The Problem With Comparing the Intensity of Stimuli

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Some people have more papilla on their tongue that makes them taste things more strongly. Psychophysicists discovered to get around it is to say, well, instead of saying like how hot in your mouth, this is, tell me how intense this is compared to the loudness of these tones. And they found that when they did that, you could actually compare across people in taste. It's creating a new language by giving them this tool of cross modality.

We try (with varying success) to wrap our heads around Thomas Nagel’s classic article “What is it Like to be a Bat?" Does science have the tools to give us a theory of consciousness or is that project doomed from the outset? Why do reductionist or functionalist explanations seem so unsatisfying? Is the problem that consciousness is subjective, or is it something about the nature of conscious experience itself? Is this ultimately an epistemological or metaphysical question? What are we talking about? Do we even know anymore?

Plus, the return of Mr. Robot! We talk about the big new mystery at the heart of the new season.

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