X-Message-Number: 14113 Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 08:29:52 -0400 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: CryoNet #14086 - #14094 To Gurvinder: After a long pause, neuroscientists have started to look at consciousness, too. The leading theory of how consciousness works proposes that it consists of a continual byplay between one central area in our lower brain and various sites (changing all the time) in our cortex. I can give you a more extensive discussion, but there will be a delay while I dig it up from among my papers (I originally wrote it on my former net site, which went out of business --- so that I'll have to get it again). Just like any other scientific theory it does not pretend to give the last word on the subject, but it may still help. Some neuroscientists have argued that it is an illusion, but I doubt that, mainly because their argument has no way of telling why we are NOT conscious of lots of things. The main problem with the above theory consists of the specification of the exact area involved. It may be somewhere in the hypothalamus, which is a quite complex structure. The thalamus may also play a part. And consciousness, and how it works, is one subject I discuss in PERIASTRON ... though I do not do so in every issue. I agree that it is important, and believe that neuroscience will help a lot to describe just which brain areas are involved and what they do. Best and long long life to all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=14113