Scientists haven’t solved this still called “Hard Problem of Consciousness,” and a materialist solution is nowhere in sight. Not for lack of trying. Some, improving on Darwin, insist that chimpanzees really do think like people if you study them enough (no, they don’t). Others claim that artificial intelligence will soon surpass human intelligence. If so, that would be a credit to human intelligence because we created it.

Is The Mind Simply An Organ That Evolved Naturally?

AI capable of thinking like a human would be a philosophical problem, to be sure, because it would mean both that intelligence can create itself and that it can be instantiated in a non-biological form. However, such a development would not demonstrate that human intelligence is a material thing or that it arose from a material thing. If anything, it would more readily suggest the opposite.

Is Human Intelligence A Material Thing?

Neil Thomas, Reader Emeritus in the University of Durham, England and a longtime member of the British Rationalist Association notes the key role neuroscience has played in undermining a purely materialist account of the mind — an unexpected role for neuroscience, perhaps, but that’s what happened:”Neuroscientist Donald Hoffman, who once worked with DNA co-discoverer Francis Crick in attempting to crack the problem of human consciousness, recently conceded that the nature and origins of consciousness remain “completely unsolved” and may best be termed an eternal mystery.”

Undermining The Materialistic Account Of The Mind

The brusque and decidedly no-nonsense Crick was in the event fated to meet his Waterloo when it came to the subject of consciousness, explains Hoffman. Crick had at first attempted to explain it somewhat airily as nothing but an “emergent” property which “naturally” arose when matter reaches a certain level of complexity. However, he was at length obliged to withdraw that vacuous contention, conceding that there is nothing about conscious experience that is relatable to the physical stuff or material of the brain. Consciousness simply lies beyond our empirical perception and cognitive reach.

Consciousness Just Cannot “Arise Naturally” 

Hoffman develops the point further: “At the most microcosmic level the brain consists of subatomic particles which have qualities like mass, spin and charge. There is nothing about these qualities that relates to the qualities associated with consciousness such as thought, taste, pain or anxiety.” To suggest otherwise, continues Hoffman, would be like asserting that numbers might emerge from biscuits or ethics from rhubarb.

Numbers Just Cannot Emerge From Biscuits

Both Hoffman and Crick were finally forced to conclude that all purely physicalist theories of consciousness had failed to provide illumination and that the state of consciousness could not be explained in neurological terms, a conclusion powerfully endorsed for more than three decades by distinguished British neuroscientist Raymond Tallis in his long opposition to what he terms “Darwinitis.”Any physicalist theory of consciousness must reckon with the fact that consciousness deals with information, which is not a material thing and follows different principles from matter and energy.

Darwinitis

One outcome in science today is the rise of panpsychism, the view that all life forms participate in consciousness to at least some minimal. Panpsychism attracts many because it allows consciousness to be real rather than illusory (as per physicalism) but it remains in the same general thought world as, say, Hoffman — though not that of Richard Dawkins. Wallace himself, as Hoffman notes, came to embrace a sort of natural theology. He contributed to a number of streams of early twentieth-century thought, as Michael Flannery’s book Nature’s Prophet details.

Panpsychism

The bottom line seems to be that we are not only ignorant but, alas, prostrate in our ignorance of the brain’s arcana. Theoretically, of course, there may yet emerge an as yet undiscovered materialist explanation for the brain and human consciousness. But to date we must conclude that today’s science cannot with integrity support such a claim on the evidence presently available.In any event, neuroscience today could marshall as many arguments in support of Wallace’s view of the human mind than of Darwin’s.

Natural Selection Vs Natural Thrology

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) share the credit, technically, for the theory of evolution by natural selection but Darwin became the icon. One reason they parted ways was that Wallace did not agree with Darwin that the human mind was simply an organ that evolved naturally, like any other. There had to be something more to it.

Philosopher Neil Thomas points out how neuroscience today has undermined a purely materialist account of the mind — an unexpected role but that’s what happened.

The Battle Over the Human Mind That Split Two Great Thinkers

The Bet That Proved Passive (Index) Investing is Superior to Active Management

Gambling Verses Investing

Warren Buffett the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is one of the most successful investors of all time, he is also known as the “Oracle of Omaha.”

In a 2005 letter to the shareholders of his company wrote that active management professionals (hedge fund managers) not outperform individuals who used a passive (index) investing strategy over a ten-year period. To prove his sincerity in this belief he offered $500,000 (for charity) to anyone willing to accept his challenge.

Warren Buffett believed the large fees from active managers was not worth the cost. That in fact the exorbitant fees only enrichen the finance industry and hurt the consumer.

In 2007 hedge fund manager Ted Seides accepted the challenge. Buffet chose a low-cost Vanguard S&P fund and Seides picked five funds-of-funds with interests in more than 200 hedge funds to go up against Buffett. The official amount for the bet was 1 million dollars.

In December 2017, Buffett claimed victory, noting that the final tally has been an “eye-opener.” Buffett’s pick of a Vanguard S&P index fund delivered an average annual return of 8.5% compared to the fund-of-funds’ 2.4% average annual gain.

By the end of the bet on the $1 million invested in the funds chosen by Seides would have gained $220,000 in the same time period that Buffett’s low-fee investment would have earned $854,000.

Any individuals who invested in these hedge funds also lost out on making money. While at the same time the individuals running the hedge funds enjoyed “earning” their outrageous fees.

“Performance comes, performance goes, fees never falter.”-         Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett pointed out that:·        Making money on the stock market; "Does not require great intelligence, a degree in economics or a familiarity with Wall Street jargon."·        "What investors then need instead is an ability to both disregard mob fears or enthusiasms and to focus on a few simple fundamentals."·        "Stick with big, 'easy' decisions and eschew activity.”·        Buffett also sought to make it loud and clear that he doesn't think the exorbitant fees that hedge funds charge are worth it.

Buffett acknowledged a lesson learned from an interesting plot twist over the course of the bet.·        At the outset of the wager, Buffett and Seides bought about $300,000 worth U.S. Treasury bonds, widely considered a safe investment.·        The expectation was that the bonds would grow to about $1 million at the end of the decade, and the winner would claim the prize pool for charity.·        But, the bonds gave back "pathetic" returns, Buffett wrote.

Bonds

·        "Bonds had become a dumb -- a really dumb -- investment compared to American equities" or stock, he said.·        So, in 2012, Buffett and Seides dumped their Treasury bonds and used the money to buy B-class shares of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB).·        By the end of the bet, the Berkshire shares were worth $2,222,279 -- about $1.2 million more than they'd hope to earn with the bonds.·        In short, the "purportedly 'risk-free' long-term bonds" ended up being a "far riskier investment" than common stocks.

Bonds  Continued

Warren Buffett gave $2.2 million to the charity Girls Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska, after winning a 10-year bet that hedge fund managers couldn’t beat the stock market average, reports the Omaha World-Herald.

John Clifton "Jack" Bogle (May 8, 1929 – January 16, 2019) was an American investor, business magnate, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive of The Vanguard Group, and is credited with creating the first index fund. An avid investor and money manager himself, he preached investment over speculation, long-term patience over short-term action, and reducing broker fees as much as possible. The ideal investment vehicle for Bogle was a low-cost index fund held over a lifetime with dividends reinvested and purchased with dollar cost averaging.

“If a statue is ever erected to honor the person who has done the most for American investors, the hands down choice should be Jack Bogle.”-         Warren Buffett

For more insight and information on passive (index) investing a good source is Jack Bogle’s book:<ul><li>Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor</li></ul>

“Net return is simply the gross return of your investment portfolio less the costs you incur. Keep your investment expenses low, for the tyranny of compounding costs can devastate the miracle of compounding returns.”-         John C. Bogle

“Wise investors won't try to outsmart the market.”-         John C. Bogle Attempting get rich schemes may very well lead to going broke quickly.Trying to get rich quick is gambling it is not investing.

Attempting get rich schemes may very well lead to going broke quickly. Trying to get rich quick is gambling it is not investing.

Investing Verses Gambling

Looking probably isn’t something you need to practice. People believe they can apprehend a painting at a glance. They read coworkers’ messages and assume they understand a situation. Or they witness an event and tell others what happened, confident that their memory captured a perfect historical record. Yet, while looking may come naturally, it’s not the same as perceiving.

Looking At Something

Research has shown that people’s <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/">recollection of events</a> is more personal reconstruction than mental recording. Fortunately, perception is a skill you can improve through practice and effort.Visual Intelligence is the ability to assess, analyze, articulate, and adapt to visual information in one’s environment.Visual intelligence can enhance your:<ul><li>Situational awareness (knowing and articulating your physical situation)</li><li>Long-term situational awareness (knowing and articulating your life situation).</li></ul>

More Than What Meets The Eye: Visual Intelligence

<ul>
<li>Assess your situation. Ask: What do I have in front of me? What information is here?</li>
<li>Analyze the information. Break it down and decide what’s important.</li>
<li>Articulate your observations. Put them into words.</li>
<li>Adapt to the situation. Take the information from the first three A’s, make a decision, and act on it.</li>
</ul>

The Four A's Of Visual Intelligence

Stashed ideas

The Four A’s of visual intelligence

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Intelligence is often thought of in terms of logic, thinking, and information processing. </li><li class="ql-align-justify"> Intelligence is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal. It can help you get a career in almost any field and make it your specialty.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Intelligence, in essence, is your ability to think logically, understand abstract concepts, and learn quickly.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">It’s also the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn when necessary. Highly intelligent people can learn quickly and retain information for a long time.</li></ul>

Defining Intelligence

<ul><li> The ability to learn and retain new information is the ultimate sign of high intelligence.</li><li>Peak intelligence occurs when a person’s mental abilities are at their highest, and they can produce the best results possible.</li><li>High intelligence is a skill, but it’s rare.</li><li>High intelligence makes you a better person because you will be able to see things from different perspectives and come up with more creative solutions to problems.</li></ul>

High Intelligence

Jeff Bezos says improve your ability to change your mind when you find better knowledge. Elon Musk says, “It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree.”According to Steve Jobs, A lot of [what it means to be smart] is the ability to zoom out, like you’re in a city and you could look at the whole thing from the 80th floor down at the city. And while other people are trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B reading these stupid little maps, you could just see it in front of you. You can see the whole thing.

Intelligence Defined By Great Business Leaders

The 80th-floor intelligence is like improving your “bird’s eye view” skills. First, you have to learn how to learn deeper and broader to accumulate experience and better knowledge.You can only make better connections if you already have the right knowledge. So to improve your intelligence, gather more insight from great sources, choose your knowledge sources wisely, learn from people more intelligent than you, and read books you are willing to reread repeatedly.

The Macro View

<ul><li>Improving your intelligence is about stacking experience and applying lessons from good sources. You can only zoom out if you know what you are looking at. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.</li><li>Openness to wide and deep experiences outside your comfort zone will change your life. It will also improve your thinking lens.</li><li>Intellectual curiosity is key to peak intelligence. It’s also one of the best predictors of success. Curiosity is at the core of scientific discoveries.</li></ul>

The Thinking Lens

To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else

Your ability to spot better life and career patterns, make more brilliant connections and predict good outcomes depend on your ability to pause, zoom out and visualize the bigger picture.

Spotting The Patterns

Intelligence is often thought of in terms of logic, thinking, and information processing. It’s this logical and rational side of ourselves. However, intelligence isn’t just about having a logical…

The 80th-floor Genius: Steve Jobs’ Definition of High Intelligence

People think stupidity is the opposite of intelligence. In fact, stupidity is the cost of intelligence operating in a complex environment.
Stupidity can be defined as overlooking or dismissing conspicuously crucial information.
It’s crucial information: You better pay attention to it. It’s conspicuous: It’s right in front of your nose and yet you either overlook it or you dismiss it.

Defining Stupidity

<ul><li>Being outside your normal environment or changing your routines.</li><li>Being in the presence of a group(social pressure).</li><li>Being in the presence of an expert or if you, yourself, are an expert.</li><li>Doing any task that requires intense focus, or fixating on a particular outcome.</li><li>Information overload. </li><li>Physical or emotional stress, fatigue. </li><li>Rushing or urgency.</li></ul>The probability of missing key information (stupidity) increases the more the above factors are present.

Seven Factors that Lead to Stupidity

Most of the factors are ubiquitous in modern-day life such as stress, rushing, and information overload. Therefore, our modern life is already susceptible to missing key information and making stupid mistakes.All factors are present in US hospitals. Medical errors are the third-leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.

Modern Life And Stupidity

<ul><li>Recognize and know that you are in ”the stupid zone”</li><li>Pause. Just sit. Stop, before leaving your environment. If you can’t sit still for a minute, you don’t have the time not to!</li><li>Have a buddy whose job is to watch us. That is their only task, and can’t have the same responsibility as us. Have your own “pit crew”.</li><li>Don’t make decisions or do anything when in the stupid zone. For example, don’t sign a contract or drive.</li></ul>

The Solution

Stupidity is not the opposite of intelligence.

Stupidity is overlooking or dismissing conspicuously crucial information. Here are seven situational factors that compromise your cognitive ability and result in increased odds of stupidity.

The Battle Over the Human Mind That Split Two Great Thinkers

Investing Verses Gambling

The Four A’s of visual intelligence

The 80th-floor Genius: Steve Jobs’ Definition of High Intelligence

How Not to Be Stupid - Farnam Street

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