The Electrostatic Brain: How a Web of Neurons Generates the World-Simulation that is You

The Nugget

  • The brain uses electromagnetic (EM) fields to create a real-time world simulation through non-linear wave computing. This explains various perceptual phenomena and offers an integrative theory of consciousness.

Make it stick

  • 🌊 Psychedelic visuals reveal wave-like behavior in our perception, showcasing the brain's use of EM fields.
  • 👂 Spatial audio localization is made possible by wave computing, allowing precise sound positioning.
  • Fakhri Effect: When high-frequency details are introduced to a visual scene, the entire scene's resolution increases.
  • 🧘 Enlightenment experience can be explained by changes in the brain's electrostatic configuration, dissolving the self boundary.

Key insights

The brain's world simulation

  • The brain creates an immersive, real-time simulation of the world using an intricate web of neurons and EM fields.
  • This simulation is computationally expensive but evolutionarily advantageous for survival and complex tasks.

Brain as a Non-Linear Optical Computer (BAANLOC)

  • The BAANLOC theory posits that the brain leverages the EM field's properties for massive parallelism and self-organization.
  • Different perceptual phenomena, like psychedelic visuals and spatial audio, can be explained by wave interactions within the brain.

Evidence supporting BAANLOC

  • Psychedelic visuals demonstrate wave-like patterns, hinting at EM field involvement in perception.
  • Auditory localization is efficiently solved by the brain using wave computing, outperforming conventional digital methods.

Mechanics of the EM world simulation

  • Objects in our visual field are represented by patches of neurons with distinct electrostatic properties.
  • Neurons' dynamic electrostatic properties influence how EM waves interact, creating the perception of distinct objects.

Electrostatic model of the self

  • The self is perceived due to a denser electrostatic configuration in a patch of the neuronal substrate.
  • Equalizing these configurations resembles experiences of non-self or enlightenment, common in meditative and psychedelic states.

Future research and implications

  • The theory provides a cohesive explanation for various phenomena but requires further testing and validation.
  • Future research could reveal the brain's EM field structures and their role in consciousness, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of the brain.

Key quotes

  • "Evolution has co-opted the EM field for its massive parallelism, holistic behavior, and self-organizing tendencies."
  • "Good speakers quite literally hack your brain into projecting fraudulent spatial information onto the entire world simulation."
  • "An enlightenment experience is a moment where this happens, and you realize you are the entire world simulation, not just the avatar within it."
  • "Our ideas are speculative, but testable. With the right resources, we can explore these phenomena and their implications for consciousness."
  • "Standard undergrad teaching emphasizes that myelin sheaths effectively shield neurons from EM field effects, but this remains a highly simplified model."
This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.