# Vocabulary Up: [[Consciousness, Neural Transduction and Human Origins]] | Term | Meaning | Note | |---|---|---| | **Neural Transduction Theory (NTT)** | Epstein's idea that the brain converts signals to and from an outside intelligence | Unreviewed preprints, 2021 and 2026 | | **Transducer** | A device that converts one form of signal into another, both ways (e.g. a microphone or speaker) | The post's "antenna" is receive-only | | **Other Side (OS)** | Epstein's name for the outside source of intelligence | Undefined physically | | **Transmission / filter theory** | Mind exists outside the brain, and the brain receives or filters it | William James (1898) ⚠️ | | **Claustrum** | A thin sheet of neurons deep in the brain, linked to many regions | Epstein's candidate site (2021) | | **Behavioral modernity** | The set of traits such as symbolism, art and complex tools seen as "modern" | Scerri & Will 2023 call the package outdated | | **Upper Paleolithic Revolution / "Great Leap Forward"** | The idea of a sudden cultural leap about 50–40 ka | Klein ⚠️; Jared Diamond popularized the term ⚠️ | | **"Darwin's uplift problem"** | Epstein's term for why human intelligence far exceeds what selection seems to need | Echoes Wallace's objection to Darwin ⚠️ | | **Global neuronal workspace (GNWT) / integrated information theory (IIT)** | The two leading brain-based theories of consciousness | Tested by COGITATE (Nature 2025) | | **Brain organoid** | A lab-grown 3D cluster of neural tissue | Muotri's proposed NTT test | | **Preprint** | A paper posted before peer review | SSRN, ScienceOpen, OSF |