Dr. Giulio Tononi, chair of consciousness science at the University of Wisconsin, has devoted most of his life delving into the mysteries of the mind. More specifically, he is tryng to develop a method to precisely measure consciousness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/21consciousness.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
The New York Times profiled Tononi Tuesday in a story headlined “Sizing Up Consciouness By Its Bits: Using information theory, scientists are developing a model to reflect the trillions of states the brain can be in.”
Simply put, Tononi and his fellow researchers are applying information theory, which usually relates to computers and telecommunications, to the brain to create what The Times called “a consciousness meter.”
Tononi started his career as a psychiatrist, and decided after working with patients that he wanted to get a better handle on this issue of consciousness. He studied and became an expert in sleep, which The Times aptly describes as “the one form of altered consciousness we all experience.”
His theory on consciousness is that it is “nothing more than integrated information,” according to The Times. And just as scientists are able to measure the data in a computer file in bits, Tononi’s theory is that concsiousness can be measured in bits, as well.
The problem with gauging consciousness today is that doctors measure it by the responses they get from patients. For example, they may ask a patient a a question. But a person could be aware, but unable to speak.
That’s why Tononi’s “consciousness meter” could come in handy — and prove accurate. The Times said that magnetic pulses could be sent through a patient’s brain and one could immediately see “whether it responded with the rich complexity of consciousness or the meager patterns of unconsciousness.”
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