{"id":142899,"date":"2025-03-25T11:07:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T15:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=142899"},"modified":"2025-03-31T11:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T15:41:09","slug":"what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the hard problem of consciousness? What can modern science tell us about how our subjective experiences arise from objective reality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind<\/em>, Julian Jaynes explores the complex nature of consciousness beyond simple sensory awareness. He defines consciousness, but his theory (and everyone else’s) can’t explain what gives rise to the subjective experience of consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to explore theories about what consciousness is, how it evolved, and why philosophers call it “the hard problem.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Hard Problem of Consciousness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is the hard problem of consciousness? Essentially, it’s the fact that consciousness is tricky to define. The word usually refers to a state of being aware of yourself and your existence in the world. Jaynes emphasizes that consciousness is more than simple sensory awareness: It\u2019s the experience of having a \u201cself\u201d who can reflect on and make sense of what you experience. <\/strong>Consciousness involves self-awareness, reflective thought, and an ability to make decisions based on mental processes we experience as internal rather than external. So, instead of being guided by a voice that seems as though it comes from outside of us, we can reflect, reason, and decide based on our thoughts and our interpretations of the world around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Many experts agree with Jaynes that the experience of consciousness<\/a> involves an awareness of our thoughts, feelings, memories, and sensations. But neuroscientists say their theories can\u2019t yet fully explain what gives rise to that subjective experience<\/a> of consciousness. In other words, many theories describe the neural conditions associated with consciousness, but they don\u2019t bridge the \u201cexplanatory gap\u201d between the physical processes occurring in the brain and the first-person experience of being conscious that we have in our minds. This gap is what makes consciousness so tricky to define [or, in philosophers\u2019 parlance, \u201ca hard problem.\u201d])<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defining Consciousness<\/strong>

Some thinkers would say that before we can even consider the questions Jaynes raises\u2014such as how and when consciousness evolved, and how humans might have experienced life before consciousness\u2014there are even more basic questions to consider. For example, what is consciousness<\/a>? How do our subjective experiences arise from our objective reality? And is the brain somehow responsible for all of it, or is there something else going on? These questions are so difficult to satisfactorily answer that philosophers such as David Chalmers (The Conscious Mind<\/em><\/a>) refer to consciousness as a \u201chard problem.\u201d<\/a> The trouble is that science can\u2019t explain exactly how our conscious experiences come about\u2014so some scientists don\u2019t try.

In Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation<\/em><\/a>, George Musser says many experts dodge the problem<\/a>, either by assuming we have to wait to solve it until neuroscientists come to a more complete understanding of the brain, or by accepting that we can\u2019t explain consciousness and concluding it must arise as some fundamental property of reality. But some experts have<\/em> tried to explain consciousness, coming up with two main theories<\/a>.

The global neuronal workspace theory<\/em> argues that consciousness arises when information, such as thoughts or perceptions, is shared across different parts of the brain<\/a> and becomes available for us to consciously access it, train our attention on it, and hold it in working memory<\/a>. The integrated information theory<\/em>, on the other hand, sees consciousness as a fundamental property of complex, interconnected networks such as the brain\u2014something that arises inevitably when so many neurons are working together such that the whole is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.

The core of \u201cthe hard problem,\u201d Musser explains, is that the qualities of our conscious experience<\/a> feel \u201cintrinsic\u201d: The subjective qualities of an experience\u2014such as the particular blue hue you see when looking at a blue scarf or the specific pain you feel when pricking your finger with a pin\u2014feel like inherent to those experiences themselves. In other words, it seems as though they\u2019re simply what it\u2019s like to have that experience, independent of the context of the experience or possible comparisons you could make to other kinds of experiences. Some experts\u2014such as philosopher Daniel Dennett in Consciousness Explained<\/em><\/a>\u2014have concluded that consciousness isn\u2019t real at all; rather, it\u2019s an illusion.

But others think the qualities of our conscious experience might not be so difficult to explain: Our experience of a color such as blue or a sensation such as pain could arise from webs of learned associations and relationships. It might be possible to learn to see these relational structures, in much the same way that a trained musician can hear the notes that make up a chord. In fact, psychologist Iris Berent argues our trouble understanding consciousness arises from natural biases in our thinking<\/a>, and how we experience consciousness<\/a>, rather than from consciousness itself. We view our minds as separate from our bodies (dualism), and we believe things have an innate essence (essentialism). But these biases might not align with reality\u2014which means that the hard problem of consciousness could be more psychological than philosophical.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the hard problem of consciousness? What can modern science tell us about how our subjective experiences arise from objective reality? In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Julian Jaynes explores the complex nature of consciousness beyond simple sensory awareness. He defines consciousness, but his theory (and everyone else’s) can’t explain what gives rise to the subjective experience of consciousness. Read on to explore theories about what consciousness is, how it evolved, and why philosophers call it “the hard problem.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":142906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,9,160],"tags":[1762],"class_list":["post-142899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-psychology","category-science","tag-the-origin-of-consciousness-in-the-breakdown-of-the-bicameral-mind","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We can define consciousness, but we can't explain what gives rise to its subjective experience. Learn what "the hard problem" is.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We can define consciousness, but we can't explain what gives rise to its subjective experience. Learn what "the hard problem" is.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-25T15:07:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T15:41:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-25T15:07:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-31T15:41:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/\"},\"wordCount\":855,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Philosophy\",\"Psychology\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/\",\"name\":\"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-25T15:07:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-31T15:41:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"We can define consciousness, but we can't explain what gives rise to its subjective experience. Learn what \\\"the hard problem\\\" is.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp\",\"width\":1370,\"height\":768,\"caption\":\"A man looking up with blackboard scribbles behind him illustrates the question, \\\"What is the hard problem of consciousness?\\\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky - Shortform Books","description":"We can define consciousness, but we can't explain what gives rise to its subjective experience. Learn what \"the hard problem\" is.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky","og_description":"We can define consciousness, but we can't explain what gives rise to its subjective experience. Learn what \"the hard problem\" is.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2025-03-25T15:07:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-31T15:41:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1370,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky","datePublished":"2025-03-25T15:07:04+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-31T15:41:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/"},"wordCount":855,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp","keywords":["The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind"],"articleSection":["Philosophy","Psychology","Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/","name":"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp","datePublished":"2025-03-25T15:07:04+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-31T15:41:09+00:00","description":"We can define consciousness, but we can't explain what gives rise to its subjective experience. Learn what \"the hard problem\" is.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp","width":1370,"height":768,"caption":"A man looking up with blackboard scribbles behind him illustrates the question, \"What is the hard problem of consciousness?\""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is the Hard Problem? Why Consciousness Is Tricky"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/young-man-looking-up-in-thought-with-blackboard-scribbles.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142899"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142907,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142899\/revisions\/142907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}