Schizophrenia (split from Evolutionary role of diversity of personality)

[Michael McMahon]

32 minutes ago, Peterkin said:

What is 'spirituality', exactly?

 

Spirituality is a vast concept with innumerable variations that roughly concerns consciousness, empathy and mortality. If you believe in reincarnation then a personality change is like a death of your past self. What would happen if a 20 year old had the mindfulness of an 80 year old? Or if an elderly person acquired the curiosity typical of a young person? The sensations of age are all hidden somewhere in the brain. If the brain activated a level of focus from a different period in one's life then it'd be easy to see how the mismatch could result in spiritual misinterpretation.

[Peterkin]

Okay, now I'm officially lost. Have no idea how any of this is supposed to work, or what it has to do with reality.

[Genady]

Nothing like this has been found in connection with schizophrenia AFAIK:

Quote

Scientists identify overgrowth of key brain structure in babies who later develop autism

Research led by UNC-Chapel Hill scientists is the first to demonstrate overgrowth of the amygdala in the first year of life, before babies show most of the behavioral symptoms that later consolidate into a diagnosis of autism

Scientists identify overgrowth of key brain s | EurekAlert!

[Michael McMahon]

On 3/24/2022 at 7:50 PM, Peterkin said:

Have no idea how any of this is supposed to work, or what it has to do with reality.

 

I'm merely speculating but perhaps one difference between autism and neurotypical individuals is a capacity to form preconceptions of others. They say never to judge a book by its cover but we meet so many strangers and acquaintances that we're left without all the information to form an impartial impression of them. Even long-time friends don't always give you a full story of their background or their beliefs and many of our interactions are based on varying degrees of uncertainty and inferences. Being able to judge someone with the little amount of cues they give you in an introduction is a challenge for our sense of empathy. For example I'm so used to living in a medium-sized town that when I venture on holidays to a capital city like Dublin or London, I'm left somewhat nervous by the sheer number of extra people in every direction. I'm sure if you were living in a large city all your life that you'd be able to zone out not only the noises of the hectic atmosphere but also the endless number of changing faces that pass you by. Our time is finite and so we'll never be able to get to know everyone on a main street but hypothetically if you could freeze time and befriend those hundreds of pedestrians then you'd realise how challenging our sense of empathy and transcendence is by having severely overloaded it. 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Michael McMahon

[Michael McMahon]

Perhaps a dilemma with the scientific worldview is that we momentarily objectify a person. For example I know that someone has a mind but that I’ve to quickly interpret them as a physical brain before appreciating their unique perception of time. The dilemma is that this strategy might be too idealistic where the reflexes might be slowed. The brain is simply too complex and mysterious. We’ve to view them as a mind first and a brain second. A short-cut to do this is to imagine a person as purely temporal as if they had no brain. This is exemplified in cartoons where the characters have a literal air-head!

 

Toy Story | The Toy's Meet Buzz Lightyear

[Phi for All]

On 4/11/2022 at 7:34 PM, Michael McMahon said:

I'm merely speculating but perhaps one difference between autism and neurotypical individuals is...

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Moderator Note

This isn't a section for speculation. Especially on the topic of autism, let's stick to peer-reviewed studies and leave fiction alone. I'm closing this thread.