Beyond Zero and One (Andrew Smart) / quote 121 of 171
The mysterious flame of consciousness
The fundamental problem arises because all our current physics, including the Theory of Everything, has no prediction for, or understanding of, how subjective states can be objective states—or even how subjective states could be based in an objective state. Here we can see the possibility of a strange loop52 as pointed out by Colin McGinn in his classic book, The Mysterious Flame: Conscious Minds in a Material World. Even when we have the best objective data and explanation about what subjective conscious states are, we are still subjectively experiencing this objective explanation. McGinn argues that we do not possess the right kind of intelligence to grasp the mysterious relationship between the brain and the mind. What hope then do we have of building machines that can overcome this mystery?