Back in May, I shared a paper that made a blistering attack on the integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness. A major point of IIT is that a specific causal structure is necessary to generate phenomenal experience, namely a feedback or recurrent neural network, that is, a neural network with structural loops. To be clear, … Continue reading A response to the unfolding argument: a defense of Integrated Information Theory
The issues with higher order theories of consciousness
After the global workspace theory (GWT) post, someone asked me if I'm now down on higher order theories (HOT). It's fair to say I'm less enthusiastic about them than I used to be. They still might describe important components of consciousness, but the stronger assertion that they provide the primary explanation now seems dubious. A … Continue reading The issues with higher order theories of consciousness
The Witcher
I just finished watching The Witcher on Netflix. This was a series that I initially resisted getting into. From a distance, it looked too much like a Game of Thrones knockoff. But after numerous people recommended it, I decided to give it a try. It turns out that The Witcher is based on a book … Continue reading The Witcher
Global workspace theory: consciousness as brain wide information sharing
Lately I've been reading up on global workspace theory (GWT). In a survey published last year, among general consciousness enthusiasts, integrated information theory (IIT) was the most popular theory, followed closely by GWT. However, among active consciousness researchers, GWT was seen as the most promising by far (although no theory garnered a majority). Since seeing … Continue reading Global workspace theory: consciousness as brain wide information sharing
The role of beauty and simplicity in scientific theories
In the post on Copernicus earlier this week, I noted that his heliocentric theory, right from its initial publication, was hailed as far more mathematically elegant than the Aristotelian / Ptolemaic system, which was taken as the canonical model of the universe at the time. But while everyone hailed Copernican mathematics, virtually no one accepted … Continue reading The role of beauty and simplicity in scientific theories
Lost in Space
When I was very young in the early 70s, I remember coming home after school and watching afternoon TV, a lot of syndicated shows from the 60s. One of those shows was the original Star Trek, in the early years of its syndication run that would pull it out of oblivion and eventually turn it … Continue reading Lost in Space
Merry Christmas
A year ago, I wrote that I hoped there would be more time for blogging in the next year. That time would eventually materialize, but not for several months. Yet, the frequency of posts immediately spiked, and has stayed higher ever since. Did I just end up making more time? Not quite. I realized after … Continue reading Merry Christmas
A theory more pleasing to the mind
For most of human history, the Earth was seen as the stationary center of the universe, with the sun, planets, and starry firmament circling around it at various speeds. The ancient Greeks quickly managed to work out that the Earth was spherical but struggled to explain the motions of the heavens. Eventually Eudoxus, a student … Continue reading A theory more pleasing to the mind
The discovery of discovery
I've been thinking lately about the history of science, particularly the period between 1500 and 1700, what is usually referred to as "the scientific revolution." I'm a bit leery of many accounts of this period, as they often assume that there's some bright line separating science from what came before. There's a tendency to look … Continue reading The discovery of discovery
Massimo on consciousness: no illusion, but also no spookiness
Massimo Pigliucci has a good article on consciousness at Aeon. In it, he takes aim both at illusionists as well as those who claim consciousness is outside the purview of science. Although I'd say he's more worked up about the illusionists. However, rather than taking the typical path of strawmanning the claim, he deals with … Continue reading Massimo on consciousness: no illusion, but also no spookiness
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