Theodore A Hoppe
@tahoppe.bsky.social
Topics of interest: unconsciousness, confabulation, neuroscience, animal consciousness, psychology, relationship models, etc etc
Pinned
Theodore A Hoppe
@tahoppe.bsky.social
· Feb 27
A Unified Theory of "C": Synthesizing Panpsychism, IIT, GNWT, and Affect-based Theory
"Together, they form a cohesive account of consciousness—from the simplest systems to human experience—revealing not competing ideas, but complementary dimensions of a singular phenomenon".
"Together, they form a cohesive account of consciousness—from the simplest systems to human experience—revealing not competing ideas, but complementary dimensions of a singular phenomenon".
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cost the federal government $99.8 billion in fiscal year 2024, with an average of 41.7 million participants per month.
Your periodic reminder that the estimated cost to end hunger in the U.S. is $25 billion.
July 31, 2025 at 12:59 AM
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cost the federal government $99.8 billion in fiscal year 2024, with an average of 41.7 million participants per month.
Word of the day: mendacious
July 22, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Word of the day: mendacious
Mark Ronson, RAYE - Suzanne (Official Video)
YouTube video by MarkRonsonVEVO
www.youtube.com
July 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Science & Cocktails is proud to present an episode with Robin Dunbar, world-renowned evolutionary psychologist working at the social and evolutionary neuroscience group at the University of Oxford.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_BR...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_BR...
How Religion evolved and why it endures with Robin Dunbar
YouTube video by The Science and Cocktails Foundation
www.youtube.com
July 14, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Science & Cocktails is proud to present an episode with Robin Dunbar, world-renowned evolutionary psychologist working at the social and evolutionary neuroscience group at the University of Oxford.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_BR...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_BR...
I must give this a listen to find out if the collider will be named the "Larger Hadron Collider."
I had an interesting discussion about CERN's plans for a bigger collider with Philip Halpern and particle physicist Harry Cliff that you can watch here www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fyH...
Sabine Hossenfelder vs Harry Cliff.Future Collider: Yes or No?
YouTube video by Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil)
www.youtube.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I must give this a listen to find out if the collider will be named the "Larger Hadron Collider."
Q: Why is there less social engagement, less discussion, and commenting on Blueky?
July 2, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Q: Why is there less social engagement, less discussion, and commenting on Blueky?
We ask whether machines can be conscious even though:
We don’t have a solid definition,
We don’t understand the mechanism in biological organisms,
And machines don’t have feelings—arguably a necessary substrate for consciousness (if affect is fundamental).
We don’t have a solid definition,
We don’t understand the mechanism in biological organisms,
And machines don’t have feelings—arguably a necessary substrate for consciousness (if affect is fundamental).
July 2, 2025 at 3:18 AM
We ask whether machines can be conscious even though:
We don’t have a solid definition,
We don’t understand the mechanism in biological organisms,
And machines don’t have feelings—arguably a necessary substrate for consciousness (if affect is fundamental).
We don’t have a solid definition,
We don’t understand the mechanism in biological organisms,
And machines don’t have feelings—arguably a necessary substrate for consciousness (if affect is fundamental).
There is no consensus on a definition of consciousness. Philosophers, neuroscientists, and cognitive scientists typically fall back on descriptions like:
“What it is like to feel something” (Nagel's phrasing),
Subjective experience,
Awareness of internal or external states.
“What it is like to feel something” (Nagel's phrasing),
Subjective experience,
Awareness of internal or external states.
July 2, 2025 at 3:15 AM
There is no consensus on a definition of consciousness. Philosophers, neuroscientists, and cognitive scientists typically fall back on descriptions like:
“What it is like to feel something” (Nagel's phrasing),
Subjective experience,
Awareness of internal or external states.
“What it is like to feel something” (Nagel's phrasing),
Subjective experience,
Awareness of internal or external states.
What’s in this video:
The magical transformation of rocks into computers
Slime molds: nature's unexpected network optimizers
Thinking with a body: the art of morphological computing
The surprising intelligence of single-celled organisms
Rethinking memory and learning
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwr1...
The magical transformation of rocks into computers
Slime molds: nature's unexpected network optimizers
Thinking with a body: the art of morphological computing
The surprising intelligence of single-celled organisms
Rethinking memory and learning
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwr1...
How the universe thinks without a brain | Claire L. Evans
YouTube video by Sana
www.youtube.com
June 25, 2025 at 8:57 PM
What’s in this video:
The magical transformation of rocks into computers
Slime molds: nature's unexpected network optimizers
Thinking with a body: the art of morphological computing
The surprising intelligence of single-celled organisms
Rethinking memory and learning
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwr1...
The magical transformation of rocks into computers
Slime molds: nature's unexpected network optimizers
Thinking with a body: the art of morphological computing
The surprising intelligence of single-celled organisms
Rethinking memory and learning
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwr1...
What is the current state of the consciousness studies field? What are the major issues and trends? What kinds of experiments are being conducted? What kinds of arguments are being made?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hrv...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hrv...
Alex Gómez-Marín - The Field of Consciousness Studies
YouTube video by Closer To Truth
www.youtube.com
June 25, 2025 at 8:49 PM
What is the current state of the consciousness studies field? What are the major issues and trends? What kinds of experiments are being conducted? What kinds of arguments are being made?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hrv...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hrv...
"Our results demonstrate that a key mechanism through which the brain distinguishes imagination from reality is by monitoring the activity of the mid-level visual cortex."
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
A neural basis for distinguishing imagination from reality
Dijkstra et al. show that our brain distinguishes imagination from reality by monitoring
how strongly the fusiform gyrus is activated. When imagined and real images produce
similar activity, people ca...
www.cell.com
June 12, 2025 at 11:58 PM
"Our results demonstrate that a key mechanism through which the brain distinguishes imagination from reality is by monitoring the activity of the mid-level visual cortex."
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
“This is exciting because we are starting to understand how only a handful of cells are involved in very specific behaviors."
www.umassmed.edu/news/news-ar...
www.umassmed.edu/news/news-ar...
Gilles Martin identifies neurons associated with the suppression of binge drinking
UMass Chan researchers identify neural ensemble that suppresses binge drinking
www.umassmed.edu
June 12, 2025 at 4:03 PM
“This is exciting because we are starting to understand how only a handful of cells are involved in very specific behaviors."
www.umassmed.edu/news/news-ar...
www.umassmed.edu/news/news-ar...
Phillip, why are you attacking @hossenfelder.bsky.social video instead of addressing the actual research paper she's reportig about?
Had a lovely chat with @nath-ormond.bsky.social about @hossenfelder.bsky.social's incredible new video on the scientific evidence for qualia!
www.youtube.com/live/h82NxaK...
www.youtube.com/live/h82NxaK...
Sabine Hossenfelder's Philosophical Mistakes about Mind w/ Philip Goff
YouTube video by Digital Gnosis
www.youtube.com
June 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Phillip, why are you attacking @hossenfelder.bsky.social video instead of addressing the actual research paper she's reportig about?
In this lesson, we discuss new research looking at the effects of caffeine and coffee (including other non-caffeine substances in coffee) on brain activity and functioning.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkXV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkXV...
Coffee and the Brain (Default Mode Network, Visual Cortex, Right Executive Control Network)
YouTube video by JJ Medicine
www.youtube.com
June 6, 2025 at 2:56 AM
In this lesson, we discuss new research looking at the effects of caffeine and coffee (including other non-caffeine substances in coffee) on brain activity and functioning.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkXV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkXV...
"Our findings suggest that this early dominance of the right hemisphere in encoding sound information might amplify its control of auditory processing, deepening the imbalance between hemispheres."
theconversation.com/your-left-an...
theconversation.com/your-left-an...
Your left and right brain hear language differently − a neuroscientist explains how
Left and right brains hear speech differently, yet how this divide forms was unclear − until mouse studies showed each hemisphere runs on its own developmental clock.
theconversation.com
June 6, 2025 at 12:17 AM
"Our findings suggest that this early dominance of the right hemisphere in encoding sound information might amplify its control of auditory processing, deepening the imbalance between hemispheres."
theconversation.com/your-left-an...
theconversation.com/your-left-an...
“This could change how we study brain responses to music and beyond, including consciousness, mind-wandering, and broader interactions with the external world.”
health.au.dk/en/display/a...
health.au.dk/en/display/a...
Dancing brainwaves – how sound reshapes your brain networks in real time
What happens inside your brain when you hear a steady rhythm or musical tone? According to a new study from Aarhus University and the University of Oxford, your brain doesn’t just hear it—it reorganiz...
health.au.dk
June 5, 2025 at 3:25 PM
“This could change how we study brain responses to music and beyond, including consciousness, mind-wandering, and broader interactions with the external world.”
health.au.dk/en/display/a...
health.au.dk/en/display/a...
"Surprisingly, they concluded that effortful, goal-directed tasks use only 5% more energy than restful brain activity. In other words, we use our brain just a small fraction more when engaging in focused cognition than when the engine is idling."
www.quantamagazine.org/how-much-ene...
www.quantamagazine.org/how-much-ene...
How Much Energy Does It Take To Think? | Quanta Magazine
Studies of neural metabolism reveal our brain’s effort to keep us alive and the evolutionary constraints that sculpted our most complex organ.
www.quantamagazine.org
June 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
"Surprisingly, they concluded that effortful, goal-directed tasks use only 5% more energy than restful brain activity. In other words, we use our brain just a small fraction more when engaging in focused cognition than when the engine is idling."
www.quantamagazine.org/how-much-ene...
www.quantamagazine.org/how-much-ene...
Do you believe strongly enough in your position(s) that you think it would be appropriate to force it on society if you could?
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/why-sacred-v...
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/why-sacred-v...
Why Sacred Values Are Dangerous
Sacred values may signify that one has a conscience, but they also have a dark side.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
May 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Do you believe strongly enough in your position(s) that you think it would be appropriate to force it on society if you could?
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/why-sacred-v...
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/why-sacred-v...
