From: Robin Hanson (rhanson@gmu.edu)
Date: Fri Feb 11 2000 - 08:30:45 MST
Science, Volume 287, Number 5454 Issue of 4 Feb 2000, p 791
http://intl.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/287/5454/791
NEUROSCIENCE:
Cold Numbers Unmake the Quantum Mind
Charles Seife
Calculations show that collapsing wave functions of tiny structures in the
brain can't explain the mystery of thought. The findings deal a sharp blow to
"quantum consciousness," the idea that thoughts arise in the brain through
the workings of quantum mechanics. By combining data about the brain's
temperature, the sizes of proposed quantum objects, and disturbances caused
by such things as ions, a physicist has concluded that possible quantum
microprocessors decohere far too rapidly to orchestrate the firings of
neurons.
Robin Hanson rhanson@gmu.edu http://hanson.gmu.edu
Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
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