CONSCIOUSNESS THEORY GROUP

One of the biggest unsolved mysteries of science is the nature of ordinary awareness. What actually happens in the universe when a human being moves from an unconscious state of deep sleep into wakeful perceiving and willful action? Are the Buddhists right who say All is Mind or the Materialists who say All is Matter?

Meeting at retired helicopter designer Arthur Young's Center for the Study of Consciousness, the founding members of the CTG included Saul-Paul Sirag, Nick Herbert, Jerry (Equal Rights for Robots) White and John Holmdahl. Together we represented expertise in math, physics, computer science and biology and resolved to attack the problem of ordinary awareness with good humor and all the intellectual means at our command. Later CTG met at Saul-Paul's apartment in San Francisco across from Henry Dakin's Washington Street Center with which we shared many common interests. Many members of CTG also participated in the Esalen Seminars on the Nature of Reality which took up broader issues than the mechanisms of ordinary awareness.

At CTG we explored many of the current computational and biological models of mind and invented a few new ones (notably Saul-Paul's Theory of Everything that includes not only what a physicist calls a Theory of Everything--particles and forces--but conscious experience as well). One of CTG's most enriching projects was the Jim Culbertson Week where some of us traveled to San Luis Obispo to share thoughts on mind matters with the little-known author of "Minds of Robots."
The Metaphase Typewriter--first attempt at an artificial quantum mind--was first conceived at a CTG meeting and many members and friends of CTG participated in its testing. Nick Herbert's book on consciousness "Elemental Mind" draws much of its insight from long and pleasant hours spent in the company of his CTG pals.


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