Is information really stored in the brain?
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My answer is yes and no ... I have been thinking about this topic for a while now and the more I think and research about it the more things seem to be falling in place. So I decided to create a hub about it and get your opinion.
In order for you to see where i'm coming from i'll go through it step by step.
The Soul
We all know or have an idea of what a soul is, so i will not go into an explanation of it.
After watching the movie called 21grams, I learnt that when a person dies there is a weight loss of 21grams, thus proving that humans have a soul. After some research I found the following,
Dr Duncan MacDougall of Haverhill, Massachusetts conducted an experiment in 1907 to observe the weight of patients before, during and after the death of the patient. He placed them on a specially designed bed but could only record 4 decent observations out of 6 total patients. The first result showed that at the time of death the loss of weight in his first patient was an instant drop of 21.3 grams. The next few patients had varying results but all did have a drop in weight between 14.2 grams to 35.4 grams. He also did this experiment on 15 dogs and noted that there was absolutely no loss in weight during the whole experiment. This kind of experiment however, has not been carried out again.
These results, however are not enough to scientifically prove that a soul does exist, nor does it prove that dogs do not have souls. It was a work in progress which had to be terminated due to moral reasons.
Now the following items are defined below,
1. The computer memory
2. The Cache
3. Routers in Computer Networks
Memory
“In computing, memory refers to the physical devices used to store programs on a temporary or permanent basis for use in a computer or other digital electronic device.”
Cache
“CPU cache is a cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average time to access memory. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from the most frequently used hard drive locations.”
A cache is a temporary storage once the computer is shut down, all information is lost.
If you want to test your own systems cache then open a program like Microsoft word for the first time and note how long it takes to open up, then close the program and open it up again. You’ll see, that the second time you open MS word, it will actually open almost instantly without loading anything. This is because all the data was accessed from the cache and not the hard drive.
Routers
“A router is a device that forwards data between networks. A router is connected to two or more data lines from different networks. When data comes in on one of the lines, the router reads the address information in the packet to determine its ultimate destination. Then, using information in its routing table or routing policy, it directs the packet to the next network on its journey or drops the packet.”
"Memories are not stored in the brain, but in the soul, and we always think with our souls and not our brain."
Okay so now what?
Now what does that lead to ... we currently know that our memories are stored in our brain, all calculations are performed by the brain, also the body is controlled by the brain.
My concept/theory is on the following lines.
Memories are not stored in the brain, but in the soul, and we always think with our souls and not our brain.
The human brain functions more like a router rather than the permanent storage. There is some information stored in the brain for faster access similar to a cache. Recent happenings are stored within the brain as well as permanently transferred to the soul. This information is being routed wirelessly to the soul of the human.
The brain is only responsible for running the human body efficiently, transmitting information to the soul for permanent storage and also accessing information from the soul.
So the soul is actually what holds all our memories and not the brain.
I could expand on this further but for the moment i will leave it at this...
Some Questions and Answers
Q.Is there any scientific proof that the brain can actually transmit information like that (wirelessly)?
Yes there is, Electroencephalography (EEG) Technology is the art of capturing brain waves.
Scientists have found a way to capture the brain waves when someone is thinking because there is an energy being directed outside the head into thin air. In my opinion they have basically tapped/or hacked into the wireless connection between the brain and the soul.
Q.But the brain grows when people learn new things, so what's that about?
Yes it does, the brain is a smart cache and people who gain more knowledge increase the size of their internal cache (instant storage capacity).
Q.What about when we see brain functionality in scans where they show a certain part of the brain is working or parts of the brain blinking on the screen?
The brain is sending signals to the soul like the ports in a router. The brain is a smart router of information and has specific domains or areas in the brain where it can transmit certain kinds of information.
Some other Explanations/Phenomena are described below that might support this theory.
Outer-body Experience
People who have been through the Outer-body experience (or near death experience), have described standing right next to their human body and have seen people trying to save them.
They could still see what is going on around them and they can retain that information when they are not connected to their body.
So if the person can still remember what they saw during their outer-body experience, then is the information really stored inside the brain which they are not connected to during this experience?
Astral Travel or Astral Projection
In astral travel a person can leave his/her physical body and be any place at any time they want. A personal account of astral travel is given by a fellow member in the shamani67 - Astral Travel hub.
In astral travel the person can remember exactly where they went on the journey or projection. How can they remember what happened when they are not linked to the brain?
Religious Aspect
A few religions believe in resurrection on the day of judgement. They will rise and they will know what they have done in their lives and they will be punished or rewarded for it.
Some people choose to get buried, some choose cremation and i've even heard of a tribe in Chitral (northern Pakistan) who leave the body in a box for birds and animals to feed on.
In any case, the bodies deteriorate and in the end there is nothing left but bones or ash. If the brain is gone, then how will we remember what we did in our lives on the day of judgement?
Brain Transplant & Religion
As a religious person this baffled me when science got the first human brain to be kept working without a body, and the brain did respond to electrical signals.
In Islam, on the day of judgement the parts of the body will testify to what harm or good has been done to them by the person who used the body, and will be punished or rewarded according to his/her actions.
My question at the time was if the brain of a person is moved into a different body, then who will become accountable for the actions of the body? How will the system of God work in a scenario where a person has started living in someone else’s body?
The answer: the soul is attached to the brain, when you transfer the brain you transfer the soul with it.
The soul will stay with the brain until the brain is alive.Once the brain stops working the soul detaches itself from the brain.
So scientifically, when a person dies their heart stops which ends the circulation to the brain and that is when the soul is detached.
From a religious point of view, I believe that the angel of death arrives and takes out your soul. This process is sometimes painful and slow, other times painless and swift. It mainly depends on the actions and intentions of person in this world.
Loss of Memory & Religion
Another issue, is when a person has lost his memory then what will happen if the person does not remember anything in his past life then how will he/she be rewarded or punished for it? Did the soul lose the information?
I don't think the soul would have lost any information, but the route between the brain and the soul has become something like a one way route, where we can only store new information (or send it to the soul) but cannot retrieve it. The connections between the brain and soul are broken and so recalling any kind of information is not possible.
On the surface the brain is damaged in one way or the other but in reality the wireless connection from that portion of the brain to a specific point in the soul is lost.
I do not know of any study done relating to this hub and if there has been one then i would definitely like someone to share it.
It would be nice if some poeple who have had Outer-Body Experiences and Astral Travellers to comment and give a better insight to what they experienced and if what has been said in this hub goes with or against what they have experienced.
All my explanations have been for the concept/theory but none against it... if you can think of something that goes against this theory or add to it then i'd love to hear it.
I will be updating this hub at a later stage, hope it made some sense.
Thanks for reading...
Update 1...
Telepathy
Telepathy is known as the art of reading peoples minds.
The scientific community does not regard telepathy as a real phenomenon as actual telepathy has never been demonstrated to a greater degree than pure chance under controlled experimental conditions.
Even though it has not been proven by scientists yet, with this concept we can understand how exactly telepathy would work. It's not going inside someones mind but reading the signals being emmitted from the brain to the soul.
In Telepathy (as i understand it), you can read someone's thoughts ... so the thoughts are also being transmitted to or from the soul. Therefore, we need to understand where exactly the thinking part of the brain is taking place. Is it the brain or the soul that does the thinking?
Sura 39 - Az-Zumar : Verse 42
"Allah fully takes away the souls (of the people) at the time of their death, and (of) those who do not die, in their sleep. Then He withholds those on whom He had decreed death, and sends others back, up to an appointed term. Surely, in this, there are signs for a people who ponder."
Translation : Eng-Mufti Taqi Usmani
Update 25 March 2012
Another way found to detect the weight of the soul without having to deal with patients is by observing the weight of individuals while asleep... I came accross this verse a while ago in the Quran which talks about the soul...
Please read the verse -->
The verse also leads me to believe that the soul may leave us partially i.e outer-body experience/astral travel, but that's a different domain to be discussed in another hub.
We now have another way the weight of the soul can be found. I'm assuming the soul will leave the body for a split second because the Quran (70:4) also states that 1 day in the heavens is like to 50,000 years on earth. ( for more info on this verse, read commentary here )
Instead of the waiting for the time of death of a person we can monitor the weight of a person while they are asleep. My guess is that it will need to be measured in micro/nano/pico seconds due to the variation of timing between the heavens and the earth. Some simple math can give us the right range.
Also from various other religious sources i can roughly gather that the timing could be during the late hours of the night (about an hour or two before sunrise)... Assuming this timing to be correct a simple question arises ... what about people who work night shifts? ...mmm... Okay i haven't ironed out the idea completely so please bear with me. :)
End of Update...
References..
Soul Research - http://www.snopes.com/religion/soulweight.asp
Memory - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_memory
Cache - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_cache
Routers - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router_(computing)
EEG Technology - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography
Telepathy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy
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Wonderful Hub, arksys. And welcome to HubPages!
I seriously doubt if the measurements in 21grams were of the soul (the true spiritual self). Perhaps they were of ego, which is a physical universe construct (pseudo-self).
My theory is that the human brain stores memory, but the true self (soul) takes in these and more. Because the true self is asleep, when the body dies, the "identity" dies with it. There is no continuity of consciousness. If the spirit (true self) awakens, then bodily death will not be an end to consciousness, because the true self is awake. This is the "everlasting life" of which the Nazarene master spoke.
Out-of-body experiences are extremely fascinating, especially those that do not involve trauma or drugs (as in surgery). I experienced one of these, and the visual perception was every bit as good as with my Homo sapiens eyes. I was spiritually awake for only a few moments, completely unaware of my body, except the intellectual knowledge that it sat in a chair on the other side of some closed blinds in the building next to which I hovered. That happened about 1971.
A year later, I met a senior citizen who had much greater ability at this. He could go into a room (sans corpus) and read the titles of the books on the shelf, even thought his body had never been there.
@shamini, glad it makes sense to you, will definitely add some updates. thanks for allowing me share your article. :)
@lone77star, you have an interesting theory too and thank you for sharing your out-of-body experience. Its great to get an insight into all these phenomena. loved the senior citizen's ability. very useful response, thank you.
What is "soul"?
This is a very interesting concept and theory you have went into and developed. I will be rereading it at a later time so as to reanalyze it again from fresh eyes and perhaps better take in it's details. I can't say that about many things I read. Very thought provoking and inspirational.
@jomine - i will post some definitions of the soul in my next update... thanks for reading.
@Joe - i'm glad you liked it... It does take time to grasp the idea (took me a while) and hopefully you might be able to point out some loop holes. thanks for sharing information about the holographic theory of mind... will add it in the next update. thanks for reading.
this has been an eye opener finally some one who gets it looking forward to more
hmm nice work...
so what are you referring by the word "soul"
the spirit or Heart ?
hi mansoor bhai, thanks for reading... its the spirit i'm talking about there.
Very a well constructed and well written. Though there is room for debate, but I will hold that till I see you in person. Good job bro :)
Well written
One Comment:
Your deeds (Good/Bad) are already written by the angels, and it will be only with God, it makes no sense to me that if brain dies soul will carry all the information. Human genes is only valid in earth. Lets say you had an exam, and your answer sheet will go to the examiner, and he will decide what will be your grade (pass/fail), for this it is not required that you should owns the same answer sheet with you to compare ...
that is a valid point Rehan ... that all the deeds are written by the angels ... but I think the angels write down only our actions and our words ... as they say only Allah knows what is in the heart (or our inner thoughts and feelings).
I will still try to clarify by reading more on the angels and their duties.
thanks for your comment :)
Very thought provoking, am nominating this for the HubNugget nominations...(not sure if it will make the final stage, but you definitely made the first one!)
Thanks Enelle, appreciate it. :)
This is fascinating stuff. I have recently written a poem and hope to publish it soon, which questions how our brains can possibly store the millions of pieces of information that we take in during our life times. Your theories here are interesting and to me seem more than feasible. I strongly believe in the human spirit and how our spirits live on beyond the death of our earthly bodies. I have also always been interested in astral travel but unfortunately it has never happened to me. I love this hub and have bookmarked it to come back again and again. Thank you.
wow, thanks Fannelseed. I'm glad you bookmarked it as i will be updating it as new thoughts come to me. I would also encourage any constructive criticism and will also add those to my updates.
I look forward to read your poem once you're ready to publish it.
thank you once again for a wonderful comment and for stopping by. :)
Congratulations on your hubnugget nomination. This is a fascinating hub, and I had never really considered your hypothesis before. Thanks for the interesting idea.
Namaste.
thanks for going through it Deborah. Good to know you find it interesting.
Just a brief point of interest regarding the ideas in your 'Outer-body Experience' section; as to your observation "So if the person can still remember what they saw during their outer-body experience, then is the information really stored inside the brain which they are not connected to during this experience?" . . . I thought this interesting -
Some operating room technicians got a bit clever and put very noticeable and memorable items on top of cabinets, shelves, etc, in their operating rooms (I'm thinking it was large colorful pictures of rabbits eating elephants in front of an orange and green polka dot Eiffel Tower or something along that line) and then asked those who said they were floating near the ceiling above their body on the operating table if they noticed anything odd in the room. No one did.
I wish you well on your nomination.
@MickeySr ... very interesting to hear some real life things that have happened. It definitely helps clear out the mist, and we can note them down as solid known facts. Thank you very much for your input, i really appreciate it. :)
Experiment:
Two Subjects Familiar With Meditation Do So For A Set Amount Of Time.Then Are Separated.One In Solitary Conditions Hooked Up To A Brain Scan.Another(Also Hooked Up To A Brain Scan) Is Shown A Set Of Images To Provoke A Unique Brain Scan Image. After Completion The Brain Scans Are Compared And Shown To Be Practically Identical...
Thanks For Sharing Arksys.;)
interesting experiment Mentalist... thanks for sharing here. :) I have some experiments in mind that i might link to this hub and will ask the people who can do it to get a clearer picture.
This is a very interesting topic as we all strive to understand our soul, our brain, our heart, our whole being. Thank you for this!
Congratulations on your Hubnuggets nomination. To vote, head this way please: http://pattyinglishms.hubpages.com/_hubnuggets6/hu
thanks for your comment and sharing the link to the nominations harvest hub and tribute to Steve Jobs. A great man indeed.
Wow a great reading, very interesting theory. But it struck me that actually it could be extended to cover some other religious beliefs.
In some religions there is a concept of higher version of ourselves without a body at all. It chooses our new incarnation as a new person on Earth. We live without awareness of this higher version of self.
If we used your theory we could actually extend it and decide that the 'soul' is similar to a client in server-client architecture.
A small program that is responsible for transferring data from the brain to a server.
The server being our higher self, that knows and remembers everything. When a person dies, the connection is broken and 'soul, the client program, cleared from all data. It's detached so and kept to be used later in a new incarnation.
Still the data is not lost but stored in our higher self that woudl decide about next life experience it needs to grow.
I doubt that the soul weighs anything. If the research above is true, then the soul is not physical and is not located in space (as Descartes would say). I think that there is definitely a soul and quantum mechanics gives great proof of this, especially when associated with quantum entanglement. Come read some of my hubs I'll be posting soon about the soul and defending Christianity. Some great discussion will follow.
Well written hub. I agree with the basic blue-print you've laid out. Brain being the place where Knowledge is stored. Intellect/Wisdom comes from the soul, through Mind which is the translator between unique programs and languages.
Memory goes with soul at time of physical detachment,(May want to look into the theroy of past life memory) though tangible experience occurs most effectivly in the plane of physical matter.
Or so it seems to me.
I definitely think you're on to something, but I'd throw out the 21 grams theory. If the soul rises when it leaves the body, it obviously doesn't weigh anything and I don't like the inference that dogs don't have souls.
The computer analogy is a good one and one that I've seen a lot. A physicist named Tom Campbell believes that we live in a digital universe and backs up his claim with some pretty sound theory. He also is an experienced OBEer, having worked with Bob Monroe of "Journeys Out of the Body" fame.
Nice thought provoking hub.
@Ania - that's an interesting extension, and i guess yes it would apply to reincarnation as well. I would never have thought of that. thank you for your contribution.
@Crosseyed - I will definitely catch up with your hubs on Quantum mechanics. i'm sure i'll find it very interesting.
@TKs - thank you for your input, i will look up the theroy of past life memory.
@RobSchneider - I only put in the 21grams theory in because everyone comes from a different belief system and was trying to get everyone on the same page... i'm glad you found the computer analogy good. i will look up Tom Campbell too. Great input.
Some really great responses from everyone ... I cannot thank you all enough ... while this was just something that was lingering in my mind/soul, the responses have encouraged me to take things a step further and back the theory on some solid grounds. thank you all once again.
Thanks for your interesting article although I have differing opinions.
I've always been interested in where our thoughts come from. We have the ability to form a question, relax, perhaps sleep... and then the answer may pop into our awareness. We haven't tried to figure it out intellectually or struggled with the problem... we just know the answer.
Another thing is that sometimes an unusual thought has come to mind, one that's not associated with anything in my life.
In the first case I think we're accessing a field of all consciousness. In the second case I think somehow I access thoughts of a lower conscious group or person, somewhat likened to a curse word that I've never used before.
One is accessing one databank and the other a more limited one.
So, I think there is a unified field of consciousness that we all tap into. We hold onto some in what you might call short term memory (wherever that is), but all the rest has to be accessed from this unified field of consciousness. I don't think that either is in the soul.
Add to that, they say we only use 10% (or so) of our brain. What is the use of the other 90%? Maybe someone has current information.
Another thing is that if the soul is a physical part, then a weight can be associated with it. If it is a non-physical part there would be no measurable weight. And, addressing the 21 grams theory -- how do we know it's the soul that has that weight? Maybe it's something else.
I'd like to hear what you think.
Great topic and interesting writing; I hope you reach your goal.
Love to read Cosmos (science magazine) and your hub reminded me of the professional and thought provoking articles there...voted up, well done ...thank you...can not get it out of my head:)
@LetterWriter - you do have an interesting concept too ... most people who believe in the soul do believe that the angel of death comes and takes the soul, which is why they are led to believe that the loss in weight is the soul leaving the body. It could be something else as you say. i'm glad you found it interesting, thanks for your valuable comment.
@Beata - thank you very much ... i'm glad you found it intersting. :)
Well just skim read after reading this sentense
WE ALL KNOW THAT SOULS ARE RELATED TO RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
So if we are not religious according to you we don't possess a soul????
Which throws all of your theories right out of the window.
I have become aware that the longer I stay awake the more I remember and the more I can learn. Also less stress. What happens each time I sleep my brain turns off and when it wakes it has a lot to remember, but what is happening I am going back to sleep before it can remember and take in daily things. Once I was lucky enough to reach 6 days awake and I got my hearing back! I cried. I never realized how deaf I were. That was a while ago and I have forgotten again. It is hard to keep awake especially with the 24 hour clock and bedtime. A lot of things our brain is performing on memory and we not know, like walking out the back door to the grannyflat on the same footpath, we do it from memory. ..
I do recall that as a Roman Catholic, my soul at baptism was protected from sin in past lives.
I too am of the opinion that memory is not stored in the brain. The brain is simply a control center and intellect is the ability of the brain to tabulate information retained in the memory for the required purpose.
As events occur, memory is "transferred" from the original source to make it accessible to the brain.
That's what I have been thinking for a very long time. An experiment performed many years ago to clarify certain assumptions about memory only confirmed what at time was described as memory being a "chemical reaction."
Thanks. Voted up and awesome too!
@Margielea - sleep is to keep a healthy body, not a heathly soul. but because your body does not work well when tired the quality of connection to the soul/memory goes down, which is why it becomes harder to concentrate. i'm happy for you that you got your hearing back after 6 days. I do not understand what you meant about the 24 hour clock time? can you elaborate plz.
@quicksand - interesting that they called it a chemical reaction... thank you for reading and voting. i'm glad you liked it. :)
@Rosemay50 - the soul is talked about in religious beliefs is what i meant ... i know a few people who do not follow any religion and say the soul does not exist. I personally believe every human being has a soul, whether they follow a religion or not.
i guess i should have mentioned that the soul is related to religious beliefs and not scientific beliefs.
absolutely magnetizing stuff. thx!
thanks jazzybelle :)
Hello again. So I had some time to think about your hub. What I came up with was that, I believe the cache or temporary storage, is the one that stores your knowledge and is big enough to "temporarily" hold it for the very short (or long, depending on your perception) time we have on this earth, at most 90 to 100 years. The ego is probably what is retained in the human brain; however, the soul, I'm certain, retains the wisdom we have gained from the many experiences we've had in our lifetime. Describing the difference between wisdom and knowledge I'm sure I don't have to go into, although maybe I'll look up to assure my personal theory.
It has been said, when you enter into your next life, through re-incarnation--so to speak--all the knowledge stored gets wiped out before you are even conceived and you won't have any recollection of your past life. Though, your soul will still have the wisdom... that's why so many people seem to have wisdom beyond their years and can maybe learn things faster, or even have some type of super-natural talent. So anyway, that's what I'm kinda interpreting your very intellectual and complex explanation about ones soul and knowledge. Lmk your thoughts, if any. Thx and GB!
hey jazzybelle,
sorry for the late response ... been travelling a little, and thank you for you thoughts, they're very valuable to me.
i get exactly what you're trying to say and it could definitely be possible that the wisdom is passed down in re-incarnation for those who do believe in it.
being a muslim I do not believe in re-incarnation. I believe we have this life and the after-life with the day of judgement in between.
my main focus was to explain my understanding of how information is stored about our lives, and how it might all come back to us on the day of judgement after being turned into nothing but bones or in some cases ashes.
science does not believe in the soul but most believers know that it exists ... We still have a long way to go to understand the complexities of God's creations.
thank you once again for your valuable input.
I am 110% w/you on that arksys ;))
Great hub, you could have split it into several as it's a long read. I have also done hubs on this topic and know you are onto something. There is a slab of material called Subtle Bodies The FourFold Model which could help you with your knowledge on this topic. It helps with the separation of the Astral (thoughts and emotions) with the physical body, which is split into the etheric (life force) and more solid tangible physical. Through meditation there is a clear separation of thoughts from the brain - this is an experience, a very tangible doable practical experience. whilst it is not currently provable via science, it is definitely something that can be experienced now. Within the book I mentioned is a clear definable explanation of the Soul which is derived from ancient texts. Using that text and being able to separate consciousness from our body, it certainly helps broaden knowledge. If you want to discuss this more please get in touch and I will be happy to send you references etc. Also check out some of my hubs as you may see a resonance with your thinking.
thanks jewels.. i'll definitely look into the model you mentioned as well as go through your hubs. i will try splitting the material as you suggested too.
thanks for you input. appreciate it.
Time and time again what comes to the forefront of thought is that we think in terms of our humanness, our human body and everything organic and the perception living in the physical world brings. Even when having metaphysical experiences, involuting into meditative states and seeing different states, we are still bound to some extent to our human perception. Imagine if you will, that we are more than our physical body, we are more than being this human existence. Then take your consciousness to the realm of a continuum of consciousness with the human experience being only one of a myriad of worlds that we have and will experience. In this case the state of play changes.
A rule of thumb to follow when mapping consciousness, is to not have beliefs. There is automatically a restriction in believing there is no reincarnation. Whether there is or is not can become irrelevant. But if you are attempting to fathom consciousness and there is no continuum, then why worry about what happens when you die?
Even if you are brought up with a religious belief, when working with these realms of consciousness - always be open or it won't go far.
shamani67 Level 1 Commenter 8 months ago
Great Hub. It all makes perfect sense to me. I think you may well be right. Can't wait for the update. Thanks also for referring my Hub. Cheers