tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post7435995991449573582..comments2023-10-30T04:16:25.917-04:00Comments on Sentient Developments: What is the evolutionary advantage of consciousness?Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003484633933455827noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-70624284928583214962009-02-10T23:27:00.000-05:002009-02-10T23:27:00.000-05:00Watts has made the book available for free online ...Watts has made the book available for free online in various formats: http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htmMachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11074004681516756703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-29003698566270212482009-02-10T07:15:00.000-05:002009-02-10T07:15:00.000-05:00@Mac I have not, but I'll be sure to look that up....@Mac I have not, but I'll be sure to look that up.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13003484633933455827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-46875275897267282832009-02-10T00:32:00.000-05:002009-02-10T00:32:00.000-05:00Have you read Peter Watts' "Blindsight"? It's a f...Have you read Peter Watts' "Blindsight"? It's a feast of a novel.Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11074004681516756703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-22182764814529751092009-02-09T13:17:00.000-05:002009-02-09T13:17:00.000-05:00I have to agree with Random Stuff's comment. Furth...I have to agree with Random Stuff's comment. Further, there is growing evidence (using EEG and, more recently, fMRI) that decisions are made unconsciously, long before they are acknowledged consciously. See <A HREF="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826525.600-machine-detects-our-decisions-before-we-know-them.html" REL="nofollow">this New Scientist article</A> for some fairly recent research.<BR/><BR/>The thing is, at the moment, no one really knows what consciousness is, or what it does. A speaker at last year's British Psychological Society annual conference argued that it is merely part of the perceptual process, and that its supposed control over decision-making is entirely illusory.<BR/><BR/>Whatever the truth, it seems impossible to speculate meaningfully on the evolutionary advantage of consciousness (or, for that matter, on whether it could still exist if the brain were simulated in different substrates) until such time as we have a better idea of what it actually does.Nic Shakeshafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13126170078245538733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-52752918590805163352009-02-08T21:10:00.000-05:002009-02-08T21:10:00.000-05:00This confuses planning with consciousness. When D...This confuses planning with consciousness. When Deep Blue beats Kasparov at Chess, it is planning but it is not conscious.Random Stuffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102526429223467210noreply@blogger.com