When I was in Cambridge reading mathematics, I went to Amsterdam for the International Mathematics Congress. There I saw M.C. Escher's fascinating work. That inspired me to try my hand at drawing such impossibilities.
Roger PenroseRead
Consciousness ... is the phenomenon whereby the universe's very existence is made known.
Interpretation
Consciousness allows us to perceive and understand the existence of the universe.
In this quote, Roger Penrose highlights the profound connection between consciousness and the universe. He suggests that consciousness is not merely a product of the brain but a fundamental aspect that reveals the existence of the universe itself. It implies that our awareness and understanding of reality play a crucial role in acknowledging the universe, suggesting a deeper relationship between mind and cosmos.
In practice
In a lecture on the nature of reality, I might use this quote to illustrate the relationship between perception and existence.
When I was in Cambridge reading mathematics, I went to Amsterdam for the International Mathematics Congress. There I saw M.C. Escher's fascinating work. That inspired me to try my hand at drawing such impossibilities.
Some people take the view that the universe is simply there, and it runs along - it's a bit as though it just sort of computes, and we happen by accident to find ourselves in this thing. I don't think that's a very fruitful or helpful way of looking at the universe.
Some years ago, I wrote a book called the Emperorβs New Mind and that book was describing a point of view I had about consciousness and why it was not something that comes about from complicated calculations.
I believe there is something going on in a conscious being, which includes many animals, as well as ourselves, that is not a computational activity. And to be conscious at all is not a quality that a computer as such will ever possess - no matter how complicated, no matter how well it plays chess or any of these things.
Some people take the view that we happen by accident. I think that there is something much deeper, of which we have very little inkling at the moment.
The image of Stephen Hawking - who has died aged 76 - in his motorised wheelchair, with head contorted slightly to one side and hands crossed over to work the controls, caught the public imagination as a true symbol of the triumph of mind over matter.
Americans are future-minded to the point of obsession. We are impatient at living in the present. Tomorrow is bound to be better... next year, next century, always what might be rather than what is. This trait in us makes for 'progress;' it also makes for a continuing dissatisfaction.
Lies are infinite in number, and the truth so small and singular.
Without restoring an ethos of social responsibility, there can be no meaningful and sustained economic recovery.
We couldn't imagine the emptiness of a creature who put a razor to her wrists and opened her veins, the emptiness and the calm.
To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.
No matter what part of the world we come from, we are all basically the same human beings. We all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. We have the same basic human needs and concerns. All of us human beings want freedom and the right to determine our own destiny as individuals and as peoples. That is human nature.
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