From: Günther Greindl (guenther.greindl@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Mar 02 2008 - 16:17:21 MST
Hi Ross,
Krekoski Ross wrote:
> Why has there not been any discussion that I can find, regarding the
> very real possibility that quantum entanglement plays a large role in
> the functioning of the human brain?
Read this:
The importance of quantum decoherence in brain processes
Max Tegmark
http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9907009
Abstract:
Based on a calculation of neural decoherence rates, we argue that that
the degrees of freedom of the human brain that relate to cognitive
processes should be thought of as a classical rather than quantum
system, i.e., that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the current
classical approach to neural network simulations. We find that the
decoherence timescales ~10^{-13}-10^{-20} seconds are typically much
shorter than the relevant dynamical timescales (~0.001-0.1 seconds),
both for regular neuron firing and for kink-like polarization
excitations in microtubules. This conclusion disagrees with suggestions
by Penrose and others that the brain acts as a quantum computer, and
that quantum coherence is related to consciousness in a fundamental way.
Cheers,
Günther
-- Günther Greindl Department of Philosophy of Science University of Vienna guenther.greindl@univie.ac.at http://www.univie.ac.at/Wissenschaftstheorie/ Blog: http://dao.complexitystudies.org/ Site: http://www.complexitystudies.org
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