An objective look at a subjective problem
In his article “Unlocking consciousness”, George Musser describes the structuralist model of conscious experience. However, he misunderstands the nature of the “hard problem” in the philosophical theory of mind 鈥� how subjective experience arises. He assumes that, by developing a structuralist model, “science will be able to explain experience after all 鈥� and the hard problem ceases to be hard. Most philosophers who are generally sympathetic to structuralism don’t go that far” (28 March, p 30).
But there is a very good reason why we do not. Structuralism arises from the study of the objective brain signals, and their objective meanings within their objective context. No objective model can possibly address the nature of subjective qualities. All we can do is experience them for ourselves. What structuralism does achieve for the hard problem is bringing that brick wall into sharper focus, to expose the common misconception for what it is.
Going into the mind of a Stone Age seafarer
To put Stone Age seafarers into perspective, we should remember that we are looking at a vast timespan. Even individual events that may seem unlikely are likely to have happened many times over hundreds of thousands of years. Also, in our cosseted, long lives, we have become very risk-averse, but the Stone Age human, living with the ever-present threat of violence and starvation, would be less reluctant to sail blindly towards a distant horizon. The vast majority may have failed, but it only took a few to colonise (31 January, p 32).
Finding the tools to understand consciousness
I read with great interest the interview with Michael Pollan, but was struck by a notable omission. He suggests we may need “a kind of science” capable of incorporating first-person experience into our understanding of consciousness. Yet disciplines such as psychoanalysis have been working precisely in this space for over a century, building on much older philosophical traditions and treating subjective experience, including the unconscious, as meaningful and analysable rather than problematic (4 April, p 26).
While these traditions may not fit neatly within conventional empirical frameworks, they arguably represent exactly the kind of enquiry Pollan is calling for. This raises the question of whether the issue is a lack of tools, or a reluctance within contemporary science to engage with them.
Finding unique ways to harness energy
Chris Stokel-Walker’s article about AI data centres warming surrounding land was very interesting. In the UK, a company has piloted using this heat to warm swimming pools. A local park in Edinburgh has installed an Archimedes screw in a nearby weir to generate electricity for their centre. Ben Cruachan, a so-called Hollow Mountain in Scotland, is a superb example of a hydroelectric power station, hiding the station within its cavernous depths. It would be wonderful if human energy expended in gyms could add electricity to the UK national grid (4 April, p 7).
Bitter taste of grapefruit is sweet for some
The article on grapefruit losing their bitterness seems to be closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Over the seven decades that I have had half a grapefruit as the starter for my breakfast, the flavour has been getting sweeter and sweeter. And “white grapefruit”, the sharper variety, are now impossible to obtain (14 February, p 14).
The whole purpose of eating a grapefruit at breakfast is to wake up the taste buds. Will lemons be next?
Speculations on the science of aliens (1)
In your Editor’s Pick letter titled “Why esoteric science could be overlooked by aliens”, the writer thinks that spacefaring aliens might not know about relativity and quantum mechanics because it is so obscure. I beg to differ (Letters, 28 March).
It is highly likely that advanced species have satellite navigation systems around their planets, which rely on relativistic correction for time dilation. It is also highly likely they would have advanced their medical technology 鈥� for example, with MRI body scanning that relies on nuclear spin. Satellite navigation and medical body scanners are hardly “esoteric” in an advanced society.
Speculations on the science of aliens (2)
A thought arising from Daniel Whiteson’s article “Would aliens do physics?” is that aliens with “eyes” different from ours might have different ideas about the aftermath of the big bang. If they could perceive longer, infrared wavelengths of light, what we call the cosmic dark ages wouldn’t be dark at all. It would be a transition from a blindingly bright fog to a gentle glow. Perhaps this would alter their perception of the universe’s history. Also, a James Webb equivalent might be the first telescope they built.
More on camping with theoretical physicists (1)
Question: what’s worse than going camping with a theoretical physicist? Answer: trusting your accounts to a cosmologist. Not only will most of your cash go missing, but you’ll be assured that all is OK; it’s really still there, but has simply been transformed into “dark money” (Letters, 28 March).
More on camping with theoretical physicists (2)
Adrian Smith’s imaginary camper virtually identified themselves as a theoretical physicist by displaying such disdain for proven instructions for erecting their tent. As a young oceanographic researcher at a northern UK university in the 1970s, I developed a novel deterministic climate forecasting methodology. When an even younger professor of theoretical physics arrived, I visited his office, where he listened politely while I described the method to him. After about 10 minutes, he interrupted me to ask whether I thought I could prove that the method worked in practice. When I answered positively, he said, “Well, it’s not theoretical then”, and showed me the door.