Hoffman is a cognitive scientist who ran evolutionary simulations and got a result he didn’t like: Organisms that perceive reality accurately lose to organisms that perceive fitness payoffs instead. His conclusion is that space, time, and objects are a species-specific interface — like icons on a computer desktop, they are useful but not literally true. The desktop metaphor carries the book: A file icon isn’t what’s inside the computer, but you’d be a fool to drag it to the trash. Then he goes further than most readers will follow, into consciousness as fundamental. Take the first half as a serious argument about perception and the second half as speculation. Of course, when it comes to the nature of consciousness, it’s all speculation.
The Case Against Reality