FEST Log

Entry #005
April 14, 2024

Primitive elements underlying experience

In entry #003 I introduced two working hypotheses. The first one was "WH 1: there are primitive elements underlying experience."  We talked about the presence of an experiencer who is experiencing something that is experienced, suggesting at least three elements: the -er, -ing and -ed element.  That said, we have no clear idea what those elements can be, apart from the linguistic names subject and object and something that connects them.

Entry #004
April 02, 2024

Developing a lab culture and lab guidelines

In entry #001, I listed four categories of experiments in the science of matter: field observations, laboratory experiments, thought experiments, and computer experiments. Of those four, lab experiments are the most reliable. Because of the use of controlled conditions, they are less likely to introduce errors.

Entry #003
March 22, 2024

Getting a first taste

The previous two entries presented an extremely condensed version of the way natural science has been conducted for the last four centuries.  We are now ready to introduce a first experiment for a science of mind, using only the mind.

Entry #002
March 14, 2024

Historical roots of science

In the previous entry I've briefly touched upon the core aspects of science: theory, experiment, working hypotheses, and peer review.  These four have been in place since the beginning of modern science, roughly around 1600.  Let us now have a quick look at the origins of science, stretching back millennia.

Entry #001
March 08, 2024

Leaving The Harbor

The current log, like a logbook used by ancient mariners, will describe at somewhat irregular intervals the journey that we are about to embark on. We are going to leave the established harbor of the current state of science, which is almost exclusively using matter-based tools.  With a pedigree spanning more than four centuries in its current form, it is by now a relatively safe haven.  It has established ways of operation, in mostly well-defined fields and subfields.

Entry #000
February 29, 2024

Empirical studies of mind using mind

Science gives us the power of a remarkably deep knowledge of matter.  In doing so it has purged many harmful superstitions.  Unfortunately, as collateral damage, it has also purged much wisdom that had been accumulated and actively maintained in older cultures.