My simplest model of consciousness

A good place to start understanding consciousness is with a really simple model, because it enables us to understand the big picture before diving into the detail. So here it is as a picture:

...and in words:

We translate what we see into what we do under the control of what we know; but one of the things we do is select what we will know next; and we can see what we know.

That's about as simple as I can make it, but a stack of practical and philosophical consequences, and information processing mechanisms, flow from it (which I will outline in future blogs)..... it is also the framework for the detailed model explained in my e-book:

On the Mechanisms of Consciousness: How consciousness works.

There's an abstract picture on the front cover that you might now recognise.

This is a short blog, but sometimes less is more!