The brain's 5-million core, 9 Hz computer

Re:The brain's 5-million core, 9 Hz computer by gosub on Monday May 30, 2011 @10:26AM (#2599464)

    You're saying that since we can't measure it or detect it, it doesn't exist, and therefore isn't important

If you can't measure it or detect it, how would you know it's there and it's the source of the phenomenon? If I tell you that it's not consciousness but magic pixie dust, invisible and non-detectable magic pixie dust, would you start searching for Neverland?

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Re:The brain's 5-million core, 9 Hz computer by henrikschroder on Tuesday May 31, 2011 @08:12AM (#2602228)

I am conscious. I experience being conscious every waking hour of my life. I don't know why, I can't objectively describe the experience of it, but I know it is there.

I can't speak for you, but given that we're of the same species, I'm gonna assume that you are conscious like me.

Conscious machines? No, that'll require a lot more convincing than a song and a dance.

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Re:The brain's 5-million core, 9 Hz computer by gosub on Wednesday June 08, 2011 @06:09AM (#2632591)

I don't understand. Is consciousness a feeling or an external manifestation? It's something purely internal or something also visible on the outside? If it's only internal you cannot, by defition, say if a machine is conscious, but also every other human. If tomorrow we would discover an alien civilization and start a meaningful communication, would you question their consciousness?

Personally, I don't think that all the discussion about consciousness is meaningful. Consciousness could be the human feeling of abstract reasoning, like cold is the human feeling of registering a lower temperature. A machine could reproduce abstract reasoning, and asking about its consciousness would be like asking if a thermostat feels cold.

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