Closing in on consciousness
Christoff Koch, an associate of the late Francis Crick, offers the rudiments of a scientific investigation of consciousness.
Most interestingly, he refers to Tononi's idea that consciousness is a function of the complexity of an entity, and can be quanitifed precisely in terms of phi, or bits of information among interacting parts. An electron, which cannot be subdivided and therefore has no interacting parts, has zero phi. Meanwhile, our rich consciousness is a result of our highly complex brains, which can shift to a vast number of different states, each of which corresponds to a different "feel" of consciousness.
We're closing in on consciousness New Scientist
Most interestingly, he refers to Tononi's idea that consciousness is a function of the complexity of an entity, and can be quanitifed precisely in terms of phi, or bits of information among interacting parts. An electron, which cannot be subdivided and therefore has no interacting parts, has zero phi. Meanwhile, our rich consciousness is a result of our highly complex brains, which can shift to a vast number of different states, each of which corresponds to a different "feel" of consciousness.
We're closing in on consciousness New Scientist