Christoph Koch and David Chalmers made a 25-year bet about the origin of consciousness. The neuroscientist had to concede last month that his prediction had not come true. We are no closer to understanding the basis of consciousness than we were in 1998, says Sample.
Twenty-five years ago in a German bar, neuroscientist Christof Koch bet philosopher David Chalmers that we’d understand the neural basis for consciousness by 2023. Last month, the winner of the bet received a case of wine. Ian Sample talks to Christof and David about why they made the bet, who won, and where we are now in our understanding of this most fundamental aspect of existence.. Help support our independent journalism at
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