QUANTUM MIND

CAN A COMPUTER HAVE A MIND?

(From Sir Roger Penrose's The Emperor's New Mind)

The Emperor's New Mind by Sir Roger Penrose was published in its original form in 1989. Before that and since then, science, technology and engineering have taken a giant leap. Humans have devised complicated and sophisticated devices and machines that completely negate human physical limitations. These  machines can drop us from one  part of the world to another or even from one planet to another; some can lift objects which otherwise would require hundreds or thousands of men power, and some propel us at such speeds on the ground. These machines and devices have made our lives easier, and aid us remain connected  while living thousands of miles apart.

Can "mind" be associated or compared with the sophisticated devices that humans have so cleverly devised? In this introductory chapter, the writer pens down the following questions: What is a mind? What does it mean to think or feel? Do minds really exist? If mind exist, does it act independently of the brain or to what extent the mind is dependent on the brain structures, or is it just a function of the physical structure of the brain? Is mind subject to the law of physics? 

Most physicists claim that the fundamental laws that operate at the level of a human brain are well known. But according to Sir Roger Penrose, there are still many unanswered questions in physics. For example, the basic laws governing the mass-values of the subatomic particles of nature and the strengths of their interactions; how to make quantum theory fully consistent with Einstein's special theory of relativity, how to construct the "quantum gravity" theory that would make quantum theory consistent with his general theory of relativity: whether the universe is finite or infinite in extent-either in space or in time. We do not understand the physics that must operate at the cores of black holes nor at the big-bang origin of the universe itself. He argues that there is another vast unknown in our physical understanding at such a level which could be relevant to the operation of human thought and consciousness. He further argues that, the "black holes and big bang are considerations which actually do have a definite bearing on these issues!"

Contrary to most physicists' claim, the writer's viewpoint is that it is because of our present lack of understanding of the fundamental laws of physics that prevents us from knowing the concept of "mind" in physical or logical terms. In this book, he partly aims to stimulate future research by suggesting about the place that "mind" might actually occupy within a development of the physics that we know.

To understand his viewpoint on "mind" and "consciousness" one shall first need to examine the quantum theory,  both special and general relativity, black holes, the big bang, the second law of thermodynamics of Maxwell's theory of electromagnetic phenomena, the basics of Newtonian mechanics, questions of psychology and philosophy to understand "consciousness", neurophysiology of the brain, suggested computer models, artificial intelligence, mathematics, nature of physical reality. We also need to know what a Turing machine is, and to understand the meaning of computability, of Godel's theorem, and of complexity theory.

The strong-AI holds the view that the devices are intelligent and have minds, and that the mental activity is simply carrying out of some well-defined sequence of operations referred to as an algorithm. The electronic computer technology has made enormous advances over the decades, but does these machines actually think, and feel all the emotions that humans go through? Do they have a mind to actually be aware or conscious of their own existence? 

"If something acts entirely like a consciously aware entity, then one must also maintain that it "feels" itself to be that entity"-Sir Roger Penrose.