How limited is the human brain?

I have recently read many alleged reports and stories of alien contact with humans. During these interviews (See: Lacerta Files, Whisper in the Galaxy), it was acertained that we humans' brains are so limited as to compare as with themselves (the aliens) would be to compare a human mind to either a) Ants or b) Dogs.

That we 'can't handle the truth' as Jack Nicholson once raged, of the nature of the universe is the general message I keep hearing. That our capacity for understanding is limited either by pre-programming, or by our physical inability to comprehend. (akin to trying to teach a Dog the fine points of philosophy).

Now here I am wondering. Firstly the first side of the arguement is that we assume the truth of the aliens existence. Either we further assume the credibility of said aliens, that they were both telling the truth. If we truly are the intellectually disabled of the universe, then my question is why not use the smallest words possible and explain the 'true' nature of the universe with visual aids, etc. And more to the point WHY can't we understand? Would this mean because we are limited in our understanding as we only have our 5 senses to interpret this universe through?

The second side of the arguement is that the alien stories are merely stories and were invented by humans themselves for whatever purpose. If this is 'true' then why do the apparently unrelated people all seem to share the same thought that the human mind couldn't handle the truth? My thinking here is that saying we couldn't understand would point to the likelihood that the story is just a story, as the author themselves would have no comprehension of the truth of the nature of the universe either. It's a nice save, in other words.

I'm just wondering what conclusions others have come to?

A lot of people's alien/ghost/paranormal experiences were conjured from within the brain itself.

The brain is a very powerful thing - but that doesn't mean we have control of it.

It will be alot simpler just to say youll never understand... and then become weak because you never challenged yourself. I think we have a mass of weak minded and deluded people who come to one conclusion and shut their eyes. Read EVERYTHING and then decide what it is you will worship.

I believe in many ways it is unlimited............Look at how far we have come in just the last hundred years in our 7,000 year history of man. This may sound inane, but the mind is more powerful than the brain. If there are limits to the brain, there are no limits to the mind. I believe them to be separate, though they work together, kinda like a computer and the internet, you can have one without the other,but together they are powerful.

reply to post by azurecara


To the stem...

Had to say that, sorry. Beyond one line is as good as having a complete thought that ends right here.

How limited is the human brain?

Is it possible to understand the human mind , to transcend the limits of thought........using the human mind ?


I think its an intriguing quandary.

Richard Dawkins described humans as "middle earthers" , adapted to a strata of understanding suitable to our needs , once we begin to move away from the scale of our environment i.e rocks rivers trees mountains etc etc and into the microcosmic or macro cosmic ....... things get sketchy.


This is were mathematics takes over , this is were we transcend the limitations of four dimensions , but it seems our draw back is trying to match the mathematics to the theories and vice versa .
Language , for all that it has done to advance the human race , is holding us back . We can only piggyback so far on metaphors & similes etc.
Then we hit a counter~intuitive brick wall . ( another metaphor eh )

But hey , who knows ....the next bright mind of the 21st century could be finishing their paradigm busting revelation as we speak !

\add word/

[edit on 26-11-2008 by UmbraSumus]

I believe the brain is only as limited as the information it receives. In other words, the more exposure to different data from the senses the more it grows. I also believe that people are only limited to that which they understand. In a classroom environment, students will take in new information at different rates and that information is usually taken in based on past experiences. So basically IMO, the mind is only limited by the ability of the teacher to explain concepts in ways people will understand.

reply to post by rikk7111


Personally I think were going backwards. There are countless sources on how people built weapons we would never thought that they could build back then.

Then over the centuries different cultures have copied off each other egyptians, sumarians, greeks, etc. you can find each of there types of buildings and statues in the other countries and look at the US we got all types of monuments and buildings we have they look like they came straight from greece and egypt besides the fact we never built a pyramid.

My other reason for this is look at how we clothe ourselves, first nothing then gradually more and more clothing and nothing where going backwards with less and less clothing being worn.

Most of our medicines are based on plants that medicinemen used 6-700 years ago.

We've lost the system of family/groups/clans or saftey in numbers everybody is about "me" and back then everybody was about the society or culture surviving

Alot of stuff we already had in the real old days but we just forgot about it like running water, steam power etc. the roman empire had those then after they fell it was like we got b***h slapped back a few inventions.

The only thing to me that seems to have changed is that we do the same s**t we did then just faster and sometimes in a new way but it serves the same purpose as the orginal idea so we havent done anything that is completly different than what humans did in the past.

There are only a couple of things I see that we have truly learned in the pass few centuries. Bacteria, Self Intrest thats about it.

Mostly everything else can be tied back to older inventions in some way
example : all weapons are just improvements on ones before.

Originally posted by kvaniu
reply to post by rikk7111

 

Personally I think were going backwards. There are countless sources on how people built weapons we would never thought that they could build back then.

Then over the centuries different cultures have copied off each other egyptians, sumarians, greeks, etc. you can find each of there types of buildings and statues in the other countries and look at the US we got all types of monuments and buildings we have they look like they came straight from greece and egypt besides the fact we never built a pyramid.

My other reason for this is look at how we clothe ourselves, first nothing then gradually more and more clothing and nothing where going backwards with less and less clothing being worn.

Most of our medicines are based on plants that medicinemen used 6-700 years ago.

We've lost the system of family/groups/clans or saftey in numbers everybody is about "me" and back then everybody was about the society or culture surviving

Alot of stuff we already had in the real old days but we just forgot about it like running water, steam power etc. the roman empire had those then after they fell it was like we got b***h slapped back a few inventions.

The only thing to me that seems to have changed is that we do the same s**t we did then just faster and sometimes in a new way but it serves the same purpose as the orginal idea so we havent done anything that is completly different than what humans did in the past.

There are only a couple of things I see that we have truly learned in the pass few centuries. Bacteria, Self Intrest thats about it.

Mostly everything else can be tied back to older inventions in some way
example : all weapons are just improvements on ones before.

The technology that I'm speaking of is like computers and nano-tec and things on that matter...........Now you have a point in that has any of this stuff really help out mankind. In many ways we are going backwards, in our morals, compassion, and the worth of life........To many life is money, fame, and who has the most toys...........Its funny, some of the happiest people I know are poor and just have common since...............Sounds good to me...

Is it possible to understand the human mind , to transcend the limits of thought........using the human mind ?

Essentially yes, this is the summation of the dilemma. I believe fundamentally our limits, as such, are only those imposed on us by our narrow perceptions. These perceptions are a combination of our personal experiences, our belief structures, our perhaps 'limiting' sensoral input, the social structure and position we find ourselves within it, and our own self-definition or identity - both our personal identity and our group identity. (Perhaps to name a few). So the only limits we have, are the ones we give ourselves.


I have read that the path a Buddist must take to true enlightenment, is to divorce oneself of all that is "earthly", if you will. To break all ties with loved ones, or friends, and to isolate oneself from earthly desires - all material possessions. And to dedicate oneself to the pure mental pursuits of meditation, and the seeking of enlightenment. However, the right time of life to pursue this ascension was after one had become a grandparent. I can only surmise that it was encouraged to first raise and support your family to adulthood before divesting yourself of them.

From this angle though, the path to opening your mind to a higher level of thinking would be to utterly disconnect from your earthly life.

However in the realm of mathematics, a truly abstract mode of thought, I'm sure none of them are old naked men wandering about the wilderness in search of an original thought or idea....