> We assume that an "individual" is a single human being, because it's convenient and I guess because that's how our sentience works.

I often hear that, but I think that's a wrong assumption. I think people fall in and out of being conscious all the time, and often they are semi-conscious in a distracted way.

Consciousness is this holy singular grail, but I think it's actually a muddy mixture of state of minds, like thinking usually is.