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The Hidden Spring, by Mark Solms Review

Summary:
The Riddle of Consciousness Solved. AI may be superfast, but to compete with us - or to even outsmart us - it has to use enormous amounts of energy, whereas the human brain only runs on about 20 Watts. Why are we so efficient: Mark Solms says it's because we rely on feelings rather than stimuli and reaction like AI and machines have to do? With feelings, we can process a whole lot of things at once and make very good predictions and assumptions.I remember as a young lad and often being chased by a gang of older boys, and having to make some lightning fast decisions: a 20 foot barbed wire fence, a tree, a river, high shed roofs - all far too dangerous - but I would be over them in a jiffy - no sweat, just a cut hand or a leg afterwards.  Then I would run all the away home with no tears,

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 The Riddle of Consciousness Solved. 

AI may be superfast, but to compete with us - or to even outsmart us - it has to use enormous amounts of energy, whereas the human brain only runs on about 20 Watts. Why are we so efficient: Mark Solms says it's because we rely on feelings rather than stimuli and reaction like AI and machines have to do? With feelings, we can process a whole lot of things at once and make very good predictions and assumptions.

I remember as a young lad and often being chased by a gang of older boys, and having to make some lightning fast decisions: a 20 foot barbed wire fence, a tree, a river, high shed roofs - all far too dangerous - but I would be over them in a jiffy - no sweat, just a cut hand or a leg afterwards.  Then I would run all the away home with no tears, but when I saw my mates and all the other kids I knew in my street, they would ask me what had happened, and I would start sobbing while rubbing my eyes, and say, "some big boys tried to beat me up", and then my mates older brothers would say, "we'll get them", and off they would run in the direction that I had come. I would feel loved and safe at this point, but this is not how I felt all the time there, as living on a suburban council estate was often tricky, with quite a lot of complexity to negotiate. One of my friends brothers shot me at close range with an airgun once, which was very painful. I never liked him much again after that, but I did fall in love with his mum. All my mates did. 

Most scientists say we don't have free will, and that everything is subject to cause and effect, but if we can change outcomes for the better, then that would give us a massive evolutionary advantage. So, if we have consciousness and feelings, we may have some wiggle from for making different decisions too. This doesn't mean to say that the future isn't already in place, but it is our free will which has made the future what it is. A very advanced computer may be able to work out every decision I will ever make, if it could also work out every cause and effect that will ever occur in the universe, but I would still have free will. (I'm still working on this one, BTW, so dont ask me to try to explain it better). 


The physicists have trouble with this, but not so much the biologists. I said once before in the comments section here that animals feel they have free will too. 


Free will similar in animals, humans - but not so free

The free will that humans enjoy is similar to that exercised by animals as simple as flies, a scientist has said.


Free will similar in animals, humans - but not so free


The Hidden Spring by Mark Solms review – the riddle of consciousness solved? 


I feel therefore I am ... In this fascinating study, a neuropsychologist argues that the mystery of consciousness centres on emotions


Advanced AI uses loads of power, but the human brain uses just 20w.

“The brain works with 20 watts. This is enough to cover our entire thinking ability.” 

The German brain researcher and biochemist Henning Beck about the most flawed yet most ingenious structure in the world – the human brain.

Advanced AI uses loads of power, but the human brain uses just 20w.


Living on a council estate was often tricky, but believe it or not, this is still far more advanced than AI. 


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Mike Norman
Mike Norman is an economist and veteran trader whose career has spanned over 30 years on Wall Street. He is a former member and trader on the CME, NYMEX, COMEX and NYFE and he managed money for one of the largest hedge funds and ran a prop trading desk for Credit Suisse.

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