Is a hive mind more likely than you think ?

[mike]

http://www.scaruffi.com/science/language.html

Ultimately, "communication" is about one brain trying to replicate some kind of neural pattern into another brain. Language uses sounds (or written symbols) to induce such a mental replication. Those sounds (symbols) are structured in such a way as to interact with the neural process of the other brain and cause it to create a specific neural pattern (that’s what we call "understanding"). This is an error-prone process that requires a lot of interaction, due to the fact that each brain is slightly different. But the goal is to eventually transmit a neural pattern from one brain to another. That pattern could be a scene or a story, if we are "narrating" something, or it could be a belief if we are trying to "convince" of something, or a concept if we are trying to explain something, etc. It is a pattern that already exists in our brain and we want to recreate it in the brain of our interlocutor.

 

[thefoundryman]

Interesting thoughts Mike. With complete telepathy there is no secrets, no privacy, and no need for either.

 

[dyingsun]

Which will never happen.It is an interesting thought though.

 

[Kevin Daly]

Hive mind is an unnecessary concept.

It was first proposed to explain or at least talk conceptually about the apparently intelligent collective behaviour of species which have little or no individual intelligence, such as hive insects.
This behaviour has in recent years been demonstrated to be (like the flocking behaviour of birds) the result of each individual following a relatively simple set of programmed responses to stimuli and circumstances, much like shoppers. There is no mind or even coordinating agency.

Assuming the possiblity of a true hive mind arising in an intelligent species (and there is no reason to believe it is possible, but then we have a sample of one. Or point five), it's not clear what evolutionary advantage this would bring. Remember that classic Demotivator: "Teamwork: Because None Of Us Is As Dumb As All Of Us".

 

[BrandonD]

Assuming the possiblity of a true hive mind arising in an intelligent species (and there is no reason to believe it is possible, but then we have a sample of one. Or point five), it's not clear what evolutionary advantage this would bring.

"It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value."
-Arthur C Clarke

 

[mike]

Which will never happen.It is an interesting thought though.

never say never........................

http://www.physorg.com/news137863959.html

thats just the start though, once the function is perfected, we will eventually do away with the implants/devices, and simply GM our brains to duplicate the process organically.

why would you give your child a BCI that does this ?

for the same reason you give them a laptop and internet connection. the same reason you pay to send them to University....... its an improvement, an advantage.......

 

[Tommy Allison]

Hive mind, no. That would require an intellect, and brain power far beyond the normal human.

Herd Mind, yes. Every human on this planet I've met can be turned from a human, into a sheep with the right words or stimuli.

 

[thefoundryman]

Would not a society of complete telepaths, be a hive mind? Guess it depends what we mean by 'hive mind'. It is inevitable that we will all communicate telepathically eventually. Just stop for a second and think about the clarity of detail, when i empathize to you that I am hungry, you would know and feel exactly how hungry I was. The ego tends to shrivel when pondering the complete psychic society oneness, but in fact everyone would be unique in the way that they sense and interpret the world, much like the unique sound of your voice. when I listen to you empath an experience to me, I get to experience it AS you, whereas it would be a completely separate thing if I were to have the same experience. Tommy, your 'herd mind' idea was right in front of me as I caught a bus today, about 50 people were all huddled together exactly like cows do in inclement weather (it was pretty frickin cold here today), so I have to laugh having seen a first rate example of it. However, Jungian-mass-consciousness, or whatever Edgar Cayce was tapping into, now that is something that unites us all telepathically, beyond the herd mentality.