The theory is basically stating that consciousness is simply a method of the brain rationalising and predicting the ways it's going to solve novel problems, or interpret new stimuli. When this process is no longer occurring, is when we "zone out" or get completely immersed into a task to the point that we do it on autopilot, like an older monkey would climb the same tree it's done for years with no thought, or a democrat/liberal would reject each others views without a second thought. The theory is apparently highly testable through a problem-solving experiment that requires participants to "activate" their consciousness through multi-layered tasks.

-Could this mean people are "more" conscious if they take longer to complete tasks or are presented with larger amounts of new stimuli?

-Could this help explain why children seem to view adults as boring and they themselves to be more aware of their environment, as they would no longer require much consciousness on their repetitive lives whereas children would maintain a negative correlation between age and consciousness as they got older

-This could even help explain our perception of time as when you zone out time appears to move quicker, almost as if you were sleeping

-Would it be possible to manipulate one's own perception and level of consciousness in life by forcing themselves to see the most new stimuli available?

Thoughts?