Hello? Can you hear me? Are you awake?

Been thinking a lot about what constitutes consciousness...what does it mean to be a living thing?  How are some living things different from other living things and on what scale does that matter?  These are private thoughts, that I'm going to write down, so I don't forget them.  Maybe it's best you don't look.

In West-World an AI creation is asked: 'Are you real?' and she answers: 'Well, if you can't tell, does it really matter?'  Good answer, right?  Our ability to receive real from not real may well play a role in the correct answer to the question of what is reality, what is consciousness.

I'll accept that there may be levels of consciousness, if we want to get all scientific about it.  An unconscious human being is still at some level conscious, as it may well be self aware in a dream-like state, an 'un-dead' state.  So, is self awareness a prerequisite?  I'm not sure.  Maybe it is.

Well, then can a plant be self aware as it turns to the warmth and light of the sun?  Perhaps...perhaps at some level, right?  I mean is the ability to grow a form of consciousness?  What about fungi and their ability to convey information to OTHER plants and trees? I think maybe that would fit in MY description of consciousness.

I guess that's really all I'm talking about...MY description of what constitutes a form of consciousness that  I can accept.  I'm the guy who truly wishes truth to be binary..off/on, 1/0, True/False.

I'm gonna have to think about this more and get back to you (me).