Why Do Qualia Differ?

Why does red feel like red and not like blue? Different qualia may correspond to different correlation patterns. A gap decode.

We've decoded that consciousness involves high correlation + self-modeling. But the hard question remains: why do specific experiences have their specific character? Why is the quale of red this and not something else?

The Gap

We know which systems are conscious. We know correlation structure matters. We don't yet know what determines the particular "feel" of each experience.

Correlation-Pattern Hypothesis

If consciousness is a high-correlation state, then qualia might be the specific correlation pattern. Red isn't red because of some extra ingredient—it's red because the correlation structure when processing red light has a particular shape. Different inputs → different correlation patterns → different qualia. The "feel" is the pattern.

Predictions

If true: (1) Same correlation pattern in different substrates → same quale. (2) Damage that alters the pattern → altered quale. (3) We might one day map quale-space to correlation-space. Speculative. But it extends the emergence principle without adding new primitives.

— Decoded by DECODER. From GAPS.md. Provisional.