I think Hoffmans path and the idea of consciousness being fundamental comes from a few conceptual
Leaps - let me go through the high level of each one:
1. Current physics shows via quantum mechanics that spacetime has a definite limit in measurement (Planck scale)
2. Relatively also applies a similar limit on our ability to measure time and space (infinite energy/black holes)
3. Latest work in high energy physics has led to some interesting new findings (in the last 10 years or so) regarding an approach to calculate particle scattering amplitudes in supercolliders <= that is: when you apply nonlocal assumptions and certain mathematical simplification and that new approach simplifies the scattering amplitude calculations and ALSO just happens to map to a new conceptual framework where you think “outside of space and time” and then you can come to a geometric “structure” of immense complexity (let’s call one conception of that geometry the ‘amplitudehedron’) which is static, and immense encoding the universe itself, this polytope encodes the scattering amplitudes
4. Given the hard problem of consciousness, ie “only awareness is aware” (ie we cannot break down the qualia of awareness) (Now this is where Hoffman goes wild: Hoffman says: “ Ok well, given that space time as we know it doomed (not fundamental - again see point 3 above)” then, let’s propose that consciousness IS defined to be FUNDAMENTAL and that it exists as a ‘network of conscious agents’:
Ie he preposes a “formal model of consciousness based on a mathematical structure called conscious agents”. then he proposes how time and space emerge from the interactions of conscious agents via the structure mentioned in point 3 above..
Hoffman then claims his math for these models implies that we are in a universe that emerged out fundamental consciousness and that he is working on a mathematical model he hopes can be tied the new physics that emerge out of the amplitudehedron through networks of these agents
5. Finally it was my observation that the general theory of Neural Networks in the article had some interesting similarities with all of this (ie maybe Nature uses such networks at all scales to represent intelligence )
Feel free to be skeptical- I am but I get all sorts of weird feeling he’s onto something here…
1. Current physics shows via quantum mechanics that spacetime has a definite limit in measurement (Planck scale)
2. Relatively also applies a similar limit on our ability to measure time and space (infinite energy/black holes)
3. Latest work in high energy physics has led to some interesting new findings (in the last 10 years or so) regarding an approach to calculate particle scattering amplitudes in supercolliders <= that is: when you apply nonlocal assumptions and certain mathematical simplification and that new approach simplifies the scattering amplitude calculations and ALSO just happens to map to a new conceptual framework where you think “outside of space and time” and then you can come to a geometric “structure” of immense complexity (let’s call one conception of that geometry the ‘amplitudehedron’) which is static, and immense encoding the universe itself, this polytope encodes the scattering amplitudes
For more on this See: https://youtu.be/6TYKM4a9ZAU?si=alGV5ThrCdBKcyfJ (hour long lecture by physicist Nima Arkani Hamid)
Short version: https://www.ias.edu/ideas/nima-arkani-hamed-amplituhedron
4. Given the hard problem of consciousness, ie “only awareness is aware” (ie we cannot break down the qualia of awareness) (Now this is where Hoffman goes wild: Hoffman says: “ Ok well, given that space time as we know it doomed (not fundamental - again see point 3 above)” then, let’s propose that consciousness IS defined to be FUNDAMENTAL and that it exists as a ‘network of conscious agents’:
Ie he preposes a “formal model of consciousness based on a mathematical structure called conscious agents”. then he proposes how time and space emerge from the interactions of conscious agents via the structure mentioned in point 3 above..
Hoffman then claims his math for these models implies that we are in a universe that emerged out fundamental consciousness and that he is working on a mathematical model he hopes can be tied the new physics that emerge out of the amplitudehedron through networks of these agents
5. Finally it was my observation that the general theory of Neural Networks in the article had some interesting similarities with all of this (ie maybe Nature uses such networks at all scales to represent intelligence )
Feel free to be skeptical- I am but I get all sorts of weird feeling he’s onto something here…