> [Ken]
> [And please forgive me for my having to state things as
> I have stated them here. The fact that the work I've done
> in Physics remains unpublished is none of my doing. I've
> begged and begged for a publication opportunity. All I
> ever get is 'bashed' by folks who were coersed into
> becoming relatively-exclusively 'familiar' with the 'parcel-
> ized' view of physical reality, and "hell hath no fury like
> a [theory] scorned" :-] which leads into the 'heart' of the
> nervous system dynamics that are actually the most-sig-
> nificant stuff that needs to be communicated. It's the stuff
> through which non-sense is perpetuated, even in the so-
> called "hard science" realm of Physics, and the non-sense
> so perpetuated Ravages all of Humanity.
>
[Alex]
There are a lot of theories around. People like Linde, Penrose and
Gell-Mann get theirs published because they are 'great men' of
physics. Eccles got his theories published because he was a great man
of neurophysiology. This seems reasonable to me and is a fitting
recognition of their contributions.
As an 'outsider' a person must find some unexplained experimental
result and explain it AND must predict a further set of experiments.
This is tough in consciousness studies because there are few aspects
of experience that only depend on consciousness. Until one of their
predictions is fulfilled the best that the theorist can achieve is to
influence the spirit of the age so that people start looking in the
'right' direction. Of course, sadly for the theorists, most theories
are wrong.
What we, as theorists, must remember is that editors of journals must
'hold the line'. It is quite correct for us to argue with them if we
feel that they are depriving humanity of a great insight but everyone
from the crackpot to the lucky scientist with a good, explanatory
theory will argue. If respected journals were to carry unsupported
theories that their readership believed to be nonsense they would no
longer be respected journals.
So, as a theorist in consciousness studies, what new prediction about
consciousness are you making and how might it be tested? Give us your
best shot.
Best Wishes
Alex Green