You can't hear it, so it's a more complex thing to suppose it's still there.
If it is indeed a more complex thing, then I think that means you're right: the chances of it happening are small (inversely related to the complexity).
But how do we know that it's actually a complex thing? The correlates of consciousness on the neuronal level are complex, but what if underneath it all on some smaller physical level there's a simple cause of consciousness? How do we know that "consciousness is complex" is more likely than this theory?
By the way, sorry I took so long to make this point. This is the real point I've been trying to make, but I haven't really been able to articulate it well until talking it over with you guys.
My original point: the hypothesis that, when all our evidence says that the causes of consciousness have ceased operating, consciousness is still existing, is a much more complex hypothesis than saying it stops existing when all the evidence suggests so, and so you shouldn't expect it to still exist.
Your new point: Just because all the evidence we have says consciousness is a highly complex feature of the world that requires brains functioning in certain ways, doesn't mean that it is, therefore I'm fifty fifty on whether or not it continues when the brain ...
I've read a fair amount on Less Wrong and can't recall much said about the plausibility of some sort of afterlife. What do you guys think about it? Is there some sort of consensus?
Here's my take:
Edit: People in the comments have just taken it as a given that consciousness resides solely in the brain without explaining why they think this. My point in this post is that I don't see why we have reason to reject the 3 possibilities above. If you reject the idea that consciousness could reside outside of the brain, please explain why.