Friday, January 27, 2012

The Most Interesting Unsolved Problem of Science

Physicist and novelist Alan Lightman, who visits 2/2, is interviewed in the most recent issue of The Atlantic:

Q: "Mr. g" [the character of God in the novel] spends quite a while experimenting with consciousness, adding cells to an organism to see when it becomes conscious. What intrigues you about consciousness

A: For me, consciousness is the most interesting unsolved problem of science, and, in fact, we may never know what it is about a particular arrangement of neurons that gives rise to consciousness. Our consciousness, like the air we breathe or like the passage of time, is central to our existence as intelligent beings.

More.