
The Pseudo-Time Arrow - crunchiebones
https://qualiacomputing.com/2018/11/28/the-pseudo-time-arrow-explaining-phenomenal-time-with-implicit-causal-structures-in-networks-of-local-binding/
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nxc18
I've done LSD and thought this was particularly interesting and insightful.

I was skeptical of the idea of trying to apply a formal framework to it, but
the results of the model are the closest I've seen to an explanation of my
experience.

I was particularly fascinated by time. At some point in my first (and only)
trip, my unconscious 'timeline' stopped working.

The tricky thing about time is that it is always exactly right now. Conscious
experience, as the author recognizes, emerges from processes that happen some
time before the experience happens - e.g. I looked around the room to
understand my environment, but right now, I can only see my phone and a narrow
cone around that - my experience of everything else is an echo of my previous
experience.

I'm concerned that the article is pseudo science bullshit - I'd love to hear
other opinions from more experienced folks. Any neurologists around?

Edit: I took another look and am also very interested in the briefly mentioned
memory trackers. I got the distinct feeling during my trip that I could
experience my thoughts 'refreshing' themselves. It strikes me that there must
be data structures encoded in the brain, and that these data structures might
need to be kept alive through repetition (similar to how you might do to
consciously remember a long number, for example). Feelings!= fact, so I'd love
to hear other thoughts as well!

~~~
strainer
Its a bit of a loose tour of theories, but certainly not bullshit. I spot
things I disagree with like the widely held idea that Einsteins physics rules
out an "absolute frame", the sense of that depends on a certain restriction of
what absolute means in relation to a time/space frame. We are in a local
time/space frame which is connected to and consistent with nearby and all
connected frames. It is absolute in the sense that it is continuous, its just
hard to visualize the 'superframe' which is the product of all the local
frames. A satellite experiment successfully confirmed the Earths rotation
causing our nearby frame to "shift", or rather rotate.

Many would disagree with that contention of mine, the depth of my
understanding, and language used - it surely could be improved and
occasionally is by an experienced experts advice. Similarly, this article I
think will be full of such potential disagreements and corrections but that
doesnt mean its not a well written and valuable exploration of the extensive
subject of meanings and perceptions of time.

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strainer
Its a good article with stimulating ideas I should take the time to read
properly, but it seems to omit this feature of the arrow of time which I have
noticed: In a basic gravitational simulation time would be completely
reversible except that quantised integration is lossy.

If data could be recorded to infinite precision it would be possible to
integrate the simulation back and forth between any two points in time and
thus re-calculate separate states precisely and repeatedly, there would be no
irreversible arrow. The only reason I see that for example, a simulated glass
will not perfectly reassemble itself after being virtually smashed is that
quantization noise accumulates on every iteration, and in accordance with the
'butterfly effect' the noise which enters at the units of least precision,
also trickles upward in significance on every iteration. But if a simulation
was run using enormous word lengths for all its data then the noise would have
longer to travel (up the word-lengths) until it made a significant difference
to the virtual model. The model data might also be clipped at intervals in an
attempt to remove this 'direction dependent noise'.

Theoretical ideas about time which consider analog system real numbers or
values of matter might not notice this effect, that the state of things
becoming more intertwinned with each other through time, which ever direction
viewed from, requires more and more precision to represent. It would not be a
problem with infinite precision math.

I dont know about the precision scheme of the physical universe, it sounds
like quantum physics does find limits.

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empath75
The more slowly decaying past makes the appeal of trance music much easier to
understand. It’s a series of loops, every beat a kick, every other a snare,
every 4 a baseline, and so on. Everything reinforcing the past until it all
locks together. I’ve had experiences where I felt like time stopped entirely
on the dance floor — even completely sober, but especially on mdma or lsd.

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barbarr
This reads like Sokal's fake psychology article [1] - is this a prank? I'm
sure there are many interesting concepts in here, but the author is going to
have a really tough time reaching people with the article's current usage of
vocabulary. I'm sure a lot of the text could be rewritten in a clearer and
more accessible form; if not, at least a summary, abstract, or conclusion
could help.

[1]
[https://physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/transgress_v2/transgre...](https://physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/transgress_v2/transgress_v2_singlefile.html)

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empath75
I think it's pretty accessible? Not sure what you had trouble understanding.

Though I think it would be better without all the stuff about psychedelics. It
makes people doubt the whole thing.

~~~
vokep
That's people's problem then, because if you're trying to study consciousness
and the borders of it, the only realistic way to do that is modifying it and
seeing how things change. Then theories can be made and tested etc.
Psychedelics are naturally great for this as they change consciousness in such
radical ways, and many have the feeling that during psychedelic experience
they are exposed to the inner workings of their mind rendered in various ways.
If there's truth to it, then psychedelics are quite seriously the best
scientific tool of the mind we have available.

Reasonable arguments can be made as to how psychedelics are discussed and used
to test theories, but the involvement of them in the first place in studying
consciousness seems trivially obvious. All other psychoactive substances are
applicable as well, but psychedelics seem to be most revealing and applicable.

