In this episode of Smarter, Not Harder podcast, we are joined by Dr. Donald Hoffman, a cognitive psychologist and popular science author. He is a professor at the University of California — Irvine, and  the author of “The Case Against Reality”.  He studies consciousness, visual perception, and evolutionary psychology using mathematical models and psychophysical experiments.    Hosts Boomer Anderson and Dr. Ted Achacoso unraveled what made Dr. Hoffman study consciousness; the different theories of consciousness, conscious agents, amplituhedron, reality, space time, psychedelics, his book “The Case Against Reality”, and so much more!   What we discussed: 00:00:35 - About Dr. Donald Hoffman 00:02:31 -  Dr. Hoffman’s COVID-19 Experience 00:06:27 - Dr. Hoffman’s Desire to Study Consciousness and Reality 00:16:56 - Dr. Hoffman’s Parents’ Reaction to His Changed Point of View 00:19:35 - Physicalist Framework (Local Realism), Epiphysicalist (Conscious Realism) Framework 00:20:15 - Physicalist Framework  00:22:07 - Physicalism and Science 00:27: 25 - Implications of Finding Structures Beyond Space-time 00:29:28 - The Amplituhedron 00:40:07 - The Evolution 00:47:19 - Integrated Information Theory and Global Workspace Theory 00:50:58 - Dr. Hoffman’s Proposed Theories 00:56:51 - Consciousness as Defined by Conscious Realism 01:02:30 - Nature of Reality 01:05:24 - How His Theories Interface With Spiritual Teachings 01:11:50 - What Are The Impacts Of Dr. Hoffman’s Theories And His Hospitalization Due To COVID-19 01:15:20 - Impacts of Dr. Hoffman's Theories of Consciousness to Other Belief Systems 01:18:25 - Can Psychedelics Evolve  Pointers  01:21:20 - Dr. Hoffman’s Meditation 01:31:07 - More About Dr. Hoffman and His Works 01:31:57 - A Preview of His Upcoming Journal   Find out more from Smarter, Not Harder: Website: https://troscriptions.com/blogs/podcast | https://www.homehope.org Instagram: @troscriptions | @homehopeorg   Find out more about Dr. Donald Hoffman: Twitter: https://twitter.com/donalddhoffman Website: http://www.cogsci.uci.edu/~ddhoff/ TEDTalk: “Do We See Reality as It Is?” Books:  “The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes”  “Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See” “Observer Mechanics: A Formal Theory of Perception”   Get 10% Off Your Purchase of Metabolomics Module by using PODCAST10 at https://www.homehope.org   Get 10% Off your Trosciptions purchase by using POD10 at https://www.troscriptions.com   Get daily content from the hosts of Smarter Not Harder by following @troscriptions on Instagram.