Are We Ready for MRI That Can Detect the Human Soul?

What initially reeked of fake news has now been proven real: the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology has invested $126 million to build a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to identify the human soul.

According to news sources, the scanner will produce a resolution that’s 1,000 times more powerful than conventional MRI and will be able to image objects that are 1 millimeter wide. The researchers’ ambitions know no limits, and as one unnamed scientist said, “We may for the first time capture a full picture of human consciousness or even the essence of life itself. Then we can define them and explain how they work in precise physical terms – just like Newton and Einstein defined and explained the universe.”

Aside from investigating spiritual matter, researchers will use the device to investigate the brain to learn more about neuron message transmission and to continue to search for treatment for diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The scanner will also be able to analyze a variety of chemicals such as sodium, phosphorus, and potassium.

Some scientists in the community have cast their doubts about the project. “What is consciousness? There is not even a scientific definition,” said Rongqiao He, PhD, principal investigator at the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Biophysics. “If you can’t define it, how can you know what you see is what you are looking for?”