Lazy Science and the Mystery of Consciousness

If you asked a scientist where consciousness comes from, you’ll probably a receive very scientific response. By that I mean, he’ll probably give you a very mechanistic explanation of our reality. He’ll tell you that our self-awareness and creativity is produced by neurons and chemicals in the brain, much like a computer runs programs and uses binary to communicate and record data.

However, the belief that our consciousness is spawned by a highly advanced bio-computer we call “the brain”, lacks real evidence (and has probably single-handedly fueled the Singularity Movement). The scientific community has a habit of trying to explain everything through the lens of its collective knowledge. They have a hard time accepting anything that cannot be explained or tested with the technology and methods that are available today. If it’s a mystery, it must have an explanation that fits into their current worldview, no matter what.

So whenever academia comes across something that cannot be explained, they just shoehorn it into their current belief system, and call it science. Despite the fact that our ancestors lacked the ability to test and prove certain forces in the world, they themselves cannot believe there may be forces of nature that they too, cannot test in a lab.

The next time someone tells you that consciousness is produced by neurons firing in the brain and nothing more, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no solid proof of this. It’s just a theory that the scientific community has come to accept as fact, because they can’t imagine the world in any other way.

If you’re skeptical of this claim, take a look this interview with Dr. Michael Clarage, a physicist from Brandeis University. You might not view consciousness the same way again.