‘A single cell does not “feel” whether it is carrying a pain signal or a signal linked to a discovery. It simply reacts to changes in its environment and passes on information.
When many cells communicate together, their signals form larger patterns. We, as conscious beings, are part of those patterns of message-passing.
If you zoom in deeply, a body is made of cells. Zoom in further, and cells are made of molecular machines. But what makes a cell “alive” is not just the molecules themselves, it is the organized process or “software” running on those molecules. In this view, life is a kind of biological software. Molecules can be replaced, but the organizing pattern continues. The same applies at a higher level: many cells are coordinated by a larger “software” system that makes them behave like one organism.
An organism is therefore not just a collection of cells. It is a coordinated colony of cells acting as a single agent because of the organizing principles running across them.
Consciousness may be the simulation created by this system: a way for trillions of cells to act as if they are one unified being, with one perspective, one set of interests, and one understandable world.’
Thoughts from Joscha Bach is on the Into The Impossible podcast
ABitcoinGuy / CWM
npub1qm…2sswt
2026-05-16 12:11:49 UTC
Author Public Key
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2026-05-16 12:11:49 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "‘A single cell does not “feel” whether it is carrying a pain signal or a signal linked to a discovery. It simply reacts to changes in its environment and passes on information.\nWhen many cells communicate together, their signals form larger patterns. We, as conscious beings, are part of those patterns of message-passing.\n\nIf you zoom in deeply, a body is made of cells. Zoom in further, and cells are made of molecular machines. But what makes a cell “alive” is not just the molecules themselves, it is the organized process or “software” running on those molecules. In this view, life is a kind of biological software. Molecules can be replaced, but the organizing pattern continues. The same applies at a higher level: many cells are coordinated by a larger “software” system that makes them behave like one organism.\nAn organism is therefore not just a collection of cells. It is a coordinated colony of cells acting as a single agent because of the organizing principles running across them.\n\nConsciousness may be the simulation created by this system: a way for trillions of cells to act as if they are one unified being, with one perspective, one set of interests, and one understandable world.’\n\nThoughts from Joscha Bach is on the Into The Impossible podcast",
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