ohh, and the art piece is fascinating. i’d like to suggest that prehistoric rock art is not necessarily “art” as we know it – it may have had entirely different connotations and functions for their societies. David Lewis Williams writes eloquently about this in The Mind’s Cave, where he connects prehistoric cave art to depictions of altered states of consciousness. in so far as his theory is valid, so the “art” is not an idea so much as a metaphor… a feeling or vision that is conveyed through other means, expressed visually. “idea” seems very fixed to me, whereas these drawings may represent something as it moves between worlds.

and thanks for the compliment – no confusion about how i feel about that!

You have an interesting blog here, you and your compadres. I could spend hours here.

This discussion is very much in line with a conversation I had with a good friend recently regarding the development of the idea. It stemmed from a conversation about prehistoric art. Art comes from idea, but from where does idea come? Or better asked, when did idea form and how did it form.

Also, I find that I often get into conversations about people regarding consciousness and find out that we’re talking about different things. Sometimes I talk about Consciousness with a big C, and other times just consciousness. It can be confusing at times.

This research is valuable in understanding our own consciousness and that of the community of life, but I think it also has relevance to astrobiology. It is unreasonable (or at least highly improbable) that extraterrestrial life–even with the ability to communicate–will bear sufficient similarities to humans that we can easily converse (as is typified in Hollywood). To this end, the study of interspecies communication will help us gain a broader understanding that may someday be relevant when faced with extraterrestrial communication.