It might be an entirely different thing altogether! why restrict our "open mind" to only those two choices? > So far we haven't come up with a decent explanati

It might be an entirely different thing altogether! why restrict our "open mind" to only those two choices? > So far we haven't come up with a decent explanation of consciousness which is why I am prepared to be a bit more open minded. Then we should say we don't know. It's disingenuous to say that because we don't have an answer, or as in this case, a full and complete answer, then it means that it might be this entirely different thing for which nobody has any evidence, no one has any explanation and no one can even describe or define.