3 ms·

Do you think that quantum physics can tell us anything about 'the hard problem' in philosophy? Is it possible that the mind could somehow control how quantum s

Do you think that quantum physics can tell us anything about 'the hard problem' in philosophy? Is it possible that the mind could somehow control how quantum states collapse in situations where randomness would be the typical explanation?

ScottAaronson 8y ago
Short answer: not in any obvious way! Longer answer: whatever I have to say about possible implications of QC for the hard problem of consciousness, you can probably find in the following lecture https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1951 https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1951 or in the Ghost in the Quantum Turing Machine essay that’s linked below.
bascule 8y ago
There have been some poorly received hypotheses to this effect, most notably Roger Penrose's Orch-OR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reduction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reducti... That said, most attempts at quantifying whether or not distinctly quantum mechanical processes in the brain related to things like microtubules and NMDA receptors are significant to cognition (i.e. is the brain a quantum computer?) have generally concluded the answer is no: See: https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9907009 https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9907009 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15516709cog0000_59 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15516709cog...
ahussain 8y ago
It doesn't answer this question directly, but Aaronson's paper "The Ghost in the Quantum Turing Machine"[1] is a great read. It talks about the relationship between quantum mechanics and free will. [1] https://www.scottaaronson.com/papers/giqtm3.pdf https://www.scottaaronson.com/papers/giqtm3.pdf
- ttctciyf 8y ago
  It is a great read! Also, in the comments on his blog post introducing that paper, he says: > Well, yes, “the fact of experience” is a toughie! :) In fact, I regard the “hard problem of consciousness” as so far beyond us, that it’s not even clear that science or rational argument give us any sort of toehold. - https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1438#comment-80656 https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1438#comment-80656
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

ScottAaronson 8y ago

Short answer: not in any obvious way! Longer answer: whatever I have to say about possible implications of QC for the hard problem of consciousness, you can probably find in the following lecture https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1951 https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1951 or in the Ghost in the Quantum Turing Machine essay that’s linked below.

bascule 8y ago

There have been some poorly received hypotheses to this effect, most notably Roger Penrose's Orch-OR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reduction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reducti... That said, most attempts at quantifying whether or not distinctly quantum mechanical processes in the brain related to things like microtubules and NMDA receptors are significant to cognition (i.e. is the brain a quantum computer?) have generally concluded the answer is no: See: https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9907009 https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9907009 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15516709cog0000_59 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15516709cog...

ahussain 8y ago

It doesn't answer this question directly, but Aaronson's paper "The Ghost in the Quantum Turing Machine"[1] is a great read. It talks about the relationship between quantum mechanics and free will. [1] https://www.scottaaronson.com/papers/giqtm3.pdf https://www.scottaaronson.com/papers/giqtm3.pdf

ttctciyf 8y ago
It is a great read! Also, in the comments on his blog post introducing that paper, he says: > Well, yes, “the fact of experience” is a toughie! :) In fact, I regard the “hard problem of consciousness” as so far beyond us, that it’s not even clear that science or rational argument give us any sort of toehold. - https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1438#comment-80656 https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1438#comment-80656

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]