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Consciousness
You're a moody person. You have to be — because understanding moods philosophically can be crucial to your work-life.
"Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions."
"We do not experience primarily because we have brains; we experience because we are alive."
Plato's cave metaphor illustrates the cognitive trap of ignorance, where we may be unaware of the limitations of our understanding.
10mins
"Is it possible that consciousness is a much more basic phenomenon in nature and is essentially pervading everything?"
While we’re busy wondering whether machines will ever become conscious, we rarely stop to ask: What happens to us?
3mins
From nothing to everything: How zero changed our understanding of the universe, forever.
Hospice nurse Julie McFadden shares three examples where people hold off death, just for a bit.
“The brain is never the same from one moment to the next throughout life. Never ever.”
"Upon emergence, these patients are sincerely unsure what was reality and what was a ‘dream.'"
Our “embodied minds” suggest an eventual escape from mortality via computer is unlikely.
9mins
At age 37, neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a stroke that would take her eight years to fully recover from. This is how it changed her understanding of the brain.
Unlikely Collaborators
33 years ago, the theoretical biologist Robert Rosen offered an answer to the question "Is life computable?"
3mins
Journalist Steven Kotler on digital immortality and the tech that could keep us “alive,” forever.
At a fundamental level, only a few particles and forces govern all of reality. How do their combinations create human consciousness?
Even with the best technology imaginable, you'd probably never be able to exist as a consciously aware brain in a vat.
11mins
“Forget about essences.” Philosopher Daniel Dennett on how modern-day philosophers should be more collaborative with scientists if they want to make revolutionary developments in their fields.
The truth may be out there — but it’s not in these close encounters of the third kind.
Here's the case for why science can't keep ignoring human experience.
5mins
James Fadiman PhD, who has 60 years of experience in the field, believes they are.
Unlikely Collaborators
5mins
Enlightenment: After the ecstasy, the laundry. Why enlightenment is never an end in itself.
6mins
You know Steve-O. Now meet Steve Glover, as the professional stuntman talks to us about pain, insecurity, and never finding contentment.
Unlikely Collaborators
Cognitive psychologist and poet Keith Holyoak explores whether artificial intelligence could ever achieve poetic authenticity.
Big Think recently spoke with sleep psychologist Dr. Jade Wu about the surprising consequences of forgoing sleep.
High-frequency oscillations that ripple through our brains may generate memory and conscious experience.
I also can’t conjure sounds, smells, or any other kind of sensory stimulation inside my head. This is called “aphantasia.”
The heart's rhythms may play a larger role in shaping psychedelic experiences than previously thought.
Millions of people have had a near-death experience, and it often leads them to believe in an afterlife. Does this count as good proof?
From how life emerged on Earth to why we dream, these unanswered questions continue to perplex scientists.
Your life’s memories could, in principle, be stored in the universe’s structure.