Author Archives: SelfAwarePatterns

Dogs have metacognition, maybe

Posted on December 9, 2018

Last year in a post on panpsychism, I introduced a hierarchy I use to conceptualize the capabilities of systems that we intuitively see as conscious.  This isn’t a new theory of consciousness or anything, just my own way of making … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

On imagination, feelings, and brain regions

Posted on November 11, 2018

The last post on feelings generated some excellent conversations.  In a couple of them, it was pointed out that my description of feelings put a lot of work on the concept of imagination, and that maybe I should expand on … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , | 62 Comments

The construction of feelings

Posted on October 28, 2018

I’ve had a number of conversations lately on the subject of feelings, the affective states of having valences about conscious perception, such as fear, pain, joy, hunger, etc.  Apparently a lot of people view feelings as a very mysterious phenomenon.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , | 123 Comments

Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell to Earth

Posted on October 7, 2018

I’ve noted before that I’m a long time fan of Doctor Who, so naturally I tuned in to watch the first episode of the new Doctor played by Jodie Whittaker.  I’ll be honest here, I wasn’t sure what to expect … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

SETI vs the possibility of interstellar exploration

Posted on September 30, 2018

Science News has a short article discussing a calculation someone has done showing how small the volume of space examined by SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is relative the overall size of the galaxy. With no luck so far in … Continue reading →

Posted in Space | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

A qualified recommendation: The Murderbot Diaries

Posted on September 16, 2018

I’m generally not a fan of most depictions of AI (artificial intelligence) in science fiction.  They’re often highly anthropomorphic, assuming that engineered intelligences would innately have motivations and impulses similar to humans or other living systems, such as caring about … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Inflate and explode, or deflate and preserve?

Posted on September 9, 2018

Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel has an interesting post up criticizing the arguments of illusionists, those who have concluded that phenomenal consciousness is an illusion. Here’s a way to deny the existence of things of Type X. Assume that things of Type … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , | 93 Comments