(no subject)

[danaeris]

I don't know about this whole being conscious thing. Or that whole waking up in the morning thing. Or that whole work thing.

I'm going to sleep for a long time and then see how I feel when I wake up. I may have a long weekend after all...

Comments

no difference, you know

[atziluth.livejournal.com]

I don't think there's really any difference between wake and sleep; sorry but you're conscious in both states.

Re: no difference, you know

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

I would agree that one is in a different form of consciousness when in REM sleep (the most notable difference, from a neurological viewpoint, is a large increase in the overall quatity of acetylcholine - the brainwave pattern is nearly identical to the awake state). But other stages of sleep are not really a form of being conscious, IMHO. I should note that they are distinct from the unconsciousness induced by anesthesia, or injury, but that does not make them a form of consciousness, to me. The brainwave patterns are the best indicator, at least to my vaguely scientific way of thinking.

Re: no difference, you know

[auros]

Certainly brain activity is a good way to distinguish one state from another, but I'm not so sure there's any quantifiable feature of an EEG readout that can define the difference (or even a continuous scalar value) between "conscious" and "unconscious". For that, you need a qualitative judgement, no?

I think the two major things I'd consider qualities of "consciousness" are: ability to voluntarily recall at least some of the content experienced, for at least some limited period of time thereafter (caveats to allow that dreaming can be semi-conscious, even though many dreams are completely forgotten, or begin to "fade", shortly after waking); and a sense of the ability to at least try to influence one's actions during the period of consciousness ("try" caveat added because I recalled the horror stories about the use of curare as an "anaesthetic", when it was actually a paralytic).