The Puzzle of Consciousness [Live Stream Tonight, 8 PM]

Unraveling the mystery of consciousness remains perhaps the biggest challenge in all neuroscience, so big and amorphous that most brain scientists won't go near the topic, leaving philosophers to speculate about the a prioris . Even defining what consciousness is quickly devolves into lengthy and often ponderous treatises. The World Science Festival has assembled a panel of luminaries who will attempt to make sense of this sprawling theme in the allotted 90 minutes. They include M?lanie Boly, a researcher and physician who has performed studies on minimally conscious patients; Christof Koch, a leading researcher on the neural basis of consciousness; Colin McGinn, known for his work on the philosophy of mind, and Nicholas Schiff, a physician-scientist who specializes in disorders of consciousness. [More]