Mystery of Consciousness

In reading an article in the current Discover : entitled "A Universe Built for Us" (Dec. 08), I was pleased to run across the following by a scientist at Stanford named Andrei Linde, "[Linde] is especially interested in the mystery of consciousness and has speculated that consciousness may be a fundamental component of the universe, much like space and time. He wonders whether the physical universe, its laws, and conscious observers might form an integrated whole. A complete description of reality, he says, could require all three of those components, which he posits emerged simultaneously. 'Without someone observing the universe, the universe is actually dead.'" The term being focused on in this article is "multiverse" instead of universe. Another quote I liked: "Physical Laws Clamor for Life: The Universe knew we were coming." Awesome idea. Copernicus returns!!