Reading · Consciousness & The Brain

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Poll results are in, and the questions you sent us are terrific. Here's a sample...

We asked. You answered.

More than 160 of you voted across two polls, and dozens more replied directly or left comments with questions that no textbook has cleanly resolved. We read every one. What follows is what you shared with us, and more about our plans.

✨ Our Poll Results — 162 votes. Thank you… we’re listening!

Some of the questions you sent us

Beyond the votes, many of you wrote in directly and the questions were terrific. These are some of the unresolved questions at the frontier of consciousness science, and what our Open Dialogues will explore:

“How and where does consciousness emerge in the brain?”
— WITH

“How will we ever recognise a consciousness that doesn’t match our own?”
— Bernie Hernandez

“At what point in childhood do we become conscious — and is that connected with memory?”
— Julie Hamilton

“What is consciousness and how is it defined?”
— Aletta Scheepstra, Matthias Heger & others

“Given the structure of cortex is pretty much the same for front to back, doesn’t that suggest a common class of function from front to back? Pattern recognition?”
— James of Seattle

“Why do we have a sense of a continuous, unified self — when the brain appears to be a chorus of competing processes?”
— Paraphrase of several replies

“I’m curious about variations in cognitive architecture — how it is affected by aphantasia, anendophasia, or both. If alters in DID can display different physical characteristics, might two alters in the same body have different cognitive architecture?”
— Auntie Thetical

“Linguistic communication is essential for human consciousness. Which brain characteristics do humans have that great apes lack — and what is the meaning of ‘existing,’ as in I exist?”
— Albertus Morriën

“Why are so many people stuck on the ‘Hard Problem’ — even though it may simply be the wrong question?”
— Sam McRoberts

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What strikes us most is how many of the questions resist easy categorization. They sit at the edges of neuroscience, philosophy, and lived experience, just the territory we want to explore together.

Haven’t shared yours yet?

Leave your question in the comments. It doesn’t need to be fully formed, because half-formed questions can often be the most interesting. We read every word, and the ideas and questions our conscious community raises will directly shape our creative strategy.

If you’ve been reading along but haven’t commented yet, now’s a good time. :-)

What comes next

The results show that many of you want to understand the relationship between conscious and unconscious processes, inseparable from questions about the self, conscious perception and the brain, memory and emotion, and about our health and well being.

When we talk about “the topic of consciousness” in science today, we do not mean subjectivity alone. Rather, we refer to the “conscious-unconscious dimension,” which includes subjective experiences, but always compared to close brain analogues that are not conscious — that is, as an experimental variable that allows us to study brain differences attributable to consciousness.

We are planning at least one Open Dialogue to take this on directly. Details — date, registration, and what to expect — are coming next week. Stay tuned!

More soon.

~ Bernie & Nat :-)

P.S. Sam McRoberts asked why so many people remain fixed on the Hard Problem, suggesting it may simply be the wrong question. Do you agree? We think that's worth its own Open Dialogue. In the meantime, tell us what you think in the comments.

You've spoken. Here's what more than 160 of you most want to understand about consciousness.