> I assume the mind is both "varifiable" and has "a very high accuracy
> rate".
> In fact, to assume otherwise is to say that in the final
> analysis--whether
> confirming math, or a more physically "mechanical" tools--the mind, if
>
> subject to inaccuracy and being non-varifiable, cannot be trusted to
> interpret "empirical and objective data". Further, I assume the mind
> to be
> the *most easily* varified tool (even when turned upon itself)...as it
> is a
> tool which is under constant modification and revision...improvement,
> if you
> will...and it is a tool which *everyone* is trained to use from an
> early age.
>
This is really the root of our disagreement then. I do not assume that
mind is varifiable and has a very high accuracy rate. I can except the
assumption that the mind exists and, for an animal, works to keep the
entity alive and reproducing. As for accurate, I would say the mind is
VERY inaccurate and only through lots of comparisons can anything close
to accurate be gleamed from it. This can be shown by comparing witness
statements to an event. it is exceptionally rare that two people
watching the same event will see the same thing. If you accept that
there is an objective or "singularity" event, and if two people cannot
agree on how this event happened, then there are three options.
Person A is accurate and person B is not
Person B is accurate and person A is not
Neither is correct
(Since we are assuming that there is a single objective event, both
being correct is not an option)
If a thousand people witness the event, then you can start to get an
idea of what the general human perception of the event was, but you
cannot be accurate yet.
I do not trust a single mind to properly interpret data or observation.
I suspect, that if everyone using the same methods reports the same
results, then it probably is close to accurate.
I do not think that in most humans the mind improves with age, I suspect
that bad mental habits from a young age lead to deteriorating
performance. Only exercise of the mind improves it as a tool.
When turned upon itself, the mind becomes a terrible tool in my opinion,
and leads to self-delusion. i have so often felt that twinge of
"revelation" when using my mind to "analyze" itself. It took a while to
realize that my mind was simply feeding itself it's own perceptions,
and doping itself enough to believe them.. It is fun and sometimes very
helpful, but I would not call it "accurate".
Sodom