MIND NEWS -

THEORY - MIND AS A QUANTUM PHENOMENON

 

 

Roger Penrose of the University of Oxford and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff of the University of Arizona propose that the brain acts as a quantum computer — a computational machine that makes use of quantum mechanical phenomena (like the ability of particles to be in two places at once) to perform complex calculations.

In the brain, fibers inside neurons could form the basic units of quantum computation, Penrose and Hameroff explained at the Global Future 2045 International Congress, a futuristic conference held here June 15-16.

The idea is appealing, because neuroscience, so far, has no satisfactory explanation for consciousness — the state of being self-aware and having sensory experiences and thoughts. But many scientists are skeptical, citing a lack of experimental evidence for the idea.

Penrose's work rests on an interpretation of the mathematician Kurt Godel's incompleteness theorem, which states that certain results cannot be proven by a computer algorithm. Penrose argues that human mathematicians are capable of proving so-called "Godel-unprovable" results, and therefore human brains cannot be described as typical computers. Instead, he says, to achieve these higher abilities, brain processes must rely on quantum mechanics.

Hameroff read Penrose's work and suggested small fibrous structures that give cells their structural support — known as microtubules — might be capable of carrying out quantum computations.

Microtubules are made up of units of the protein tubulin, which contains regions where electrons are swirling around very close to each other. Hameroff proposed that these electrons could become "quantum entangled," a state in which two particles retain a connection, and an action performed on one affects the other, even when the two are separated by a distance.

Read more:  http://www.nbcnews.com/science/intriguing-consciousness-theory-skeptics-want-evidence-6C10486211
The above theory in depth, with diagrams: Quantum computation in brain microtubules? The Penrose-Hameroff "Orch OR" model of consciousness
http://www.quantumconsciousness.org/penrose-hameroff/quantumcomputation.html
A skeptic's view:  http://www.askamathematician.com/2012/09/q-is-the-brain-and-consciousness-quantum-mechanical-in-nature/
Brain entanglement could explain memories - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18371-brain-entanglement-could-explain-memories.html#.Uc-QTGFrbMw
Related:
Articles on the brain on this blog - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Brain
Articles on the mind on this blog -  http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Mind