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I am not impressed with this. This merely answers what practical use consciousness would have under the (unrpoven) assumption that it evolved as a survival mechanism. It does not explain what qualia is or how it comes about (hard problem). Therefore it is a bit far-fetched to say this answers what consciousness is at its core.

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I'm interested to know what a satisfying explanation of qualia would look like to someone who believes it's a real, well-defined phenomenon? I get a strong impression that anything mechanistic will not do, and a slightly cynical feeling that anything that can be put in precise terms will not do. Is there any explanation that gets some of the way there?

I suspect no such explanation can exist and therefore the hard problem does not exist in the sense of a solvable problem in pyhsics. It's really a question of metaphysics.

I would be interested in an explanation that understands the mechanism to the point where one could arbitrarily insert information into a qualia experience. E.g. controlling what someone is imagining by placing objects there, etc.

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