DD
Donald D. Hoffman
12quotes
Full Name and Common Aliases
Donald D. Hoffman is a cognitive scientist known for his work on the nature of reality and consciousness.
Birth and Death Dates
Born in 1948, no date of death available.
Nationality and Profession(s)
American Cognitive Scientist, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Irvine.
Early Life and Background
Donald D. Hoffman was born in 1948 in the United States. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Stanford University in 1969 and later completed his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1973. Initially focused on physics, he shifted his attention to cognitive science after his Ph.D.
Major Accomplishments
Hoffman is known for his theory that consciousness is fundamental to reality. He argues that what we perceive as objective reality is actually a simulation created by our brains. This idea challenges the traditional view of perception and cognition in fields such as psychology, philosophy, and physics.
Notable Works or Actions
- "Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See" (1998): Hoffman's book explores how our visual system creates the world we perceive.
- "Reality's Inevitable: How Imagination Creates Reality": He has also written about his theory of conscious realism, which posits that consciousness is fundamental to reality.
Impact and Legacy
Hoffman's work in cognitive science challenges traditional notions of perception and cognition. His ideas have influenced philosophers, psychologists, and physicists, contributing to ongoing debates on the nature of reality and consciousness.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Donald D. Hoffman is widely quoted for his provocative theories about consciousness and reality. His work questions the notion that our senses accurately reflect an objective world, sparking debate and interest in cognitive science, philosophy, and beyond.
Quotes by Donald D. Hoffman
"
In the last 20,000 years, our brains have shrunk 10 percent – from 1,500 cubic centimeters down to 1,350 – a loss of the volume of a tennis ball.
"
Hence our decline of insight as we shift our gaze from human to ant to quark. Our decline of insight should not be mistaken for an insight into decline – a progressive poverty inherent in objective reality. The decline is in our interface, in our perceptions. But we externalize it; we pin it on reality. Then we erect, from this erroneous reification, an ontology of physicalism.
"
If you play a video game on your computer, such as “Doom” or “Uncharted”, you see compelling 3D worlds with 3D objects. Yet the information is entirely 2D, limited by the number of pixels on the screen. The same is true when you look away from your computer to the world around you. It too has pixels, and all the information is 2D.
"
Conscious realism makes a bold claim: consciousness, not spacetime and its objects, is fundamental reality and is properly described as a network of conscious agents.31 To earn its keep, conscious realism must do serious work ahead. It must ground a theory of quantum gravity, explain the emergence of our spacetime interface and its objects, explain the appearance of Darwinian evolution within that interface, and explain the evolutionary emergence of human psychology.
"
This critique also misreads the Copernican revolution. Yes, our perceptions misled us about our place in the universe. But its deeper message is this: our perceptions can mislead us about the very nature of the universe itself. We are prone to falsely believe that certain limitations and idiosyncrasies of our perceptions are genuine insights into objective reality.
"
Or perhaps we were short-changed by evolution, and lack the concepts needed to understand the relationship between brains and consciousness. Cats can’t do calculus and monkeys can’t do quantum theory, so why assume that Homo sapiens can demystify consciousness?
"
Nathan Seiberg of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton said, “I am almost certain that space and time are illusions. These are primitive notions that will be replaced by something more sophisticated.
"
Conscious realism makes a bold claim: consciousness, not spacetime and its objects, is fundamental reality and is properly described as a network of conscious agents.
"
There are as many cubes as there are observers constructing cubes. And when you look away, your cube ceases to be.
"
A glimpse of an eye is, for purposes of triggering the animate-monitoring system, a glimpse of the beast peering through that eye.
Showing 1 to 10 of 12 results