Thoughtforms Life Conversation between Donald Hoffman and Richard Watson
Jun 6, 2024
Donald Hoffman, a cognitive scientist known for his groundbreaking work on consciousness, and Richard Watson, a futurist exploring theoretical views on reality, dive into the complexities of perception and time. They discuss the distinction between living and nonliving as a construct of perception, challenge the idea of scientific theories leading to ultimate truth, and examine how concepts of time may be illusory. Their thought-provoking conversation touches on how projections shape our understanding of causation and the potential for theories beyond space-time.
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Perception As A Useful Interface
- Perceptions are like a VR dashboard: useful but not true descriptions of an underlying system.
- Scientific models can predict appearances without those appearances being ontologically real.
VR Ferrari Example
- Hoffman uses a VR Grand Theft Auto Ferrari analogy to explain perception as rendering.
- He argues the supercomputer contains lawful states that allow accurate prediction without Ferrari reality.
Living vs Nonliving As Dashboard Artifacts
- Distinctions like living vs non-living can be artifacts of our perceptual dashboard.
- Useful categories inside a perspective need not reflect deep metaphysical divisions.