Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg Major and minor scales of consciousness (with Andrés Gomez Emilsson)
Oct 13, 2021
Andrés Gomez Emilsson, a Stanford-educated psychologist and co-founder of the Stanford Transhumanist Association, dives into the intriguing relationship between consciousness and emotional scales. He discusses the potential of logarithmic scales to reshape our understanding of pleasure and pain, suggesting that these frameworks can inform effective altruism. The conversation explores the neurobiology of emotional states and the harmony of sound frequencies, offering insights into how our brain's patterns can be mapped to enhance emotional well-being.
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Logarithmic Scales of Pleasure and Pain
- Andrés Gomez-Emilsson argues pleasure and pain are logarithmic, not linear.
- Extreme states significantly impact utilitarian calculations, emphasizing minimizing extreme suffering over slightly reducing widespread misery.
Neural Criticality and Log-Normal Distribution
- Neural activity follows a log-normal distribution, with small events cascading into large ones.
- This “criticality” is analogous to avalanches, where most are small, but some are massive, mirroring pain spikes.
Logarithmic Scales in Pain Measurement
- The KEEP scale for cluster headaches and Schmidt sting pain index explicitly use logarithmic scales.
- Schmidt, an entomologist, created his index by personally experiencing various insect stings, rating pain on a logarithmic scale.