Week 7

 This week’s materials had me thinking a lot about what it actually means to be conscious. Is it something we can measure with machines? Is it emotional, spiritual, or something else entirely? In Neuroculture, Frazzetto and Anker explain how neuroscience has made its way into everyday life, from movies to medication ads, and how we’ve started to think of ourselves as “neurochemical selves”. The idea that our identities come down to brain chemistry is fascinating, but also kind of limiting. Are we really just our neurons?

 That’s where Victoria Vesna’s Octopus Brainstorming stood out to me. It’s an interactive art piece where two people wear octopus-shaped EEG crowns that track brainwaves. As their thoughts sync up, the lights and sounds around them shift too. Cristina Albu explains that this creates a sense of connection, not just between humans, but between species. It made me realize how art can open doors to understanding that science alone can’t. 

Carl Jung’s The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man adds another layer. He argues that modern life has made us more self-aware, but also more disconnected from the unconscious, tradition, and each other. The more “conscious” we become, the more isolated we feel. In a way, Vesna’s piece pushes back against that, using tech to create shared presence instead of distance. And then there’s David Deutsch’s TED Talk, which made me rethink how we define progress. He says it comes from “hard-to-vary” explanations, ideas that really hold up. But with something like consciousness, is that even possible? Maybe not, and maybe that’s okay. Overall, this week reminded me that consciousness is as much about imagination and connection as it is about brainwaves. It’s not something we can fully explain, but it’s something we’re constantly trying to feel, explore, and share.

Works Cited :

Albu, Cristina. “Planetary Re-Enchantment.” CMA Journal, 2016, www.sfu.ca/cmajournal/issues/issue-ten--enchantment--disenchantment--reenchantment/cristina-albu.html.

Deutsch, David. “A New Way to Explain Explanation.” TED, 2022, www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation.

Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. “Neuroculture.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience, vol. 10, no. 11, 2009, pp. 815–20.

Jung, Carl. The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man. 1933. Public domain.

Vesna, Victoria, Lecture Week 7