on a more general note, i see it from the perspective of obvious design (natural or otherwise) what's more reasonable from a survival point of view, that that

on a more general note, i see it from the perspective of obvious design (natural or otherwise) what's more reasonable from a survival point of view, that that cut you just received on your left arm from a knife show up in some sort of terminator-like HUD... . . . [DAMAGE TO LEFT ARM] . . . [AVOID RECURRENCE IF POSSIBLE] . . . or that you are made to "feel" the cut as intrinsic to you? which are you more likely to heed? that's basically what i think consciousness arises from -- the need to internalize sensations so that you respect them. so that you respect the fact that some maniac with a knife just took a slice at your arm, or that your fingers are burning on the stove while you're standing there being absent minded and you NEED TO GET YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW a HUD would be very poor for that sort of thing. i see consciousness as the best solution