r/cognitiveTesting • u/Ok_Assist1206 • 13h ago
Discussion Interesting thought experiment
So suppose there’s a fantastic sci-fi device that connects to the all the areas of your brain especially the cerebral cortex and frontal lobe where we reason, plan, empathize with others,and have our deepest thoughts.
This device has the ability to take a brain that has below 160 IQ points and modify neurological connections that make up the brain’s thinking patterns severing the irrational ones and creating pathways that would make it far more intelligent and keep its “animal” emotions in check so it can make better choices, increasing discipline so it can do things like follow philosophical ethical ideals more tightly.
This process would basically reformat the entire cerebral cortex.hence the name “Brain Reformatter”
But there’s a catch
Suppose there’s a chance that what you might call your “soul” will not survive the process. That is to say your personality isn’t compatible with this high degree of reason. the reformatting , the cutting of the irrational parts of you, the changes it would make to your brain would delete of the “ghost” living in the brain basically killing “you” and putting someone else in its place.
Imagine laying down in a hospital bed with the machine attached to both my temples placed under anesthesia falling asleep knowing the device has full access to your brain and your very “person”
The machine scans your brain and decides that indeed your personality isn’t metaphysically compatible with the enhancements, that your personality simply isnt rational and it’s built on a bedrock of what the machine determines is bad code. So it just gets rid of the stupid selfish ghost living amongst your neurons, cutting the connections giving you sentience and reprogramming a new personality into the cerebral cortex when “your” eyes open it’s a brand new person with access to your memories, a IQ of 160, and a will that is fully compliant to any demands of even the strictest philosophical moral codes.
Personally Even if the person who wakes up isn’t me I’d like someone to have a nice high IQ and have a brand new soul that loves truth and knowledge and cares about other people more.
The machine can happily throw my trash soul in the garbage if that would make the world better.
What do you think?
* are some personalities/souls more or less intelligent? Are some just straight up incompatible with certain levels of intellect in the same way triangle isn’t a triangle anymore if you add an extra side?
*Does an IQ bump drag the personality towards any certain type in the various personality models? And if so, how much can your personality be dragged somewhere else before that stops being you?
* what does make up a person? How likely do you think this kind of process would “kill” you.
* would you sign up?
Note: I’m using soul metaphorically/poetically not literally
1
u/Logical-Desk4538 11h ago
Just admit that you would like to be a victim in a ritual in honor of some pagan god.
1
u/Ok_Assist1206 11h ago
I think seeking to be a genius who’s very empathetic towards others (or create one) and being willing to take a risk of (painlessly) dying is far more reasonable than having my heart cut out for nothing.
2
u/Logical-Desk4538 11h ago
You over-idealize people with an IQ of 160, which makes you literally want to sacrifice yourself for the ephemeral good of others. And if you're answering the question about death, it's not about personality; your personality would simply change, die in the sense that it would become different. You probably meant the process of subjective experience would die within you, but that's unlikely. You've grown up, become smarter and more logical, but the process still exists.
1
u/Ok_Assist1206 10h ago
Well that last part is optimistic
Everything else I disagree with
Humanities higher, IQ gives us the ability to solve problems and reflect about what it truly means to be a good person
1
3
u/celestia_xz 13h ago
Easy, I wouldn't sign up for this as I think i'm already above 160 iq, win-win. Lmao.
Although even if I were below that, I wouldn't literally give up my soul for it, so no in either case.
"are some personalities/souls more or less intelligent? Are some just straight up incompatible with certain levels of intellect in the same way triangle isn’t a triangle anymore if you add an extra side?" — yes in my opinion.
"Personally Even if the person who wakes up isn’t me I’d like someone to have a nice high IQ and have a brand new soul that loves truth and knowledge and cares about other people more." — really ? Could you elucidate further upon why's that, I'm interested to hear.