Consciousness

01/18/22 • 11 min

What is consciousness? Who experiences it? Why? How?
In this episode, I will first offer a definition of consciousness and consider the aspects that make it up. Then I’ll summarise some of the main questions we can ask about consciousness, drawing a distinction between the philosophical and neuroscientific sides to the problem. I will look over different scientific models of how the brain produces consciousness, as incomplete and flawed as they may be, before finishing with the practical consequences that understanding consciousness would have.
https://whatwedontknow.buzzsprout.com/

Previous Episode

Dark matter

What is dark matter? Why do we need it, and how can we find it? Dark matter is notorious for how it evades detection, and its presence is one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology. Yet we think it must exist. Not only that, but we think it must make up 80% of matter in the universe.

This episode I will explore how physicists discovered dark matter, what we know so far, and the particles which attempt to solve its secrets. Then I’ll consider what dark matter fails to explain and the possible alternative theories that complement dark matter’s weaknesses.
https://whatwedontknow.buzzsprout.com/

Next Episode

Black hole information paradox (part one)

Different areas of physics seem to be incompatible inside black holes. When combining general relativity, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, you get a paradox, which suggests that our knowledge of these areas is flawed. A solution, whatever it may be, would irreversibly shake up our understanding of the physical world. It may rewrite fundamental laws. It may unveil a new theory of quantum gravity.
In this episode I will unravel what ‘information’ means in physics and how it relates to unitarity. I’ll explain how black holes are formed and their key features, why Hawking radiation was proposed, and how Hawking radiation violates this unitarity. This should reveal what the black hole information paradox is. Then in the next episode, we’ll examine potential solutions to the paradox.
https://whatwedontknow.buzzsprout.com/

What We Don't Know - Consciousness

Transcript

Consciousnessness
Hello everyone, welcome to the ninth episode of ‘What We Don’t Know’, a podcast that explores the boundaries of human knowledge, investigating the unanswered questions and theories that unravel them at the frontiers of science. During this podcast I hope to get you interested in new areas of science, maths and technology, teaching you about existing concepts and igniting a curiosity for the things we have yet to know.

What is consciousness? Who experiences it?