In 1998, a neurologist and philosopher placed a scientific wager, Winner is announced in 2023

Last Thursday, a philosopher defeated a neurologist in the resolution of a 25-year-old scientific wager.

Neuroscientist Christof Koch bet philosopher David Chalmers that the process by which the brain’s neurons create consciousness will be found by 2023 when they were both seated in a smokey pub in Bremen, Germany.

Chalmers was proclaimed the winner at the Association for the Scientific research of Consciousness (ASSC) annual conference in New York City after an important research that tested two main ideas about the neurological basis of consciousness helped settle the wager.

But Chalmers said it had always been a “relatively good bet” for him and a risky one for Christof. He said that there has been significant advancement in the area and that scientists would soon discover the solution.

According to Chalmers, “it began as a very significant philosophical mystery.” But through time, it has changed into something we can at least partially understand scientifically, if not a “scientific” mystery.

The goal of Koch, a German-American neurophysiologist and computational neuroscientist, is to find the neurons required to “generate a feeling of seeing, hearing, or wanting.” Koch began his study for the neurological underpinnings of consciousness in the 1980s.

Koch purchased a “case of fine Portuguese wine” for Chalmers the day before the ASSC session, despite his reluctance to concede defeat. Additionally, he was prepared to double down on the bet with a window of another 25 years.

“Twenty-five years from now is realistic,” I said, “because the methods are improving and, you know, given my age, I can’t wait much longer than 25 years.”