{"id":1851,"date":"2024-12-27T11:14:13","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T09:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/triality.nl\/index.php\/2024\/12\/27\/what-came-before-the-big-bang-theory-of-embedded-intelligence-bill-mensch-bernardo-kastrup\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T09:13:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:13:38","slug":"what-came-before-the-big-bang-theory-of-embedded-intelligence-bill-mensch-bernardo-kastrup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/triality.nl\/index.php\/2024\/12\/27\/what-came-before-the-big-bang-theory-of-embedded-intelligence-bill-mensch-bernardo-kastrup\/","title":{"rendered":"What Came Before the Big Bang? | Theory of Embedded Intelligence, Bill Mensch &amp; Bernardo Kastrup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_23296\"  width=\"840\" height=\"472\"  data-origwidth=\"840\" data-origheight=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EiePsomaMpI?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Could it be a coincidence that two founding fathers of modern day computing, independently from each other, are both coming with theories of consciousness that are idealist in nature? Or does a deep understanding of what computation is\u2014and what it is not\u2014inevitably lead away from physicalist ideas on consciousness? Previously Essentia Foundation presented the work of Federico Faggin, and now a legendary contemporary of his, computer engineer Bill Mensch, presents his Theory of Embedded Intelligence (TEI) to us. Mensch was a major contributor to the Motorola 6800 and became famous for his work on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, a chip that, because of it\u2019s efficiency, completely revolutionized computing in the 80\u2019s. From Arcade halls to the Apple II and Nintendo 8 bit consoles, 6502s could be found everywhere. Even to this day the chip is still used in children&#8217;s toys and even in pacemakers and satellites. Looking back at his career, Mensch realizes that building computer chips is in essence a form of \u2018embedding\u2019 intelligence in technology, just as nature has embedded intelligence in biological systems, like humans. In his TEI model intelligence is fundamental. This raises the philosophical question of how consciousness relates to intelligence, and for this reason Bernardo Kastrup joined in on the conversation Mensch and Hans Busstra had. The value of a theory like Mensch\u2019s is perhaps exactly that it is not philosophically fine-tuned to the terminology commonly used in philosophy of mind. By not taking the human mind and phenomenal consciousness as its departure point, but intelligence instead, Mensch arrives at a position in which the distinction between living beings and abiotic systems is less distinct. Mensch&#8217;s slides can be downloaded here: <a class=\"yt-core-attributed-string__link yt-core-attributed-string__link--call-to-action-color\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnQ5TC12NDU1b1V4SE5rUHlmc3VTT2RuZ01zd3xBQ3Jtc0tseGJiYXk0X2xMNXhFcHJpWTI0M2RVNGhHZTd4OXhjdE1EUmJCd2tESDZRYkkxakQtMUNfQ0R2dDVDWXQ2bkhMQjY1dEJhUkZDNUx1NHczcjFxWG92OElRckNEbVctTHAwTGd2UG1YYlYtNS1KSnhTVQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.essentiafoundation.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FTheory-of-Embedded-Intelligence-by-Bill-Mensch-2024-08-30.pptx&amp;v=EiePsomaMpI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.essentiafoundation.o&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st century&#039;s only plausible metaphysics\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"840\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=kpd&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_sWyW06ca9uiJOk&#038;asin=1803416696&#038;tag=kpembed-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Could it be a coincidence that two founding fathers of modern day computing, independently from each other, are both coming with theories of consciousness that are idealist in nature? Or does a deep understanding of what computation is\u2014and what it is not\u2014inevitably lead away from physicalist ideas on consciousness? Previously Essentia Foundation presented the work &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/triality.nl\/index.php\/2024\/12\/27\/what-came-before-the-big-bang-theory-of-embedded-intelligence-bill-mensch-bernardo-kastrup\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What Came Before the Big Bang? | Theory of Embedded Intelligence, Bill Mensch &amp; Bernardo Kastrup&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,95,128],"tags":[65,5,107,92,4,81,108,106,109],"class_list":["post-1851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","hentry","category-analytic-idealism","category-talks","category-virtual-reality","tag-unreality","tag-analytic-idealism","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-bernardo-kastrup","tag-philosophy","tag-quantum-physics","tag-self-simulation-hypothesis","tag-simulation-theory","tag-talks","post_format-post-format-video"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":604,"url":"https:\/\/triality.nl\/index.php\/2023\/01\/14\/bernardo-kastrup-allowing-nature-to-work-through-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":1851,"position":0},"title":"Bernardo Kastrup | Allowing Nature To Work Through You","author":"admin","date":"January 14, 2023","format":"video","excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/668_Rdj9Eos Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. 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