Our new theory of consciousness reveals meditation, psychedelics, and the future of AI in a whole new light. Suggests meditation may boost the “general” nature of intelligence.

⚡️1/60⚡️ Warning: This is an intense thread, but also the most intuitive intro to a technical theory of consciousness you’re likely to find. Includes: simulation of a reality model, the binding problem, altered states, AI and more. Grab a coffee. Hug your kids. Shut the door. 2/

Why meditation endpoints trump psychedelic endpoints 1/15: Psychedelics generate curious, ecstatic, and mystical states. Meditation creates traits. 2/15

So stoked to share this!
I’ve never worked harder on a paper.

Insights are inner markers of transformation—the line in the sand between perspectives on reality. But why do they feel the way they do? What's their purpose? How can we use them wisely? Starts easy and gets deep 👇
But first, thanks to a stellar team: Maggie Webb, @CarolaSalvi, @tangenjm, @HeleenASlagter, @JonathanSchool6.

Our new preprint is about the risk of psychedelic-induced false insights and beliefs.

McGovern as lead with @HilaryGrimmer, @ManojDoss, @PhilCorlett1, @neurodelia, @aidanlyon, & @B_Hutchy.

These Qs are why I did a PhD on insight. So, some reflections on why it matters👇

I want to say upfront that this is not about fear-mongering, but a genuine concern I’ve had as someone otherwise optimistic about psychedelics. My personal hope for this paper is to raise awareness of potential epistemic harms involved with psychedelics.

Were our ancestor's hibernators? Could we still be (closet) hibernators? Are meditators in caves secretly accessing remnants of forgotten genetic powers? A few fun quotes 👇

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… "...lesions and other signs of damage in fossilised bones of early humans are the same as those left in the bones of other animals that hibernate. These suggest that our predecessors coped with the ferocious winters... by slowing down their metabolisms and sleeping for months."

Our new paper is about the most scientifically bewildering state in meditation. If we figure this one out it’s a goldmine for consciousness research, possibly revealing about human hibernation, or useful for space travel. Who knows. Here's the wild story 👇 My interest in the possibility that one can subdue their own conscious experience began in my early 20s when I read Aldous Huxley’s 'The Island'. A deeply insightful utopic encore to his 'Brave New World'.

I have a wild ambulance IV #ketamine story that I feel like I have to share. I told it to my students in a class on the plasticity of #consciousness and they insisted it needs to be public knowledge. So, somewhat apprehensibly, here it is. Strap in 📜: So, it’s 9am on a Tuesday morning (3rd of May this year). I’ve just returned to Amsterdam from a conference in Switzerland. I haven’t slept much. I’ve been hiking. My back feels tense. I’m lying on the couch in our houseboat, laptop on lap. And I start coughing…

I’m absolutely thrilled to share our unifying predictive processing theory of meditation! A long time in the works.

We tackle 3 styles of meditation, plasticity, insight (Vipassanā), non-duality, selfless & negative experiences, psychedelics & more! psyarxiv.com/5sw6m And in conclusion: