Is your mind just a parasite on your physical body? | Blindsight novel by Peter Watts
Is your mind just a parasite on your physical body? | Blindsight novel by Peter Watts
A new science fiction novel does a masterful job of crafting a narrative from an idea long discussed in philosophy: Is the mind needed?
Blindsight is a unique kind of first-contact novel. Its focus is not on humanity’s first meeting with an alien civilization, but rather that this civilization is highly intelligent, yet lacks consciousness.
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What if intelligence can thrive without consciousness?
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What if there is nothing special about self-awareness?
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What if it is just evolutionary dead weight, bound to disappear soon?
The idea rests on machine metaphors for life and mind, which strike this columnist as profoundly mistaken.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48484.Blindsight
Blindsight Sci-fi Short Film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkR2hnXR0SM
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If you don't need a physical copy, the novel is free on the author's web site: https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
IMHO it's a pretty good novel, might have been a classic with a bit more editing.
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I agree. A bit less horror and more philosophical than I was expecting, still a nice story with a very interesting plot.
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I've read the sequel, Echopraxia, which does focus on first contact, and liked it quite a bit. I'm not sure I buy it, per se, but the Chinese Room/machine allegory seems reasonable enough. I suspect this author might be more open to the ideas expressed in that one.