When a tiny dust or pollen particle encounters water vapor high in Earth’s atmosphere, the water vapor coats and freezes it into a tiny crystal of ice. This tiny crystal is the “seed” from which a snowflake will grow. New qualia in the mind is like this seed. At someContinue Reading
As we are evolved from other animals, I think there is an innate need to notice little objects and to collect them – for food, sustenance, medicine, even status. But also, maybe like crows, we just like to hoard shiny little (useless?) baubles. The human ability to collect facts andContinue Reading
I had a thought as I was walking up the coastal shore here in southern Oregon. I saw a jellyfish in the sand, very beautiful, just a small guy like the size of a sand dollar, tanslucent, with a beautiful pattern within. And it occurred to me that, you know,Continue Reading
Animals are completely bound up in their landmarks and pathways. Their senses, of course, are always open to new qualia, which might appear from in between or outside of the usual landmarks and pathways. For animals, however, new qualia is usually interpreted as danger. But animals are curious, too, andContinue Reading
The qualia in the mind helps us make order out of the world. We make patterns, we see patterns, we think in patterns. The human race has thoughts, ideas, and dreams by the billions and we’re trying to make sense of it all – but with every notion it justContinue Reading