When renowned philosopher René Descartes came up with the notion of “cogito ergo sum” (“I think, therefore, I am”), he did the 1600s equivalent of breaking the internet. According to this idea, the very fact of being able to think about Consciousness proves the existence of consciousness.

Although still defined as an awareness of yourself and the world around you, the debate about what consciousness actually is and where it comes from rages on. Scientists have even utilised brain-scanning technology to identify specific neurons that might be linked to different conscious events.

Some say the measure of integrated information in an individual’s brain forms consciousness, while others suggest we have a memory bank from which the brain draws information to form the experience of conscious awareness.