Topic: Science of Consciousness

Human consciousness remains one of the deepest mysteries of science. Current theories originate from diverse sources such as neuroscience, philosophy, spirituality and mathematics, yet we remain far from any conclusive truth. We all have common tools to experience the world, yet personal consciousness which is quite prevalent in the natural world is not a pre-requisite for life, so why did we evolve to our current state of consciousness which has helped us civilise and "rule" the world. How does it shape our personal experiences and how do animal experiences differ from our own?

During this talk Dr. Siddharth Singh will explain how we construct our worlds around us using our senses and our thoughts. Why despite many impairments in our senses by disease or ageing, our perceived world remains complete as a whole. How can we understand different types of intelligence and the difference between intelligence and consciousness. In the near future AI machines will become more intelligent than us but will they ever have something close to human sentience? And finally we will explore whether the evolution of human consciousness the worst thing to happen to planet Earth?

About the speaker: Dr. Siddharth Singh is currently working as a Neurologist at Sahyadri Hospital in Pune. He has done a Fellowship in Stroke Medicine after completing his Neurology studies. Including research on Psychiatric manifestations in Parkinson's disease, Delirium in ICU and seizures in the elderly. He has given multiple talks in India and Ho Chi Minh City as a Melvin Yahr young scholar travel grant awardee. His personal interests include literature and sports, especially their interactions with neuroscience!