Conscious or dreaming people having above-threshold stimuli are aware of stimulus energy flow, density, pressure, flux, or amplitude {perceptual intensity}. For example, vision has brightness, and hearing has loudness. Conscious or dreaming people having below-threshold stimuli do not experience intensity. Unconscious people have no intensity awareness. For vision, intensity ranges are specular reflection, brilliant white, white, light gray, gray, dark gray, and black. For sound, ranges are whisper, normal, and intense. For touch, ranges are tickle, light pressure, touch, push, and pain. For taste, ranges are hint, full, and intense. For smell, ranges are whiff, signal, light, definite, strong, and pain.
properties
Intensities comes from surfaces. Intensity is about energy flow, not space or time, but has space and time locations. Sense-receptor membrane depolarization measures intensity, and neuron axon-impulse rate measures intensity. Perceptual intensity depends on stimulus intensity, nearby intensities, memories, and expectations, so intensity is relative. Perceptions do not have actual energy. Intensity has just-noticeable, dull, average, acute, and painful levels. Smallest intensity results from several energy quanta. Intensity is continuous, not continual or discrete. Intensity typically changes, flickers, or fades. Intensity has contrasts.
quality
People do not experience pure intensity. For perceived surface points, perceptual processing integrates remembered and current information about physical-stimulus intensity level and energy type, such as light, into non-physical quality, such as phenomenal bright red, pale yellow, or dark brown. Perceptual intensity and quality unite.
Conscious or dreaming people, having above-threshold stimuli, perceive intensity types {perceptual quality}. Conscious or dreaming people having below-threshold stimuli are not aware of qualities. Unconscious people have no awareness of quality. Perhaps, only mammals experience sense qualities.
types
Hearing can detect formant sound frequency bands. Vision can detect color bands: black, gray, white, red, green, blue, yellow, pink, brown, purple/violet, orange, and indigo/ultramarine. Smell can detect air molecule types: esters, ketones, aldehydes, sulfur compounds, aromatics, and alcohols. Taste can detect water molecule types: salts, acids, bases, glutamate, and sugars. Touch can detect pressure types: tickle, tingle, pain, and pleasure. Touch can detect temperature types: warmth and coolness.
categorization
Sense qualities have quality spectra and overlapping categories. Sense categories form continuous ranges, with categories similar to and opposite from other categories.
properties
Qualities are like coded and compressed intensity-frequency spectra. Qualities are on space surfaces. Qualities are continuous, not discrete. Qualities are not about space, time, or energy, but have space and time locations. Whole image determines sense qualities.
intensity
People do not experience pure quality. Only quality has intensity. Quality categories have intensity.
meaning
Sense qualities are the only things that have meaning.
Conscious or dreaming people are aware of seemingly stationary infinite three-dimensional space {perceptual space} {theater of the mind} {subjective space} {sensory field} {visual field} in and around body, bounded by surfaces near and far. Conscious or dreaming people having below-threshold stimuli are still aware of space. Unconscious people have no awareness of space. Smallest space interval is one millisecond of arc.
properties
Sensations always are at three-dimensional-space locations, with directions and distances. Three planes define space outside head: horizontal at ground, vertical pointing straight-ahead, and vertical and parallel to face one meter away. People are aware only of three-dimensional space, not zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, four-dimensional, or higher-dimensional space. Space is about distance intervals appropriate to body actions, microns to centimeters, not about electrochemical and physical processes taking place at molecular distances. Space does not seem to stretch evenly but can compact and expand. Objects can seem to have longer or shorter extensions depending on nearby-object sizes and orientations. Space does not change, flicker, or fade. Space seems continuous, not discrete. Space has no intensity, density, energy, or mass.
field
People experience sense qualities at different distances. People feel that scenes extend to regions with no sense qualities, such as behind head.
meaning
Space is necessary for meaning, because it provides reference locations.
processing
To construct space, brain processing first constructs body-centered two-dimensional space, then body-centered two-and-a-half dimensional space, which transform during body motions and do not have symbol grounding or sensations.
Three-dimensional space is stationary. Body, head, and eye movements change observer perspective, making different viewpoints. Body, head, and eye movements transform egocentric space coordinates, using mostly translational and vibrational transformations. Sense processing transforms egocentric space coordinates to maintain stationary allocentric space, using mostly rotation transformations. Geometric coordinate transformations maintain spatial relations during eye, head, or body movements. Egocentric-space transformations maintain stationary allocentric space. Sense-processing tensors compensate for body movements that change egocentric space, and coordinate transformations create and maintain allocentric stationary space [Olson et al., 1999] [Pouget and Sejnowski, 1997].
Space uses absolute or relative body-centric and environment-centric coordinates, which are transformed during body movements.
multisensory
All senses seem to share same perceptual space. Cortical vision processing makes three-dimensional perceptual space. Temporal-and-parietal-lobe sound processing makes three-dimensional perceptual space. Hippocampus memory processing makes three-dimensional memory space. Cerebellum sensory-motor processing makes three-dimensional sensory-motor space. Frontal lobe and association cortex merge sensory, memory, and motor spaces to make unified perceptual space.
observer
People feel that they are behind sensory apparatus, observing outward. Observer or self seems to be at three-dimensional-space center.
Conscious or dreaming people are aware of seemingly infinite one-dimensional time {perceptual time}. Conscious or dreaming people having below-threshold stimuli are still aware of time. Unconscious people have no awareness of time. Shortest sensations last one millisecond.
properties
People are aware of one-dimensional time, not zero-dimensional time, two-dimensional time, or higher-dimensional time. Time information must be in real time, so brain does not lose information because processing is too slow, and brain does not need to add information because processing is too fast. Time does not change, flicker, or fade. Time seems continuous, not discrete. Time has past and future, before and after. Time has no intensity or space location.
People experience time flow, which seems faster with more events each second and slower with fewer events each second. Felt time-flow rate differs from brain-processing time-flow rate [Dennett and Kinsbourne, 1992] [Held et al., 1978] [Flaherty, 1999] [Pastor and Artieda, 1996] [Pöppel, 1978] [Pöppel, 1997]. Sense qualities are about time intervals appropriate to body actions, time scale of 20 milliseconds to hours. Sense qualities are not about electrochemical and physical processes at millisecond time intervals nor instantaneous events [Clifford et al., 2003] [Elman, 1990] [Price, 1996].
meaning
Time is necessary for meaning, because it provides references to past, present, and future.
delays
Time consciousness requires time delay. Time delay can use extra loop, temporary store, shuttle, stretch or shrink mechanism, or chemical delays. Circuits can have bypass circuits to adjust time. Main circuit can have inhibition while processing in bypass. Bypass can remove inhibition or overcome it.
multisensory
All senses seem to share same time.
observer
Observer or self seems to be at one-dimensional-time center. Self seems to be observing events in the present, looking backward to memories, and looking forward in imagination. Events circumscribe observer in time, forming envelope around observation point [Sellars, 1963].
Sensations last at least minimum time {minimal perceptual moment}. Perhaps, activation builds until it reaches threshold. Perhaps, positive feedback causes response spiking.
In dangerous situations, people experience shorter moments and decreased time flow {protracted duration}, because they experience more moments per second.
Conscious time seems to cover interval of 1 to 3 seconds {specious present}. Brain processes inputs from many sources, taking time intervals to integrate. Information overlaps over time.
After neurosurgery, memory time markers can move backward in time {backwards referral in time} {subjective referral} {subjective antedating} [Libet, 1993] [Libet et al., 1999].
Consciousness requires minimum stimulation time {Libet's delay} {time-on theory} of 0.5 seconds, no matter what the intensity, to reach neuronal adequacy [Eccles, 1965] [Iggo, 1973] [Koch, 1999] [Libet, 1966] [Libet, 1973] [Libet, 1993] [Libet et al., 1999] [Meador et al., 2000] [Ray et al., 1999].
Consciousness requires minimum stimulation time of 0.5 seconds {neuronal adequacy}, no matter what the intensity [Eccles, 1965] [Iggo, 1973] [Koch, 1999] [Libet, 1966] [Libet, 1973] [Libet, 1993] [Libet et al., 1999] [Meador et al., 2000] [Ray et al., 1999].
1-Consciousness-Sense-Experience
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Date Modified: 2022.0225