 Velmans (2012) distinguishes between ‘discontinuity theories’, which claim that there was a particular point at which consciousness originated, before which there was no consciousness (this applies both the the universe at large, and also to any particular consciousness individual), and ‘continuity theories’, which conceptualize the evolution of consciousness in terms of “a gradual transition in consciousness from unrecognizable to recognizable.” He argues that continuity theories are more elegant, as any discontinuity is based on arbitrary criteria, and that discontinuity theories face “the hard problem” in a way that continuity theories don't. Velmans takes these arguments to weigh in favor of adopting, not just a continuity theory, but a form of panpsychism.