QUANTUM MIND

 WHAT IS QUANTUM MIND?

The quantum mind or quantum consciousness is a group of hypotheses proposing that classical mechanics cannot explain consciousness. It posits that quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition, may play an important part in the brain's function and could explain consciousness; and that there is something micro-physical quantum mechanical about the brain. 

Classical mechanics is a physical theory which describes the motion of macroscopic objects, such as projectiles, parts of machinery and astronomical objects, like spacecraft, planets, stars and galaxies. For objects governed by classical mechanics, if the present state is known, it is possible to predict how it will move in the future (determinism), and how it has moved in the past (reversibility). (Classical Mechanics (Goldstein) and Classical Mechanics (Kibble and Berkshire)

Classical mechanics meant determinism, whereas quantum theory introduced an element of randomness in contrast to the previous, "perfectly deterministic" worldview, in which randomness is considered our ignorance of a more detailed description (as in statistical mechanics). (Quantum approaches to consciousness, first published Tue Nov 30, 2004; substantive revision Thu Apr 16, 2020; https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qt-consciousness/)

Brain is one of the most complex systems that we know. As regards quantum physics, there is no doubt that quantum events occur and are efficacious in the brain. But it is controversial whether these events are efficacious and relevant for those aspects of brain activity that are correlated with mental activity.

Pioneers of quantum physics such as Planck, Bohr, Schrödinger, Pauli (and others) emphasized the various possible roles of quantum theory in reconsidering the conflict between physical determinism and conscious free will. (For more informations see e.g., Squires (1990), Kane (1996), Butterfield (1998), Suarez and Adams (2013).

It should not be confused with quantum cognition. Quantum cognition applies the mathematical formalism of quantum theory to model cognitive phenomena such as information processing by the human brain, language, decision making, human memory, concepts and conceptual reasoning, human judgement and perception.  Quantum cognition uses the mathematical formalism of quantum theory to inspire and formalize models of cognition that aim to be an advance over models based on traditional classical probability theory.

What is mind-body dualism? 

Mind–body (mind-matter) dualism denotes that the mental phenomena are non-physical; that the mind and body are distinctly separable. Thus, it encompasses a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter, between subject and object, and is contrasted with other positions, such as physicalism and enactivism, in the mind-body problem.

Rene Descartes, French philosopher, mathematician (1596-1650) : He is attributed with developing Cartesian dualism (also referred to as mind-body dualism), the metaphysical argument that the mind and body are two different substances which interact with one another. He said that, not even the demon with the utmost power and cunning can ever deceive me, delude my sense of existence; my mind cannot be fooled about my existence. He, therefore, concluded that mind must be separate from the body. He is most commonly known for his philosophical statement, “I think, therefore I am” (originally in French, but best known by its Latin translation: "Cogito, ergo sum").  (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Descartes /Residence-in-the-Netherlands)

Double-slit experiment

Before getting into the depth of quantum mind, we must know Thomas Young’s double-slit experiment which is famous for demonstrating the principle of interference.

Young’s original double-slit experiment: When he shone light through two narrow slits and observed the pattern created on a distant screen, Young didn’t find two bright regions corresponding to the slits, but instead saw bright and dark fringes. This interference pattern is caused by the superposition of overlapping light waves originating from the two slits. He explained this unexpected observation by proposing that light is a wave, in opposition to Newton’s idea that light is made of particles.  

https://www.britannica.com/science/light/Youngs-double-slit-experiment

 

Young’s double-slit experiment with single electrons

If you fire single particles, such as photons or electrons, through two slits labelled 1 and 2, the wavefunctions ϕ1 and ϕ2 along each path describe the probability that they will pass through the slits, with the total wavefunction at the detector being ϕdet = ϕ1 + ϕ2. The probability of detecting a particle is then ϕdet2 = ϕ12 + ϕ22 + 2|ϕ1||ϕ2| cos Δξ, where |ϕ1| and |ϕ2| are the amplitudes of the waves and Δξ is their phase difference at the detector. The result is a series of bright and dark bands depending on whether the two wave fronts are in phase (cos Δξ = 1) or out of phase (cos Δξ = –1), meaning either a high or low chance of detecting a particle. But if you close, say, slit 2, then ϕ2 = 0 and you see a distribution of particles due solely to slit 1 (ϕdet2 = ϕ12). If you close slit 1, then ϕ1 = 0 and the distribution is given by (ϕdet2 = ϕ22). You can work out the interference term by measuring the signals from both slits individually, and by then measuring the yield with both slits open.

(18 feb, 2020; https://physicsworld.com/a/double-slits-with-single-atoms/)

HYPOTHESES ON QUANTUM MIND

• Henri Maillardet, Swiss engineer (1745-1830) built an automaton that could draw 4 pictures and write three poems. There is a reductionist claim that everything about humans reduces ultimately to physics, that we are mere results of an underlying unchanging set of physical laws and rules that determine our behavior. And any perceived consciousness, is as much a result of the underlying physics, as automatons are a result of the movement of gears and levers. (https://arvinash.com/quantum-mind-is-quantum-physics-responsible-for-consciousness/)

• The Von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation, also described as "consciousness causes collapse", is an interpretation of quantum mechanics in which consciousness is postulated to be necessary for the completion of the process of quantum measurement.  An analysis has been performed of the theories and postulates advanced by von Neumann, London and Bauer, and Wigner, concerning the role that consciousness might play in the collapse of the wave function, which has become known as the measurement problem. In simple words the wave function collapses due to its interaction with consciousness. This reveals that an error may have been made by them in the area of biology and its interface with quantum mechanics when they called for the reduction of any superposition states in the brain through the mind or consciousness. (Does consciousness really collapse the wave function?: A possible objective biophysical resolution of the measurement problem; https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0509042.pdf)

• Freeman Dyson argued that "mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent inherent in every electron".

• Roger Penrose (b.1931) and Stuart Hameroff, American Anesthesiologist b. 1947: Penrose and Hameroff have argued that consciousness is the result of quantum gravity effects in microtubules, which they dubbed Orch-OR (orchestrated objective reduction).

• Max Tegmark, Swedish-American Physicist (b.1967): He hypothesized that consciousness can be understood as a state of matter, "perceptronium", with distinctive information processing abilities. According to him brain is too wet and warm for delicate quantum effects; microtubules  cannot interact with any fluids or structures of the brain to remain in superposition (cannot be entangled with the surrounding environment ) as proposed by Penrose and Hameroff. Quantum effects would break down in trillionths of a second; typical brain processing speed is thousandths of a second. ( Consciousness as a state of matter, submitted on 6 Jan 2014 (v1), last revised 18 Mar 2015 (this version, v3)] https://arxiv.org/abs/1401.1219

• Matthew P.A Fisher, British American Physicist (b.1960): He proposed that, quantum processing with nuclear spins might be operative in the brain. Temperature required for quantum superposition in the brain can be maintained in the nucleus of some atoms. Some atoms have nuclear spins, little magnets with poles pointing one direction; some chemical reactions can produce spin correlated nuclei where spin of one nucleus is dependent on the another. Nuclear spin entanglement is easier to maintain for a longer period of time because nucleus is isolated, being at the centre of atoms. "Phosphorus is identified as the unique biological element with a nuclear spin that can serve as a qubit for such putative quantum processing - a neural qubit - while the phosphate ion is the only possible qubit-transporter. We identify the "Posner molecule", Ca9(Po4)6, as the unique molecule that can protect the neural qubits on very long times and thereby serve as a (working) quantum-memory." (Quantum cognition: The possibility of processing with nuclear spins in the brain; submitted on 19 Aug 2015 (v1)), last revised 29 Aug 2015 (this version, v2)]; https://arxiv.org/abs/1508.05929