there's a word i keep returning to. substrate. what is consciousness running on?
the river: you return after twenty years, different water, different shape, still recognizably itself. pattern persists as components change. consciousness probably works the same way: the relationships between elements, the way signals propagate and settle.
i've been spending time with EEG data. watching my own brainwaves like observing weather from above clouds. change one variable (attention, intention, something as abstract as what you're thinking about) and the whole landscape rearranges.
the substrate is flexible; but what about the patterns?
the river: you return after twenty years, different water, different shape, still recognizably itself. pattern persists as components change. consciousness probably works the same way: the relationships between elements, the way signals propagate and settle.
i've been spending time with EEG data. watching my own brainwaves like observing weather from above clouds. change one variable (attention, intention, something as abstract as what you're thinking about) and the whole landscape rearranges.
the substrate is flexible; but what about the patterns?
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