Three major scientific mysteries—the origins of the universe, life, and consciousness—likely can never be solved because they share a fundamental limit to human knowledge. These questions transcend empirical and rational methods. The problem is introduced through a philosophical metaphor, the "empty room argument," and then examined in the contexts of big bang cosmology, abiogenesis, and consciousness science.
Consciousness science has many competing theories but lacks a unifying framework. The Cognitive Evolution Theory (CET) proposes that brains evolved first as volitional subsystems from primitive reflexes, not as prediction machines. CET models the stream of consciousness as a discrete chain of momentary states arising from critical brain dynamics at phase transitions, mapped onto neural correlates. This framework integrates insights from existing theories by treating consciousness as a dynamical, evolutionary phenomenon. It uses entropy-based complexity measures as objective observables for the transient level of consciousness, linking continuous brain dynamics to discrete conscious states triggered by brainstem arousal and modulated by thalamocortical systems.