# Our Best Tools Still Do Not Explain Conscious Experience by Donald D. Hoffman > “Neurophysics, real and artificial neural networks, classical and quantum algorithms, information and complexity—standard tools that prove powerful in the study of perception, cognition and intelligence—have yet to yield a single scientific theory of conscious experiences. We cannot, for instance, answer the basic question: Why must this particular pattern of neural activity or this functional property cause, or be, this particular conscious experience (say, the smell of garlic) instead of that other conscious experience (say, the smell of a truffle), or instead of no conscious experience at all? Precise predictions of this type, de rigueur for genuine scientific explanations, have yet to be fashioned, or even plausibly sketched, with the standard tools.” > **— Donald D. Hoffman**, *2007, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Cognitive Scientist, UC, Irvine; Author, Visual Intelligence](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10187) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 2007 Annual Question collection, *WHAT ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2007 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2007 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Hard Problem of Consciousness|Hard Problem of Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Philosophy of Mind|Philosophy of Mind]] - [[wiki/Neuroscience|Neuroscience]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Neurophysics, real and artificial neural networks, classical and quantum algorithms, information and complexity—standard tools that prove powerful in the study of perception, cognition and intelligence—have yet to yield a single scientific theory of conscious experiences. We cannot, for instance, answer the basic question: Why must this particular pattern of neural activity or this functional property cause, or be, this particular conscious experience (say, the smell of garlic) instead of that other conscious experience (say, the smell of a truffle), or instead of no conscious experience at all? Precise predictions of this type, de rigueur for genuine scientific explanations, have yet to be fashioned, or even plausibly sketched, with the standard tools.” — Donald D. Hoffman, 2007, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-donald-hoffman-best-tools-still-explain-conscious-experience ```