E-Paper
Philosopher and neuroscientist made a science bet in 1998. Winner declared in 2023
Neuroscientist Christof Koch bet a case of fine wine that within the next 25 years someone would discover a specific signature of consciousness in the brain.
A 25-year-old science bet was settled last week, with a philosopher defeating a neuroscientist.
Sitting in a smoky bar in the German city of Bremen, neuroscientist Christof Koch wagered philosopher David Chalmers that the mechanism by which the brain’s neurons produce consciousness would be discovered by 2023.
A key study testing two leading hypotheses about the neural basis of consciousness helped settle the bet at an annual meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC) in New York City, where Chalmers was declared the winner, reported Nature.
Chalmers, however, acknowledged that it was always a "relatively good bet" for him and a bold one for Christof. He also agreed that there has been a lot of progress in the field the scientists will soon find the answer.
“It started off as a very big philosophical mystery,” Chalmers said. “But over the years, it’s gradually been transmuting into, if not a ‘scientific’ mystery, at least one that we can get a partial grip on scientifically.”
Koch, a German-American neurophysiologist and computational neuroscientist, started his search for the neural footprints of consciousness in the 1980s and has been invested in identifying neurons that are necessary to “generate a feeling of seeing or hearing or wanting.”
While Koch was reluctant to admit defeat, he bought a “case of fine Portuguese wine” for Chalmers the day before the ASSC session. He was also ready to double down on the wager with another 25 years as a window.
“Twenty-five years from now is realistic, because the techniques are getting better and, you know, I can’t wait much longer than 25 years, given my age.”
