8/16(Sat.) Blindsight (Host: John)

[JohnH]

Blindsight by Peter Watts is a thought-provoking science fiction novel exploring consciousness, identity, and the nature of intelligence. Watts, a marine mammal biologist with a Ph.D., draws on his scientific expertise to delve into how human perception and cognition may be limited, raising questions about what it truly means to be conscious. The story follows a crew sent to investigate an alien presence, confronting unsettling discoveries about themselves and the universe.

Read the original novel
Watch the introductory video
Watch a Chinese summary

Session I

1. Vampires, an extinct human subspecies, were brought back to life through paleogenetics. They were "stitched together from junk genes and fossil marrow steeped in the blood of sociopaths and high-functioning autistics" after accidental rediscovery via gene therapy on an autistic child. These obligate cannibals possess omnisavantic pattern-matching and a sociopathic nature, traits that are vital for surviving long dormancy periods and executing their predatory lifestyle — despite the neurological vulnerability known as the "Crucifix Glitch."

In this context, the novel portrays traits associated with psychopathy — lack of empathy, manipulativeness, and strategic thinking — not as a disorder, but as adaptations that enhance survival.

- Do you think behaviors we typically label as “psychopathic” could be understood as evolutionarily advantageous strategies rather than moral failings?

- Do you think moral absolutes exist, or is morality always shaped by context and survival needs?

- If morality is shaped by context, could it be understood as a survival strategy rather than a universal rule? Why or why not?

2. The novel posits that feedback loops, which initially evolved to promote stable heartbeats and other vital physiological functions, "then stumble upon the temptation of rhythm and music". This suggests that the brain's inherent reward circuitry, designed to reinforce behaviours crucial for survival (like securing food or mates), was inadvertently hijacked by aesthetic experiences.

- Do you agree with the novel’s implication that art, including music, functions as a kind of self-destructive “hack” on our brain’s reward system—offering intense pleasure or reward without contributing to actual evolutionary fitness? Why or why not?

3. The novel shows that the Scramblers, intelligent but non-sentient, interpret human communication as an attack. When decoding human signals—including radio waves—they find them "needlessly recursive" and lacking "usable intelligence," despite their structured form. Phrases like "I had a great time" are meaningless but consume processing resources. From the Scramblers’ view, these signals "function to drain resources with no benefit," leading them to classify the signals as a virus—and therefore, an attack.

- As humans evolve, do you think our communication will become more efficient and less focused on social or emotional aspects?

4. The protagonist, Siri Keeton, has undergone a radical hemispherectomy that removed the part of his brain associated with genuine empathy. As a result, he functions by mimicking empathetic behavior through learned algorithms rather than true feeling. Siri explicitly compares himself to the Chinese Room, a philosophical thought experiment proposed by John Searle, which illustrates how a system can process symbols and produce appropriate responses without understanding their meaning or having conscious experience. Siri produces appropriate responses without understanding or feeling them genuinely.

- Given Siri’s condition and his analogy to the Chinese Room, can behavior without genuine feeling be considered true empathy, or is it merely mimicry? What does this say about the nature of empathy—does it require conscious experience, or can it be reduced to functional strategy?

Session II

1. The Scramblers are extraterrestrial beings capable of interstellar travel, sophisticated environmental adaptation, and highly efficient biochemical functioning — all without apparent self-awareness or subjective consciousness. They exhibit vast processing power and complex behaviours, yet function like instinct-driven automatons, operating entirely without introspection.
By contrast, humans possess consciousness, but it often proves inefficient and unreliable. Phenomena such as blindsight, inattentional blindness, and subconscious problem-solving show that much of our most effective processing occurs outside of conscious awareness. The conscious mind may even act as a bottleneck — slow, resource-intensive, and prone to self-deception — leading some to view it as a temporary evolutionary aid, or even a design flaw.

- Given that the Scramblers achieve remarkable feats without sentience, and that human cognition often works best without conscious interference, is consciousness an evolutionary advantage, a maladaptive trait, an epiphenomenon, or merely “training wheels” that we may eventually discard to progress?

- How might the idea that consciousness is just “training wheels”(as the novel suggests) affect our understanding of human intelligence and future evolution? Could shedding consciousness lead to a more efficient form of cognition, or would it mean losing something essential?

2. There are several prominent theories about how consciousness arises:

Emergentism: Consciousness emerges from complex physical systems, like brains, once a certain level of organization is reached.

Panpsychism: Consciousness is a fundamental and universal feature of all matter, meaning even particles have some form of experience.

Dualism: Mind and matter are distinct; consciousness exists independently of the physical brain, often involving a non-physical soul or mind.

Reductionism: Consciousness can be fully explained by reducing mental states to physical processes in the brain, with no need for special properties beyond neurons and chemistry.

- Of these theories—and any others you know—which explanation of consciousness do you find most convincing, and why?”

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Agenda:
3:45 ~ 4:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
4:00 ~ 4:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
4:10 ~ 4:50pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
4:50 ~ 5:10pm Summarization (20 mins)
5:10 ~ 5:20pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Short Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
5:15 ~ 5:55pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
6:00 ~ 6:20pm Summarization (20 mins)
6:20 ~ 6:30pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements

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Meeting Date: As shown on the Subject Line
Meeting Time: 4:00pm – 6:30pm
Meeting Venue: 丹堤咖啡 Dante Coffee (Minimum Order $85)
Address: 台北市濟南路三段25號[MAP]-捷運忠孝新生站3號出口步行3分鐘

Important Notes:
1. We suggest that participants read the articles and think about the questions in advance.
2. Newcomers should prepare a two-to-three-minute self-introduction in English to deliver when called upon by the host before the start of the discussion.
3. We welcome newcomers and other guests to attend the meetings and join the discussion freely for three times. After that, we hope you will consider becoming a YoYo English Club member. We charge a NT$1000 lifetime membership fee, or NT$500 for students.

[Luis Ko]

those questions are really hard to grasp.

[Julian]

I really enjoy this topic, though it can be a bit lengthy and take some effort to dig into.
Anyway, see you guys this afternoon!

[Julian]

I really enjoy this topic, though it can be a bit lengthy and take some effort to dig into.
Anyway, see you guys this afternoon!