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> Is "thinking about thinking" rare, or remarkable? Is it the defining trait that elevates humans above all other animals? Sadly, I've seen people who do not h
by yetihehe 6y ago
> Is "thinking about thinking" rare, or remarkable? Is it the defining trait that elevates humans above all other animals?
Sadly, I've seen people who do not have such capabilities. They seem normal until you think why they act like they do. Then you realise that you could replace their thinking processes with some simple if-then, sometimes wired very strangely and counter-intuitive.
- yourapostasy 6y agoPeter Watts Blindsight has some interesting commentary upon this in the form of a science-fiction story and some extensive notes [1]. It arguably is feasible to manifest sufficient behaviors to "pass", but the behaviors are not deeply introspected like you noticed. We suspect our subconscious already does a ton of heavy lifting without that introspection, so some of the theses Watts popularizes from the book's bibliography are interesting in that light. [1] https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm#Notes https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm#Notes