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Consciousness and the Paranormal — Part 6

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@Constance you said "I still have problems with your strict categorical separation of levels 2 and 3."

I think there is a lot to be said on this. As a starter,

I maintain that the levels are separate. However:

If there are a bunch of level 2 apes, I am not saying that one of them became a level 3 ape and so too all its offspring and... cazam!! the level 3 category arrived and the hominid lineage was born. No...there is a gradual transition.


This is an interesting question -- how our evolutionary line bootstrapped itself up to language and thought. MP sees language as immanent if not already present in gestures, and I'd add also in vocalizations (be they grunts, groans, laughter, sighs, etc.) that express feeling and intention. Even we don't think in language, imo, unless we're writing. I don't and I doubt that you do. The 'speed of thought' -- which we recognize in our own consciousness {if we pay attention to our streams of thought, esp purposeful thought when we attempt to coordinate one thing or feeling or need or situation or concept with another --betrays the notion that thinking relies upon language even after we have attained language.

So yes, the passage through gesture and various vocalizations to express our feelings and desires, fears and perplexities, is no doubt a long, gradual passage to the first semiotic proto-linguistic communication. It seems logical to me that any system of linguistic utterance must evolve on the basis of a semiotic system, a system of meanings, already understood among a group before its members can gradually settle on certain phonemes and morphemes by which to express meanings and intentions. Primitive systems of syntax would follow next. But meaning arises ahead of it all, understood without the aid of language. Even now we often read/understand what our children and pets wish or need to express in their tone of voice, don't we?. We have to do this with our children in the early months/years before they even begin to attempt to speak with us.

What I want to say is that I think we press the evolution of our capabilities and skills forward, rather than being presented with them full-blown by already fully constructed and operative neurological nets. We play a role in these physical developments out of sensed need and desire.


Think of the emerging level 3 as impoverished. But the potential survival benefits are great and they require physiological changes to implement. What happens then, is that the physiological makeup of emerging level 3 creatures fills the void created by the potential benefits: it is the potential of an impoverished level 3—the realisation of the existence of phenomenal consciousness—that drives cerebral expansion and other physiological adaptations... the physiological adaptations fill in the void created by the potential.

I think that's similar to what I've said above in terms of the struggle to develop language in human toddlers -- it's the expression of a need to communicate, to be understood and to understand, not I think for purposes of survival {for they survive perfectly well before they reach 18 months to two years if they have half-way sensible and sensitive caregivers}. Yes, the development of mouth and throat musculature must be there to enable verbalization, and so must a necessary level of neurological facilitation for listening and imitating heard language. I can't quite see these developments as the result of random gifts of nature; the more I learn the more I'm persuaded that there is design in nature.


And this takes time. As the physiologies catch up (quickly in evolutionary terms over thousands of years) so too the level 3 becomes less impoverished and this then further fuels the physiological, cultural, social explosion etc.

Take for example language. An individual's dawning realisation of its phenomenal existence cannot be vocalised until the creature possesses the necessary musculature in the tongue and lips. It gives it a go and tries various grunts and gestures. But the potential benefits of improved musculature are very great. So there is a survival precedent to fill the potentiality void and evolve musculatures and specialised cognitive functions that facilitate the desire to communication about the realisation of phenomenal existence.

Another fascinating question: when does an individual's sense of its/his/her personal existence in an environing world arise in animals, including our evolutionary line? It must arise in the prereflective level of consciousness; otherwise why would individuals animals react to personal threats (e.g., leap away to avoid a falling tree limb)? There is a primordial self-protectiveness active even in the autopoesis of the primitive cell. As I recall from reading Maturana and Varela a decade ago, the cell constructs and maintains its own boundary, not out of awareness in a conscious sense, but perhaps in germinal phases of proto-consciousness..

Of course, the same applies to every level and to the next level that is yet to emerge. There is a delaying catch up before the explosive potential consequences can reach maturity.

I agree with that. The difference is that I think there are multiple nuanced steps in evolution all along the way, increasing degrees of qualitative awareness and consciousness over the passage of time that make it hard to see the categorical division you postulate between stages two and three in your construct theory.
 
@Pharoah @Constance

You both asked me to keep you informed of my thoughts on Thad Roberts' book Einstein's Intuition in which examines the idea that spacetime may be a superfluid.

Here is a TED Talk that he gave:


I'm 300 pages into the book. @Pharoah the following excerpt I thought you'd find interesting:

“The fractal pattern of quantization we have assumed dictates that the constants of Nature will be mirrored in all universes. Hierarchical quantization means that observers in every universe, regardless of hierarchical scale, will internally measure their constants to be identical to the values we now measure them to be— and will be perfectly identical and and will be nearly identical throughout the evolution of each universe with a slight dependence on local curvature. In arbitrary units feet, millimeters, hours, or whatever else some alien might come up with, the values of these constants are arbitrary, but in natural units, which internally reference the geometric structure of the axiomatic system, their values will always be identically fixed. ...

“The constants of Nature are reflections of a deeper symmetry hidden in Nature—the symmetry of quantization and dimensional hierarchy. The physical parameters of our universe are not randomly ascribed. They did not obtain their specific values by pure chance. On the contrary, the values of the physical parameters of our universe and within all universes are governed by the geometry of space itself. The constants of Nature supervene on the intrinsic spatiotemporal properties of the metric. They are written by the texture of the superfluid vacuum.”

Excerpt From: Roberts, Thad. “Einstein's Intuition.” v1.0. Thad Roberts, 2015. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBooks Store: Einstein's Intuition by Thad Roberts on iBooks

Thus, given Quantum Space Theory (QST), the existence of life and consciousness in our universe is a direct result of its "geometry," (i.e., its no accident) and moreover, there are a myriad of universes all fractally related and sharing nearly identical geometries as our own (and thus most likely also containing conscious organisms).

While there is a mountain of logical and indirect evidence for QST, there is yet no direct, emperical evidence. However, there are a few experiements in progress that would indicate whether the vacuum is quantized or not.

If it is, a whole slew of physics mysteries will be resolved.

@Constance, one immediate turnoff for you will be that QST gives us a fully determined, causal reality. However, entities within a given universe—being part of it—could never obtain full knowledge of its state (and thus future) at any given moment.
 
... Thad Roberts' book Einstein's Intuition in which examines the idea that spacetime may be a superfluid. Here is a TED Talk that he gave ... ( see post )

Sorry but the concept of "extra dimensions" is fundamentally incoherent. Setting aside that "flatlanders" are totally impossible because a two dimensional plane has no volume for anything to exist in, and that such an analogy is therefore flawed, in all cases of spatial dimensions, there are certain principles that cannot be changed. For example each subsequent dimension is dependent upon the existence of the previous, otherwise it cannot exist. So there cannot be a second dimension without a pre-existing first, and no third without a pre-existing first and second, and so-on.

As a consequence all dimensions that do exist, whether there are three or eleven, must exist concurrently, and by extension we'd be equally as dimensional ourselves as anything else, and therefore dimensionality wouldn't be an issue. This is even reflected in the video but not realized as conditional. For example, even if we are to accept that everything in our universe is quantized, that would still make us and our personal space equally quantized, making the resulting "extra dimensions" pointless. So it might make for an interesting mental exercise, but that's about all.

That being said, it seems possible that other 3D universes could exist, and that they could affect our universe in certain ways. Perhaps even, if as some suspect, our universe is some sort of massive simulation, our entire universe would then be dependent on another one higher up in the chain. These other universes might also be mistakenly referred to as "dimensions" for the sake of convenience by a number of people who haven't taken the time to reflect sufficiently on the nature of spatial dimensions. Their existence would also explain ( in a manner ) the same mysteries alluded to in the video.
 
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@Constance... fyi Section 3 re-draft.

3 Physiological knowledge and the evolved qualitative relevance of electromagnetic wavelengths

Molecular interactions and catalytic transformations are relatively slow to adapt to new environmental conditions (requiring generations). Nevertheless, the biochemical adaptations of E. coli to time-sensitive environmental change indicate that there are clear advantages in being able to respond rapidly to and even to pre-empt real-time environmental change. One can assume that with multicellular organisms, there are benefits to rapid transcellular communication too. Of course, the neuron is an example of a specialized cell that can transmit action potential very rapidly and over distance. These capabilities have a transformative influence on evolution because they can facilitate real-time (rather than generational) environmental responsivity. Nevertheless, as with all biochemical mechanisms, the evolutionary advancement of neural mechanisms is still contingent on their qualitative relevance, that is, on their value-added survival impact. But what is meant here by ‘qualitative relevance’ regarding rapidly responsive neural mechanisms? One way of approaching this question is by way of an imaginary species of insect called berrybug and its relation to colour:

Imagine our world simplified, where objects that reflect electromagnetic wavelengths between 526 and 606 THz are ubiquitous and are of no material benefit to a particular insect species called berrybug. Conversely, certain rare objects that reflect wavelengths between 400 and 484 THz are important to berrybug’s survival because of their superior nutritional content. Clearly, there would be an impact on survival pressures were berrybug to evolve innate biochemical and neurological mechanisms that institute a bias for 400–484 THz colorations over other frequencies during the assimilation of sensory stimulation. These inherited mechanisms would, for example, intensify focus in favour of this colour range; augment feedback through perceptual reinforcement; and more accurately direct further sensory exploration and assimilation. Such focal accentuation would facilitate operational economy for more responsive and ultimately rewarding motor activities. Conversely, it would be pertinent for innate mechanisms to be indifferent to the ubiquitous 526–606 THz reflecting objects by attenuating their focal impact. These differentiations would be more dimensional than a greyscale of valencies toward different wavelengths; in a complex world, they would institute a network of potential stances and attitudes toward a range of stimulation types. For instance, if those desirable 400–484 THz objects had the added characteristic of spherical contours (rather than jagged, for instance), any individuals of the species possessing autonomic shape-differentiating neurological capabilities would possess an additional qualifying survival advantage and qualitatively relevant stance. In themselves, these coloured and shaped objects may have no intrinsic qualitative identity. Nevertheless, the species will tend to evolve increasingly subtle and sophisticated biochemical and neurological mechanisms that assimilate and differentiate the comparative qualitative merits of environmental features when those mechanisms prove relevant to the continuance of the species. This suggests that species have not evolved biochemical mechanisms that respond to an environment that is qualitative. Rather, physiologies themselves have become comparatively relevant and qualitative as an adaptive response to an otherwise qualitatively sterile world. For organism A, environmental stimulus X may be bad, while good for organism B. It is the dynamic and complex mechanisms of A, in contrast to B, that determine what the qualitative instantiation of stimulus X is to be. It is the mechanism itself that determines the nature of the qualitative relevancy of stimulus X (through selective pressures over generations); the environmental stimulus X has no qualitative identity in itself.

This indicates that there is a need for an expansionist interpretation of representation, as philosophical orthodoxy does not normally extend representation to biochemical and neurological mechanisms, preferring instead to confine it to semantically evaluable mental objects, such as concepts, ideas, impressions, percepts, rules and thoughts. But, the argument also indicates that physiologies do not represent, as orthodoxy would have it, the truth of what things are—namely, in this example, the (apparent) qualitative colours and shapes of objects out there in the world. Rather, they represent what environmental features have come to mean for the survival of the species: biochemical functions tend to evolve in a way that qualifies the qualitative relevancy of environmental interaction. This extends to ideas concerning observer-dependence. The qualitative representational correspondence between a species’ physiologies and the world is dependent on the construction of the observing agency, not on the observed object itself; the apparent qualitative facts of the observed are entirely observer-dependent. But importantly, in this berrybug example, the observing agency—that is, the agency of discourse—is ‘the species’ not its individual members; the species, therefore, is a class of representational construct, which is distinct from that of its individual members or of the mental content which individuals may possess. This is why there must be different classes both of observational agency and of representational construction.

The relationship between evolved physiologies and their relevance to the environment and to survival indicates why it is that wavelengths ranging between 526–606 and 400–484 THz, whose colours humans refer to as approximating to green and red respectively, and each shape, which humans refer to as spherical and jagged, are potentially both qualitatively differentiated and observer-dependent for any given species—and, importantly, regarding physiologically founded intersubjective variation, further differentiated to some degree amongst individual members of species, being most pronounced in those that are the product of sexual reproduction.

That there is an observer-dependent relationship between physiologies and environmental characteristics suggests that a creature in our imagined simplified world that gains nutritional benefits from blue bananas but none from red berries will possess contrasting valencies to that of berrybug (because its survival would depend on it); it would have evolved physiologies that would be alert to blue colorations at the expense of red such that the creature’s blue would be equivalent to berrybug’s red, though green would be unaltered. Inevitably, this account undermines the view (e.g. Carruthers 1998: 212–3) that it is not possible for organisms that are sensitive to the same range of wavelengths as ourselves to have contrasting valencies. Evolutionary pressures ensure that a species’ physiological mechanisms evolve in a manner that is responsive to its particular nutritional, reproductive, nurturing, reparative, locational needs and priorities: this is the survival precedent.

Critically on this account, in opposition to Dretske’s (1981, e.g. pp. 162–3) influential work, particular spectral frequencies do not carry observer-independent qualitative information that awaits the evolution of decoding mechanisms. This point qualifies the third expansionist parameter, namely, that information in nature should be understood as relating to the constitution of unified observer-dependent constructs, whose value and informedness are a derivative of ongoing environmental engagement. To clarify, any agency—be it a living or nonliving construct—reacts physically in a way that is determined by its own dynamic construction. This construction thereby defines the ‘nature of the fact’ of the physical entity with which it interacts: no physical entity has independent informational content by which we might call it ‘a fact of that physical entity’. This view of information differs from its more typical interpretation as an observer-independent commodity that exists objectively ‘out there’ in the world. For example, we frequently hear that information can be used, detected, processed, acquired, transmitted, received, extracted, embodied, converted, utilized, and stored—the stance taken by Simon (1978: 3) is typical—and orthodoxy has it that knowledge in turn is built from information (e.g., Dretske 1981: 47). As a commodity that exists out there in the world, observer-independent advocates have it that information awaits the necessary operational systems that are somehow capable of constructing meaning. Those who take this view find that the fundamental question underpinning their naturalist ambitions is how meaning is created from this external pool of environmental information. The alternative presented here, is that there are distinct classes of informational construction and that the meaning attributed to environmental interaction is entirely dependent on the dynamic construction of the discursive observing agency.
 
Sorry but the concept of "extra dimensions" is fundamentally incoherent. Setting aside that "flatlanders" are totally impossible because a two dimensional plane has no volume for anything to exist in, and that such an analogy is therefore flawed, in all cases of spatial dimensions, there are certain principles that cannot be changed. For example each subsequent dimension is dependent upon the existence of the previous, otherwise it cannot exist. So there cannot be a second dimension without a pre-existing first, and no third without a pre-existing first and second, and so-on.

As a consequence all dimensions that do exist, whether there are three or eleven, must exist concurrently, and by extension we'd be equally as dimensional ourselves as anything else, and therefore dimensionality wouldn't be an issue. This is even reflected in the video but not realized as conditional. For example, even if we are to accept that everything in our universe is quantized, that would still make us and our personal space equally quantized, making the resulting "extra dimensions" pointless. So it might make for an interesting mental exercise, but that's about all.

That being said, it seems possible that other 3D universes could exist, and that they could affect our universe in certain ways. Perhaps even, if as some suspect, our universe is some sort of massive simulation, our entire universe would then be dependent on another one higher up in the chain. These other universes might also be mistakenly referred to as "dimensions" for the sake of convenience by a number of people who haven't taken the time to reflect sufficiently on the nature of spatial dimensions. Their existence would also explain ( in a manner ) the same mysteries alluded to in the video.
No, it's most certainly not.
 
No, it's most certainly not.
The phrase, "No, it's most certainly not." is a bit vague. Can you elaborate on that a bit? Like be more specific about what you mean by "it" and then explain why it's not whatever you're saying it's not.
 
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when I say in section 3, "the argument also indicates that physiologies do not represent, as orthodoxy would have it, the truth of what things are—namely, in this example, the (apparent) qualitative colours and shapes of objects out there in the world. Rather, they represent what environmental features have come to mean for the survival of the species:"
does this qualify as the emergence of a new ontological status?
 
when I say in section 3, "the argument also indicates that physiologies do not represent, as orthodoxy would have it, the truth of what things are—namely, in this example, the (apparent) qualitative colours and shapes of objects out there in the world. Rather, they represent what environmental features have come to mean for the survival of the species:"
does this qualify as the emergence of a new ontological status?
I would say, "No." What I mean by that is that you are still dealing with objective vs. subjective, which are both old ontologies. In the case of organisms that aren't having the subjective experience of color, but are still wired to react to specific frequencies of light, we are looking at a purely objective set of functions.
 
The phrase, "No, it's most certainly not." is a bit vague. Can you elaborate on that a bit? Like be more specific about what you mean by "it" and then explain why it's not whatever you're saying it's not.
“Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which the problems were created.”
Albert Einstein

“Some people find the possibility that there are real spatial dimensions in addition to x, y, z to be so radical that they dismiss it outright—in spite of the vast collection of experimental and empirical evidence that points us in that direction. Such a response is understandable, and expected, but it may also be premature and inappropriate. If we never seriously explored new perspectives, if we always allowed common experience to frame our worldview, then we would still be modeling air and water as we experience them—as continuous media instead of as collections of molecules. A model that attempted to explain all media air, water, wood, etc. as continuous would be far more complicated than a molecular one, and its explanatory power would severely suffer. By allowing for the existence of atoms, our model of physical reality becomes far more coherent, simple, and intuitive. ” ...

“The term absolute volume makes reference to the fact that, in a quantized picture of physical reality, the minimum number of spatial dimensions belonging to any immediate region will always be equal to three, but the specific dimensions that each locale immediately belongs to may vary. For example, when specifying a precise location we might be talking about a location within the volume of a single quantum an intraspatial location, or a location within the volume that exists between quanta a superspatial location, or we might just be referring to a specific quantum of space itself a spatial location, which is defined in reference to a large collection of other space quanta that fill out a three dimensional volume. This adjustment to our axiomatic structure significantly impacts our attempt to explain the fantastic effects of both general relativity and quantum mechanics. Note that on macroscopic scales, Einstein’s absolute spacetime is a natural derivative of this deeper notion of absolute volume.

The most important thing about this axiomatic adjustment is that it enables us to regain a picture of physical reality that is entirely intuitive. That picture carries us to some rather interesting philosophical implications, which are fully developed in[…]”

“To initiate our visualization of a quantized picture for spacetime, let’s imagine the tapestry of x, y, z space as an enormous collection of identical spheres that, at least to first approximation, elastically collide and interact. The distribution of these spheres is not necessarily uniform...

Each sphere at least when time-averaged is identical in volume and surface area; therefore, each sphere makes a discrete, equal and nonzero contribution to the entire collection of spheres—the medium. Now imagine that each one of these spheres is a discrete, elemental atom of space—or what we will call a quantum of space.”

“This replaces the concept of a continuum of space with what we shall call an incontinuum, a collection of quanta whose connectivity defines the geometric fabric of x, y, z. Within it, the smallest piece of x, y, z space—a ‘point’—actually has volume! This adjustment is significant because it allows us to overcome some inconsistencies that plague continuous models geometries that assume zero-dimensional points at their base”

Before we discuss those inconsistencies, let’s examine this model a little closer. Starting with the idea that individual quanta represent discrete pieces of space, the dimensions of space that we are familiar with x, y, z come into focus as we consider a collection of these quanta. What about the dimensions within a single quantum, or the dimensions of the void around that quantum? How are we to interpret them? To answer this question, we note that the familiar spatial dimensions x, y, z can only be macro-scopically focused. They dissolve as we approach the quantum scale. On the quantum scale, every region in this map is either immediately taken up by the intraspatial volume within a quantum of space, or the superspatial volume that defines the void surrounding the space quanta. Volumes are always three-dimensional. ”

“If space is quantized, then the precision of location in x, y, z space is limited by the size of the quanta. Despite this, it is easy to imagine locations in a quantized map that exist outside of the space quanta superspatial locations, and positions within a single quantum of space intraspatial locations. Neither of these kinds of positions can be addressed by x, y, z information. All three kinds of volume are orthogonally related. As a result we end up with three unique kinds of volume, each making a unique reference to entirely different descriptors of position and geometric arrangement in our map."

Excerpt From: Roberts, Thad. “Einstein's Intuition.” v1.0. Thad Roberts, 2015. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBooks Store: Einstein's Intuition by Thad Roberts on iBooks
 
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“Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which the problems were created.”
Albert Einstein

“Some people find the possibility that there are real spatial dimensions in addition to x, y, z to be so radical that they dismiss it outright ...
Thanks for taking the time to share your view, and in principle I agree with the spirit of your post. It's always good to have some food for thought. But apart from that, because my search for the nature of reality doesn't involve having faith in Mr. TED talk or anyone else, how about we address how the issues in my post relate to the model he's proposing? Simply reiterating what the video says doesn't do that. Or would that be too demanding? Maybe just take some more time to reflect.
 
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how about we address how the issues in my post relate to the model he's proposing?
Sure. You said extra spacial dimensions are not possible, and even if they do exist they'd be pointless. Both of those statements are wrong.
 
The most important thing about this axiomatic adjustment is that it enables us to regain a picture of physical reality that is entirely intuitive. That picture carries us to some rather interesting philosophical implications, which are fully developed in[…]”

Soupie, would you fill in the citation following the bracketed ellipsis? Thanks.
 
This point qualifies the third expansionist parameter, namely, that information in nature should be understood as relating to the constitution of unified observer-dependent constructs, whose value and informedness are a derivative of ongoing environmental engagement. To clarify, any agency—be it a living or nonliving construct—reacts physically in a way that is determined by its own dynamic construction. This construction thereby defines the ‘nature of the fact’ of the physical entity with which it interacts: no physical entity has independent informational content by which we might call it ‘a fact of that physical entity’. This view of information differs from its more typical interpretation as an observer-independent commodity that exists objectively ‘out there’ in the world.

The theoretical direction you're going in appeals to me (not surprisingly). I have to confess that I lack enough chemical and biological background to follow most of the details of your explication.

The thesis you're developing does in my opinion ground an ontology different from the standard materialist/objectivist ontology still adhered to by a majority of contemporary scientists. :)
 
“Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which the problems were created.”
Albert Einstein

“Some people find the possibility that there are real spatial dimensions in addition to x, y, z to be so radical that they dismiss it outright—in spite of the vast collection of experimental and empirical evidence that points us in that direction. Such a response is understandable, and expected, but it may also be premature and inappropriate. If we never seriously explored new perspectives, if we always allowed common experience to frame our worldview, then we would still be modeling air and water as we experience them—as continuous media instead of as collections of molecules. A model that attempted to explain all media air, water, wood, etc. as continuous would be far more complicated than a molecular one, and its explanatory power would severely suffer. By allowing for the existence of atoms, our model of physical reality becomes far more coherent, simple, and intuitive. ” ...

“The term absolute volume makes reference to the fact that, in a quantized picture of physical reality, the minimum number of spatial dimensions belonging to any immediate region will always be equal to three, but the specific dimensions that each locale immediately belongs to may vary. For example, when specifying a precise location we might be talking about a location within the volume of a single quantum an intraspatial location, or a location within the volume that exists between quanta a superspatial location, or we might just be referring to a specific quantum of space itself a spatial location, which is defined in reference to a large collection of other space quanta that fill out a three dimensional volume. This adjustment to our axiomatic structure significantly impacts our attempt to explain the fantastic effects of both general relativity and quantum mechanics. Note that on macroscopic scales, Einstein’s absolute spacetime is a natural derivative of this deeper notion of absolute volume.

The most important thing about this axiomatic adjustment is that it enables us to regain a picture of physical reality that is entirely intuitive. That picture carries us to some rather interesting philosophical implications, which are fully developed in[…]”

“To initiate our visualization of a quantized picture for spacetime, let’s imagine the tapestry of x, y, z space as an enormous collection of identical spheres that, at least to first approximation, elastically collide and interact. The distribution of these spheres is not necessarily uniform...

Each sphere at least when time-averaged is identical in volume and surface area; therefore, each sphere makes a discrete, equal and nonzero contribution to the entire collection of spheres—the medium. Now imagine that each one of these spheres is a discrete, elemental atom of space—or what we will call a quantum of space.”

“This replaces the concept of a continuum of space with what we shall call an incontinuum, a collection of quanta whose connectivity defines the geometric fabric of x, y, z. Within it, the smallest piece of x, y, z space—a ‘point’—actually has volume! This adjustment is significant because it allows us to overcome some inconsistencies that plague continuous models geometries that assume zero-dimensional points at their base”

Before we discuss those inconsistencies, let’s examine this model a little closer. Starting with the idea that individual quanta represent discrete pieces of space, the dimensions of space that we are familiar with x, y, z come into focus as we consider a collection of these quanta. What about the dimensions within a single quantum, or the dimensions of the void around that quantum? How are we to interpret them? To answer this question, we note that the familiar spatial dimensions x, y, z can only be macro-scopically focused. They dissolve as we approach the quantum scale. On the quantum scale, every region in this map is either immediately taken up by the intraspatial volume within a quantum of space, or the superspatial volume that defines the void surrounding the space quanta. Volumes are always three-dimensional. ”

“If space is quantized, then the precision of location in x, y, z space is limited by the size of the quanta. Despite this, it is easy to imagine locations in a quantized map that exist outside of the space quanta superspatial locations, and positions within a single quantum of space intraspatial locations. Neither of these kinds of positions can be addressed by x, y, z information. All three kinds of volume are orthogonally related. As a result we end up with three unique kinds of volume, each making a unique reference to entirely different descriptors of position and geometric arrangement in our map."

Excerpt From: Roberts, Thad. “Einstein's Intuition.” v1.0. Thad Roberts, 2015. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBooks Store: Einstein's Intuition by Thad Roberts on iBooks

This sounds like an interesting theory (though most of it is beyond my understanding). How does the author relate his theory to quantum entanglement?
 
Sure. You said extra spacial dimensions are not possible, and even if they do exist they'd be pointless. Both of those statements are wrong.
For your proclamation to be valid, you would first have to invalidate hierarchical dependence. You haven't done that, and I suspect that you don't even have the faintest idea why you would have to. Maybe it's because the interspatial volume between the quantized space containing your brain cells is disproportionately larger than average ... LOL.
 
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