Crucial facts on life

[Berk Turkcan]

Dear  Professor,

I am a student who is attending Yeditepe University in
Turkey. I would like to have your ideas on a very
crucial point of science, which I describe briefly
below. I am working on this subject as a project and
will be privileged to hear your interpretations on the
following questions:
1. The light coming from an object is transformed into
electrical signals by the cells in the eye and then
transmitted to the center of vision in the brain. And
the electrical signals there are turned into an image.
For example you actually see this message in your
brain. Then who is the one that sees and perceives the
image of this message in the brain? How do you define
the consciousness that can see this image in the brain
without the need of an eye?
2. Brain is a piece of flesh composed of lipids,
proteins and other various molecules. Could the
consciousness that sees this image be this piece of
flesh? Or could the brain cells make up a
consciousness that sees these electrical signals as a
sea view or an e-mail message?
3. No light penetrates the skull, which means the
brain is entirely in darkness. Then how does such an
illuminated, clear image is formed in this pitch-dark
place? For instance how are the rays of the sun seen
over the unlit brain cortex?
4. Also no sound enters the brain. This means there is
deep muteness where the brain exists. However, people
listen to all different sounds inside the brain. The
sound waves are turned into electrical signals inside
of the ear and then transmitted to the center of
hearing. And the consciousness inside the brain
listens to these for instance as a melody. Then who is
it that listens to the loud music aired from powerful
loudspeakers and how?
5. The image is formed inside a miniature spot in the
brain. Then how is the three-dimensional image with
depth is formed on this diminutive screen? For
instance when I look at the horizon or the sky, how is
such an image with vast depth is formed at this tiny
spot of center of vision just as identical to its
original with the same depth and sense of distance?
What is it that gives me the feeling of distance and
space?
6. When a person sees a glass of water, in fact he
does not see its real form but only a copy of it in
his brain. The coldness that he feels when touching
the glass surface is not the real coldness of the
glass but only a copy of it. This means nobody is ever
able to feel that he touches the real glass. Since it
is not his fingers that feel the sense of touch, but
merely the sense of touch in the brain. Should we not
in this case conclude that people are never able to
reach the reality of objects and can never touch the
reality of a glass? But not every person knows this
fact. Everyone thinks they touch and see real objects.
Is it not strange that people are not aware of this
and they never think about this?
7. Nothing changes when a person is hit by a bus or
comes across a lion. Since, just like the image of the
bus, the sense of collision or the fear while running
away from a lion, all form in the brain. When I see a
bus, I see it at the center of vision inside my brain.
If I go and hold the door of the bus, I feel the
coldness of the metal inside my brain. Then I cannot
discriminate from this fact what happens when I feel
pain if a bus hits or a lion bites. Then is it not
very illogical when people say ‘it shows I am in
contact with the bus or the lion because I feel pain
when the bus hits or the lion bites’?
8. We live the entire period of our lives inside our
brains. In a similar way, we also have dreams in our
brain. For instance when we touch a piece of ice in
our dream, we feel it is wet and cold. Or, when we
smell a rose, we get the wonderful scent of it. We
again sense the feelings of fear, pain, anxiety and
panic in a similar fashion. Then are the dreams and
the real life the same in this sense?
9. The person’s own body is also included in the
images a person see. So, a person only sees the copy
of his own body. This means every person all through
his life lives in the cave in his skull where he never
knows what is outside, including his own body and
other objects. Now think over this happening once
more: Right now are you inside of the room you are
present or is the room inside of you? Isn’t the second
alternative the right answer scientifically?
10. Let us imagine 5 different people who look at a
garden of roses. Since every one of these people see
the rose garden in his own brain, then aren’t there 5
different rose gardens in the brains of every one of
the 5 people? Is the color red that each one sees the
same with the other’s perception of red? Would there
be any possibility to compare these?
11. We say that the original objects we see the copies
of in our brain exist outside, but what if nothing
exists outside? Because we never have the ability to
test this or observe this. Then is it not dubious that
the original objects are outside? At least there is a
50-50 percent possibility. Then how can we be sure
that the original objects are outside? If there is no
original object outside, then what is the entity that
makes the images and the senses in our brain?
12. If we are living an illusion that has the
possibility of not having any reality outside, then we
may be existing in a very different place. For
instance is it not possible for the entire humanity to
exist right over a piece of crystal? Or is it not
possible that the complete history of humanity has
been experienced in a place not bigger than the head
of a pin? Would there be anything to stop us thinking
in such a broad extent?
13. Some people are incredibly afraid when these
topics are discussed? What do you think the reason for
this may be? 

Yours sincerely,
Berk Turkcan
May 8, 2001


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