Kim:

You had two questions.
> One of his biographers wondered what would have happened if Einstein had
> aimed his mind internally rather than externally, toward the observer instead
> of the observed. I wonder what will happen if we give it a try.

Q-1) Do you mean what would have happened if Einstein had studied
cognitive science instead of physics?

A) What would happen if a mind investigates (in any way) the thing that does the observing rather than what it observes?
Speculatively, what might the investigation of a great mind (Einstein) have come up with?

> I wish to address human consciousness a priori, as Giordano Bruno
> addressed cosmology. I seek your view of a mind observing itself.

Q-2) How exactly did Giordano Bruno address cosmology? What do you
have in mind when you say you'd like to address consciousness
a priori? Could you give examples?

A-1) Bruno conceived the fundamental assumptions of "modern" cosmology: the unity of the universe; its uniformity, homogeneity & isotropy and the universal applicability and validity of its laws--400 years ago, without any of the tools of
observation that we have today; and the church burned him at the stake as a heretic.

A-2) A priori = valid, independent of observation; existing in the mind prior to and independent of experience; not based on prior study or examination. Example = mathematics: concepts originate in the mind before experimentation/observation.

Thank you for your response.
Geoffrey