We don't have a "consciousness meter" that'll tell us exactly how conscious something is. I think we might get there eventually.
Edward BoydenOne of the things that got me transitioning from physical science to brain science was asking, Why do we understand so much about the universe?
Edward BoydenI worry that we don't have a very good definition of consciousness yet which makes it hard to tackle.
Edward BoydenThere are many things that we still don't understand about the universe, right? Einstein struggled to bring quantum mechanics and gravity together and never succeeded, and that's a problem that to this day is not well understood. Well, maybe to comprehend some of these things, we need to augment our intelligence. If we do, who knows?
Edward BoydenSynthesize new ideas constantly. Never read passively. Annotate, model, think, and synthesize while you read, even when you're reading what you conceive to be introductory stuff. That way, you will always aim towards understanding things at a resolution fine enough for you to be creative.
Edward Boyden