I read an article in the Independent yesterday about the Science of Consciousness. I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm an existentialist but I love to ponder on such matters regarding how we 'exist'. Qualia, in essence, are the intrinsic properties of experiences; the 'What its like for me' - its a philosophical term.

While its the most familar thing in the world [consciousness], its also the most difficult to explain. E.g. Why do we dream? How do I know that the pale blue sky that I'm looking at now isn't a bright orange to you? How do I know that my hand isn't actually a pie?[1]. How can a few punds worth of gooey matter in our heads create Qualia?? Some Neuroscientists, over the last 30 years, have researched aspects of consciousness such as vision, memory, thinking, emotions etc... But these are deemed by an Australian philosopher as 'easy problems' that consciousness on the whole is a much harder problem to address, one that no-one has a clue to go about solving.

Some think that the brain is a quantum computer and the conscious self depends on quantum effects in the microtubules (tiny tubes inside every cell of the body). Others think that if they observe the behaviour of neurons in the brain concerning the 'easy problems' that something, sooner or later, will be discovered about the 'hard problem'. Some scientists even go as far as likening the 'hard problem' to the nature of life itself, a theory that was thought up by biologists in the 19th century, that each living thing had a special 'life force' that breathed life and then departed on death. This, for me, only serves to affirm the existence of a spiritual self. No matter how hard you look for it, you won't find it. You know its there, since its the very essence of your being and its the thing you are most familiar with, since it is yourself.

Researchers from all disciplines addressing this matter, seem to always come about thinking 'are we not thinking enough or are we thinking too much' in order to solve this Qualia conundrum. At the same time its both the most complex and simpliest of unanswered questions. For me, all that is required to suffice is an infinitely complex solution in a very simple form (3 letters in fact); God.