Donald hoffman consciousness quotes

In this episode, I had the honor of speaking with Dr. Donald D. Hoffman, who is a professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine. His writing has appeared in Scientific American and Edge, and his work has been featured in the Atlantic, Wired, and Quanta.

He resides in Irvine, California. Be sure to check out his latest book, The Case Against Reality, available just about everywhere.

So, what is real…and how does that help answer the Hard Question of Consciousness?

We discussed: 

1. There is a false assumption out there that you take head on: ‘That we see reality as it is.”
   1. You think that’s wrong?

      What is real, then?

   2. Simulations/equations
   3. What about two people perceiving the same thing?
   4. Your letter exchange with Dr. Crick and The-thing-in-itself versus the-idea-of-the-thing: does this get to the heart of answering the hard question?
   5. How big of a gap is there between perception of reality and reality?

      Is that knowable?

2. What is a conscious