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An accessible summary: https://backreaction.blogspot.com/2024/05/brain-really-uses-quantum-effects-new.html https://backreaction.blogspot.com/2024/05/brain-real
by lisper 2y ago
An accessible summary: https://backreaction.blogspot.com/2024/05/brain-really-uses-quantum-effects-new.html https://backreaction.blogspot.com/2024/05/brain-really-uses-...
The TL;DR is that this paper claims to have found evidence for quantum effects in microtubules, lending credence to (though by no means providing proof of) Roger Penrose's theory that consciousness is a quantum phenomenon.
- snarkconjecture 2y agoI don't think the study authors would endorse the claim that this meaningfully lends credence to Penrose's theories about consciousness. Quantum effects are all over chemistry; that's nowhere near sufficient to provide much evidence of quantum computation happening, which in turn would not necessarily suggest any kind of explanation of consciousness. Nobody is skeptical about quantum effects (of this sort) happening in biochemistry. All of the skepticism Penrose faces is about the quantum computation and consciousness parts. So this paper won't change anyone's minds about Penrose.