?

B.L.: Yes and no. The main problem is that our brains have evolved to deal with uncertainty—ambiguous information. Information does not tell us about ourselves; she doesn't tell us what to do. So the first thing the brain does when you look at images is it finds a pattern, which is nothing more than a statistical relationship. The pattern, the pattern itself, has no meaning, just like the meaningless image you are looking at. And you have no instructions on what to do. But as you interact with the world, you create either “good behavior,” which keeps you alive, or “bad behavior,” which leads to death. And your brain associates behavioral meanings with the drawing. It's the behavioral benefit you see. Or it could be a behavioral benefit that your ancestors saw long before you. As humans, we are encoded by our cultural history as much as we are by our evolutionary history.

KK: But can we find evidence of this coding in the human brain?

B.L.: Unfortunately, we know almost nothing about how all this works mechanically. We use bumblebees as a model because their brains contain about a million cells compared to our billions. And they see the same visual illusions that we see. Although the mechanisms may be different, the principles will remain the same. If we can understand the principles, we can understand the mechanisms and apply them to other systems, such as robots.

KK: You created a wearable device called LumaKey, which converts light into sound. For what?

B.L.: We wanted to create a new kind of experience that could be recorded. The physical structure of sound is very different from the physical structure of light. When we translate light into sound, the brain also receives visual information, and we can see how the acoustic system creates this sensation. The question is: will people be able to begin to “hear” visual illusions? This is one of the reasons we created LumaKey. Another reason is that it is potentially a wonderful way to make music.

K.K.: Is it possible to change our perception?

B.L.: I think so. The beautiful thing that visual illusions and optical illusions teach us is that everything we do is based on an assumption. If you look at an illusion without knowing that it is an illusion, you experience a sense of reality. But as soon as I show you that this is an optical illusion, your brain begins to do something amazing: it holds two realities that are at the same time mutually exclusive. The two tiles look different, but I know they are the same. Conceptually, this is not much different from the meaning of the phrase “I am experiencing one reality today, but I can imagine another reality tomorrow.” And the only way to learn to see differently is to become aware of it.

Why optical illusions trick our brains

People have been familiar with optical illusions for thousands of years. The Romans made 3D mosaics to decorate their homes, the Greeks used perspective to build beautiful pantheons, and at least one Paleolithic stone figurine depicts two different animals that can be seen depending on your point of view.

A lot can get lost on the way from your eyes to your brain. In most cases this system works great. Your eyes move rapidly and almost imperceptibly from side to side, delivering scattered pictures of what is happening to your brain. The brain organizes them, determines the context, putting the puzzle pieces together into something that makes sense.

For example, you are standing on a street corner, cars are passing through a pedestrian crossing, and the traffic light is red. Pieces of information add up to a conclusion: now is not the best time to cross the street. Most of the time this works great, but sometimes, even though your eyes are sending visual signals, your brain makes a mistake in trying to decipher them.

In particular, this often happens when templates are involved. Our brain needs them to process information faster, using less energy. But these same patterns can lead him astray. The brain also often makes mistakes about color. The same color can look different on different backgrounds. An optical illusion can also be created due to perspective.

Scientists suggest that the illusion is created due to the joint action of neural mechanisms at different levels: retinal neurons and neurons of the visual cortex. Due to the fact that the brain is familiar with the laws of perspective, it seems to you that the distant blue line is longer than the green one in the foreground. In fact they are the same length.

The next type of optical illusion is pictures in which you can find two images. The brain can also add color to pictures. Scientists still do not know what causes such illusions.

The brain creates an image from pieces of information received. Without this ability, we would not be able to drive a car or cross the road safely.
When you first learn to read, you read each letter, but then your brain remembers whole words, and as you read, you recognize them as a whole image, skimming over the first and last letters.

As you can see, despite the fact that our brain copes well with everyday tasks, in order to deceive it, it is enough to break the established pattern, use contrasting colors or the desired perspective.

And some more interesting visual deception:

Blue and green spirals are actually the same color - green. There is no blue color here.

Look here at the squares in the centers of the top and closest edges to you.

The brown square in the center of the top edge and the “orange” square in the center of the front edge are the same color.

Look carefully at the board. What color are cells “A” and “B”? Does “A” seem to be black and “B” white? The correct answer is below.

Cells “B” and “A” are the same color. Gray.

You can load the first picture into a graphics editor and compare the color of the cells yourself.

Does the lower part of the figure seem lighter? Use your finger to cover the horizontal border between the top and bottom of the shape.

Do you see a chessboard with black and white cells? The gray halves of black and white cells are the same shade. Gray color is perceived either as black or as white.

The horse figures have the same color.

How many colors are there, not counting white? 3? 4? In fact, there are only two - pink and green.

What color are the squares here? Only green and pink.

The science

It's amazing how easily the human brain can be tricked.

Many magicians and (not only) use this, but we ourselves can test how gullible our brain is.

Here are 10 very interesting illusions.

Some of them will be very difficult to believe.

Optical illusions

1. Dali Illusion

Image of Salvador Dali in profile and a strange woman.

2. Rabbit or duck

Can you spot the rabbit and duck in this image? One looks to the right, and the other to the left.

3. Spinning silhouette of a dancer.

In this unstable illusion, movement can be seen both clockwise and counterclockwise. Early on there was a rumor that this illusion could be used to determine which hemisphere is dominant in a person, but this turned out to be a myth.

4. Crawling snakes (or spinning circles).

You see a picture in front of you in which the figures are moving. In fact, everything on it is static, and your brain perceives the elements of the picture as if they were moving.

5. The terrible illusion of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

You may see an angry face (on the left) and a calm one (on the right) in front of you. Now step away from the monitor. The further you move away, the more clearly you see how the faces change places, and there is a calm face on the left, and an angry one on the right. This illusion shows that sometimes what we see is not what we really see.

6. Afterimage of a girl.

Look at the red dot for 30 seconds. After this, look at the ceiling or any white surface (a wall, for example) and blink quickly several times. You will see a picture of the girl in color.

7 . Illusioncolors

Look carefully - parts A and B seem to be of different colors. In fact, both pieces are the same color. To make sure of this, cover the junction of these parts with your finger.

8. Ponzo Illusion

Both green lines are the same length. This illusion takes advantage of the fact that the human brain displays everything in perspective, but it is only a 2D image.

9. Terrace

In this picture it is difficult to understand who is where.

10. MaskEinstein.

Marvelous. It doesn’t matter what we tell our brain, what matters is what the truth is. It is simply impossible to simply accept reality, instead of which we see an illusion.

In this article, you will learn what mental illusions are and how to learn to see mental illusions in your head.

In this article we will talk about what illusions of the mind are. To begin with, I want to say that the mind is a wonderful tool that Genesis has endowed us with. The mind is not the brain, there is no need to confuse them. Brain, body part. But at the same time, the mind can be both our greatest friend and our greatest “enemy.” If the mind is constantly droning in your head, it is an inner voice that constantly tells you what to do and what not to do.

We can’t even sleep normally because our mind is constantly buzzing. So, everything that the mind tells you about, everything that it thinks about is all illusions, it does not exist in reality. You need to understand this. Once again, everything you think about or your mind is not there. Why? Yes, because our thoughts are either about the past or about the future, mind you, often a negative future.

There are a lot of options for the development of events, but we are used to seeing everything in a negative light most often. This is all because we are unconscious. We don't understand that the mind is not us. We don't realize that this voice is inside us, not our voice. Anyone who has at least a modicum of awareness understands what is being said here because a conscious person has the opportunity to observe in his head all these shows and illusions that our mind gives us. The problem is that we believe him. Our mind deceives us and not because it is “bad” or wants to harm us, it is simply what it is if we are not aware. Even in India, there is a saying “the mind is Maya,” that is, an illusion.

THOUGHTS - THESE ARE JUST THOUGHTS. You shouldn’t take them too seriously and perceive them as absolute reality. Stop believing them. Thoughts have nothing to do with your life situation, with you, with the world.

I would like to give an example from the life of the spiritual teacher Etkhart Tolle and his incident in life, he talks about a woman who
loudly arguing with another person out loud in her head, no one was nearby, she just continued to angrily argue with a person who was no longer nearby:

What I witnessed left me somewhat disheartened. As an adult, twenty-five-year-old first-year student, I considered myself an intellectual, and was convinced that all answers could be found and all problems of human existence could be solved with the help of intellect, that is, thinking. At that time I did not yet understand that unconscious thinking and There is the fundamental problem of human existence. Professors seemed to me like sages who knew all the answers, and the university was a temple of knowledge. How could she be a part of all this?

Before entering the library, still thinking about the strange woman who was talking loudly to herself, I went into the men's room. I washed my hands and thought, “I hope I don’t end up like her.” The man standing next to me glanced in my direction, and I suddenly realized with shock that I had not only thought, but also muttered it out loud. “My God, I’m already the same as her,” flashed through my head. Wasn't my mind working as continuously as hers? There was little difference between us. The dominant emotion in her thinking seemed to be anger. In my case, anxiety prevailed. She thought out loud. I thought mostly to myself. If she's crazy, then everyone is crazy, including me. The difference is only in degree.

For a moment I was able to step back from my mind and see it as if from a deeper point. There was a brief shift from thinking to awareness. I was still in the men's room, only now alone, looking at the reflection of my face in the mirror. At the moment of separation from my mind, I laughed out loud. This may sound crazy, but my laughter came from a sane place. It was the laughter of a pot-bellied Buddha. " Life is not as serious as the mind makes it out to be " That's what the laughter seemed to communicate to me. But it was just a glimpse, and very soon it was forgotten. I spent the next three years in a state of anxiety and depression, completely identified with the mind. And before awareness returned to me, I happened to come very close to the thought of suicide, but then it was already much more than a glimpse. I freed myself from obsessive thinking and the imaginary “I” created by the mind.

We can conclude that not all problems can be solved with the mind; you also need to use your heart more often. It is important to understand that the only thing you need to pay attention to is our feelings regarding this or that aspect of our life, feelings best reflect what is, note feelings, not emotions, they need to be distinguished. Feelings are the only reality because we feel them now, and not somewhere in the past or future. I recommend watching the 2005 film “Revolver”; this film covers this topic very well, the topic of obsessive thinking.

Watch behind your thoughts and then you will see their illusory nature, and not take them for reality!!!

Let's summarize:

• everything you think about is an illusion, it doesn’t exist;
• all your ideas about life, the world and yourself are illusions of the mind;
• all your thoughts about yourself, what you can or cannot do, are illusions of the mind;
• all your ideas about anything or anyone are illusions of the mind.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true, it’s impossible to think about truth, as soon as you start thinking about it, truth ceases to be truth, because truth is only in the moment now, and thoughts are either in the past or in the future. The only thing that will help you get rid of illusions is the regular practice of MEDITATION.