After examining information on consciousness and what David Chalmers had to state on the subject, I feel that the information both challenged and confirmed prior beliefs that I held about the hard and easy parts of consciousness.

I agree that one of the easy parts of consciousness that Chalmers discussed, such as our consciousness being able to categorize, discriminate, and react to the environment is something that makes sense with my previous beliefs. Sleeping and waking up, controlling one’s behavior, and possessing the ability to integrate much information is also something that makes sense in terms of easy consciousness.

On the contrary, Chalmer’s thoughts on some easy parts of consciousness do not seem all that easy to me, due to this world’s increased reliance on technology. For instance, one’s ability to express their mental state and how one feels is not always so easy for people. I feel that people have lost the ability to talk to each other face-to-face, text messaging and Facebooking the most common method of communication. I also feel that the “easy” consciousness task of focusing one’s attention has also been made harder by so much technology introduced into the word. There is constant stimulation for people, in the form of video games, internet information, Facebook quizzes and games, and You Tube videos. We live in a world where we can get anything we want anytime, which I feel makes it harder to stay focused on something.

The information that Chalmers discussed on hard parts of consciousness did expand my mind. I never thought about technological advancements, such as the creation of motorized wheelchairs, medical technology and therapeutic interventions, and other inventions as extending our brain and consciousness. However, now I do feel that way. Yet, I also feel that with all things in life, we must maintain a balance between technology and face-to-face contact, so our brain and mental states can remain health. Consciousness is an interesting concept.