Lecture on the Mystery of Consciousness and Perception

The Great Unsolved Mystery

• The relationship between brain activity and conscious experiences remains a mystery.
• Thomas Huxley in 1868 compared consciousness to a genie appearing from a lamp.
• Brain activity and conscious experiences are known to be correlated but the "why" is unknown.

Current Views and Opinions

• Some experts believe we lack the intelligence to solve this problem, akin to monkeys understanding quantum mechanics.
• The speaker disagrees and believes the obstacle is a false assumption.

Reality and Perception

• Key Question: Do we see reality as it is?
  • Example: Perception of a red tomato—does it exist when eyes are closed?
• Misinterpretations of perceptions have occurred historically (e.g., flat Earth, Earth as universe's center).

Neuroscientific Insights

• A significant portion of the brain (cortex) is involved in vision.
• Vision is not like a camera; it actively constructs our perception of reality.
• Perception is not merely capturing reality; it is constructing it in real-time.

Construction and Reconstruction

• Examples demonstrating construction of perception: 3-D cube from flat images, moving blue bars from stationary dots.
• Reconstruction: Perceptions are interpreted as reconstructions of reality.
• Evolutionary argument: Accurate perceptions supposedly offer a competitive advantage.

Evolution and Perception

• Example: Jewel beetles mistaking beer bottles for mates, showing evolution exploits 'hacks'.
• Perception does not necessarily favor seeing reality as it is; often, organisms survive by perceiving fitness rather than reality.
• Simulations show perception of reality often goes extinct.

Metaphor of the Desktop Interface

• Interface (perception) hides reality but guides adaptive behavior.
• Space and time are likened to a desktop interface; physical objects are icons.

Objections and Clarifications

• Objection: Perceptions like trains are agreed upon and shared; countered by explaining shared constructions (e.g., seeing a train).
• Misunderstanding of perception as a window on reality; it's rather an adaptive guide.

New Possibilities for Consciousness

• Letting go of false assumptions about reality opens new possibilities for understanding consciousness.
• Explorations into whether reality could be a system of interacting conscious agents.

Reflections and Implications

• Evolution favors adaptive perception, not necessarily truth.
• Open question whether logic and mathematics are shaped towards truth by evolution.
• Theory challenges the notion that matter causes consciousness; suggests the opposite.

Conclusion

• Recognizing false assumptions can lead to scientific progress.
• Theories evolve and progress with new insights.
• Final thoughts: Science and evolution challenge our perception and understanding of reality.