Understanding the Math of Consciousness with Andrés Gómez-Emilsson (Qualia Research Institute)

Can subjective experience be boiled down to math?

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I’m glad that there’s a seemingly growing contingency in the scientific community who feel deeply inspired to help us better understand consciousness in the language of Science.

It’s an important step in human development and will be imperative for consciousness expansion to be embraced by the mainstream.

Today’s guest is one of those people. Andrés Gómez-Emilsson is the founder of Qualia Research Institute (QRI). QRI seeks to formalize the math behind our subjective experience and its emotional valence in order to map the  state-space of consciousness. One way you can think about this is that all states of being are just different expressions or configurations of underlying math.

The bet is that understanding this math can help improve the human experience. Broadly speaking, I think anything that helps us see and understand ourselves more clearly is generally supportive. So I find approaching this from the vantage point of math vs. direct experience to be quite interesting.

In this conversation, we explore what Andres and the Qualia Research Institute team have learned thus far while translating many consciousness concepts into the language of math.

For example, have you ever thought about how your consciousness has a specific geometric shape? Or how math could explain that we are all an individual point of presence of a universal field of consciousness? 

I found these topics fascinating to explore.

Andrés is also deeply following the A.I. space and shares his opinion on whether our current technology will develop its own consciousness. Spoiler alert, he doesn’t think it can become conscious and shares why.

Interesting ideas from our conversation:

• What does qualia mean in reference to conscious experience

• What science has learned learned about what creates a high quality experience

• The importance of coherence and phase locking

• The topology of consciousness and how it creates boundaries to our experience

• How muscle tension can modulate electromagnetic waves and affect the our state’s coherence

• Current evidence for the relationship between vibrations and valence

• Which advancements in technology, such as EEG, MEG, and fMRI, could enhance consciousness research

• The limits of current AI’s capacity to develop consciousness

• Ethical concerns about conscious AI’s

Andrés is a fascinating and engaging guest who provides a different perspective than most of the people I’ve had on the show. 

Although I am less adept when it comes to advanced math, I greatly appreciate his perspective and the work his team is doing.

I hope you enjoy this conversation,

-Scott

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If you liked reading or listening to this, feel free to click the ❤️ or 🔄 button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏

Recommended Resources:

• Qualia Research Institute

• Andrés on Twitter

• Qualia Research Blog

Episode Transcript

• Andrés Gómez-Emilsson Full Transcript

Show notes:

• 00:00 - Introduction and Definition of Qualia

• 02:47 - Shape of Consciousness

• 05:12 - What Makes for a High Quality Experience?

• 10:06 - Neural Annealing and Coherence

• 15:00 - Heart-Mind Coherence and Empathy

• 21:43 - Unified Field and Individuation

• 24:49 - Topology and Consciousness

• 27:07 - Boundary Dissolution

• 27:33 - Experiences of Highly Attained Meditators

• 29:27 - Moments of Cessation in Meditation

• 31:32 - Muscle Tension and Electromagnetic Waves

• 36:02 - Releasing Tension through Yoga and Fascia Work

• 39:33 - Trauma and Geometric Frustration

• 41:39 - Healing Trauma with Equanimity and Loving Kindness

• 46:14 - Empirical Research on Consciousness

• 47:15 - Advancements in Technology for Consciousness Research

• 49:00 - Current AI and Consciousness

• 54:10 - The Future of AI and Consciousness

• 55:17 - Learn More about Qualia