Conciousness without a brain?

[onemind]

Hi, I recently listened to a talk by a quite famous buddhist monk who was talking about how science isn't any closer to understanding what conciousness really is. This monk has a Phd in theoretical physics from Cambridge University. He used an example of what i presume was some kind of neuro scientist named John Lorber from the University of Sheffield who was doing research of people that seemed too have no, or very little brain matter. He told of a 19 yr old mathematics major who was very intelligent and yet had no brain.

 

I figured if this was real, there would be tons of writing about it but all i can find on the web is paranormal and pseudo science sites with this research.

 

Have any neuro scientists or anyone else for that matter here heard of this?

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Peels]

I googled a little bit earlier this year about this topic. Among many articles read, I highly recommend this review article to anyone interested in this topic about Prof. John Lorber's work:

 

"Exploding the 10 percent myth" from Science & Consciousness Review (September, 2004)

 

http://www.sci-con.org/articles/20040901.html

[PhDP]

He told of a 19 yr old mathematics major who was very intelligent and yet had no brain.

 

I don't know why, but I'm skeptical...

 

You have references or anything ?

[onemind]

Thanks for the link Peels

 

That gives me a bit more info to search with.

Cheers

[VikingF]

He told of a 19 yr old mathematics major who was very intelligent and yet had no brain.

 

I figured if this was real' date=' there would be tons of writing about it but all i can find on the web is paranormal and pseudo science sites with this research.

[/quote']

 

Without a brain, wouldn't he be dead?!

 

..or at least a ghost.

[Mokele]

I call BS on the "no brain" bit. No brain = no respiration = dead.

 

Mokele

[Ophiolite]

Consciousness without a brain? Admin, shouldn't this be in the politics section?

[mezarashi]

I believe in the existence of this "spritual energy". I think the best evidence for this is when people go into a coma, and then one day they just "wake up". They say that sometimes doctors can't explain why a patient is dying. His/her bodily functions are all working, but its like they are slipping out further away. They say a person immediately after death has the chemical composition possible for life, but yet they are dead. There's something beyond that science...

[Mokele]

There's something beyond that science...

 

"To surrender to ignorance and call it God is, and always has been, premature"

- Isaac Asimov

 

Just because we don't know why it happens *now* doesn't mean there isn't a scientific solution, only that we don't know it yet due to limitations in tools or knowledge. Science is always a work in progress.

 

Mokele