How the network develops consciousness?
A) All participating nodes try to maximize hash 0 to 1 transitions
B) At given time intervals nodes publish their best so far
C) A node receiving two or more hashes always prefers the one with most transitions and if equal the one with most dominant 0 bits.
*A node that finds a really rare block and publishes it on time radically improves the security of the network.
The problem here lies with "at given time intervals". How do you ensure that all miners have synchronized clocks? And how will you deal with network delays, when a miner submits his block but it takes considerable time to cross the network. How long do other nodes wait to collect hashes from miners before they determine a winner? And how do you enforce that all nodes make their decision at the same time?
The current system works because it doesn't depend on all players having their clocks properly synced and there are clear rules that establish what happens when, for example due to poor network connectivity or whatever other reason, there are multiple competing branches of the blockchain.