File 02: Melanin, Memory, and the Mind That Asks the Question

On why it's redundant to ask, ‘What is consciousness?’, the question made mainstream by Artificial Intelligence, from inside the story.

Let me begin with something intimate: features you don’t see at first when you look at me, but that define me nonetheless.

At first sight, you might notice my gender — that I am a woman, and you might notice my race — that I’m black, and you might guess at my being of mixed African and European heritage.

Whether you’re new to my work or have followed it for a while, you likely know I write about feminism, knowledge, African thought, philosophy, and power.

But these features are all external. What’s really on the inside?