So,
Edge.org asked 120 scientist to state one thing they believe in but can't prove. To me, there are some truly fascinating concepts.
One of my favorites:
I believe that consciousness and its contents are all that exists. Space-time, matter and fields never were the fundamental denizens of the universe but have always been, from their beginning, among the humbler contents of consciousness, dependent on it for their very being.
So,
Edge.org asked 120 scientist to state one thing they believe in but can't prove. To me, there are some truly fascinating concepts.
One of my favorites:
I believe that consciousness and its contents are all that exists. Space-time, matter and fields never were the fundamental denizens of the universe but have always been, from their beginning, among the humbler contents of consciousness, dependent on it for their very being.
The world of our daily experience - the world of tables, chairs, stars and people, with their attendant shapes, smells, feels and sounds - is a species-specific user interface to a realm far more complex, a realm whose essential character is conscious. It is unlikely that the contents of our interface in any way resemble that realm.
Indeed the usefulness of an interface requires, in general, that they do not. For the point of an interface, such as the Windows interface on a computer, is simplification and ease of use. We click icons because this is quicker and less prone to error than editing megabytes of software or toggling voltages in circuits.
Donald Hoffman-Cognitive scientist, University of California, Irvine; author, "Visual Intelligence"To read more, you can check out the
New York Times overview or read
the full thing at the edge.