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Letter: Conscious state

Published 30 April 2014

From Tony Kline

I was disappointed that Tegmark ended his excellent article by referring to “calculation” of how conscious observers “perceive” their world. A more fruitful emphasis would be on how conscious observers “create” their world.

One of the essential features of consciousness is that it interprets perception, deduces meaning and imposes that unified meaning on the world, in a continuous feedback process. That’s why it “senses” the tiger crouched on the rock above the path, despite the least of clues, and why it is so useful for survival.
Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK

Issue no. 2967 published 3 May 2014

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