Consciousness defies definition. Perhaps no aspect of the mind is more familiar or puzzling than consciousness and our conscious experience of ourselves and the world. The film aims to understand why we are so interested in consciousness; most of us are interested as a result of our personal experience – we have consciousness, we experience it; perhaps we even think that we ”are” it. Read more But, if we are to make progress in understanding consciousness, we will have to think about it clearly and engage in serious constructive dialogues. In an attempt to understand consciousness, director Alex Gabbay invites sculptor Antony Gormley, eminent neuroscientists Prof Brian Butterworth and Dr Beau Lotto and internet entrepreneur Twain Luu – whose study of the ‘global brain’ makes fascinating reading – to explore its meaning and how it affects their area of work. In an attempt to understand consciousness, director Alex Gabbay invites sculptor Antony Gormley, eminent neuroscientists Prof Brian Butterworth and Dr Beau Lotto and internet entrepreneur Twain Luu – whose study of the ‘global brain’ makes fascinating reading – to explore its meaning and how it affects their area of work.
Structured in a non-linear way, the four protagonists present insights on the human brain, global consciousness, the role of the internet, perception, the space art occupies, etc. While the subjects weave in and out of each other to create the arguments, each interviewee has his or her own narrative arc. Set against a lingering score by Wajid Yaseen and witty use of visual material, the film flows like ‘a stream of consciousness’, unfolding its own narrative from captivating interviews. Just Trial and Error is an engaging, thought-provoking film.
