Cosmos and Consciousness: Quantum Computers, SuperStrings, Programming, Egypt, Quarks, Mind Body Problem, and Turing Machines - Softcover

Blaha, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0972079513 ISBN 13: 9780972079518

Publisher: Janus Associates Inc., 2002

Synopsis

This work presents a simple idea with profound implications for science and philosophy. It develops a new foundation at both a popular and technical level of current fundamental theories.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Stephen Blaha has had faculty positions at Cornell, Syracuse, Williams, and Yale. He is the author of the best selling book Cosmos and Consciousness, First Edition, and The Rhythms of History: A Universal Theory of Civilizations as well as several other books and articles on Science, Consciousness, the History of Science, the human brain, computers, quantum computers and Physics.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A View of Consciousness

There are numerous views of Consciousness. Some of these views attempt to make distinctions between consciousness, the mind, and the brain (body). The mind is the nebulous thing we associate with consciousness, feeling and thought. The body in particular the brain is obviously connected to the mind and supports the mind s activity. Yet Consciousness seems endowed with miraculous abilities that many find hard to base entirely on the properties of the brain.

Some of these views have been raised to the level of a problem: the Mind Body Problem. How can the mind and its glorious properties be based on the morass of cauliflower-like flesh that we call the brain? One simple and seemingly facetious resolution of this problem is suggested by the discussions of the preceding chapters: the universe is nothing, there are no bodies, thus there is no problem the brain is an illusion. No body, no Mind-Body Problem!

There is an element of truth in this facile solution. In the preceding chapters we saw how the path of physical theories led us to a view of reality as a nothingness given structure by physical law. We also saw how our view of matter was an illusion based primarily on electromagnetic forces (remember NeutrinoMan ). So the human brain is in a sense an electromagnetic illusion. The brain is just as insubstantial as the mind in reality.

However there is a deeper sense in which the Mind-Body Problem is resolvable. There is a general lack of appreciation of the power of electromagnetic circuits to create illusions. We see the brain as a hodge-podge of electromagnetic circuitry based on neurons and other brain structures. We then view the mind, and its unity, clarity, powers of logic and analysis, and other features composing one great entity.

It is difficult to reconcile the unity of consciousness of the mind with the brain that implements it. Yet it is more difficult to deny that the mind is based entirely on the brain. Modern research clearly shows the dependence of the properties of the mind on the features of the brain. Consider the effect on the mind of brain diseases or of injuries to the brain.

Modern computer technology actually offers a very clear analogy to the relation of Consciousness and the brain. Consider a modern Personal Computer, a PC. If we open it up we see an ugly hodgepodge of chips and computer circuitry. By only looking at the innards of the PC we have no concept of what this electronic menagerie can generate.

Then we turn on the PC and see the fabulous graphics of a modern computer operating system: lots of windows containing exciting graphics. We can manipulate these windows causing them to change, disappear, reappear with new content, and so on using a mouse, the keyboard or a joystick. We can run captivating multimedia games and simulations with the click of a mouse or the movement of a joystick. We can access and manipulate external information from around the world using the Internet.

Does the computer screen look in any way like the innards of the computer? Does the unity, sophistication and flexibility of the display relate to the odd collection of electronics inside the computer? Obviously not.

Figure. The ubiquitous PC.

This example is directly analogous to the relation of Consciousness and the brain. The thoughts, unity and activity of Consciousness (the "screen") has no obvious connection to the details of brain (the "computer innards") activity. Yet the mind is a construct of the electrical activity in the brain.

The Consciousness of the mind is the combined result of the electrical activity of the brain.

Consciousness: Quantum or Classical Probabilistic

Our studies of space, time, and matter the Cosmos have led us to nothingness. Consciousness itself is not material. It also is a nothingness. Both Consciousness and the Cosmos are given shape by laws. The laws structure the "nothingness" and provide the "nothingness" with features and properties.

In the case of the Cosmos we have made a case for a Quantum Computer formulation of the fundamental theories of Physics.

In the case of Consciousness we propose that Consciousness is best viewed within the framework of Classical Probabilistic Computers.

A Classical Probabilistic Computer (Reference 31) is a purely classical computer (no quantum effects) that produces a variety of different outputs from a given input to the computer. Each possible output has a certain probability of occurring. The probabilities are all strictly classical they are not of quantum mechanical origin.

A Classical Probabilistic Computer can be viewed as:

Figure. A Classical Probabilistic Computer produces one output from a given input. The output is one of a number of possibilities.

If the same program is run over and over again in a Classical Probabilistic computer then a variety of outputs will occur. Each output will appear in the set of outputs with a frequency proportional to its probability of occurrence.

The reason for suggesting that Consciousness be modeled as a Classical Probabilistic Computer is based on the following thoughts:

1. Consciousness appears to be a classical phenomenon. If we consider the properties of the mind there is no convincing evidence for significant quantum effects. Even if Science should find isolated quantum phenomena surfacing in experiments on Consciousness the overwhelming bulk of the phenomena of Consciousness is still not quantum but classical in nature.

2. Conscious activity evolves in time through a series of states. At any given moment Consciousness has billions upon billions of states that it can evolve into (see reference 32 for graphic descriptions of the time evolution of conscious states). Given this vast number of possible states we must treat the evolution of consciousness with time as a statistical probabilistic phenomena.

So we conclude that we must treat Consciousness as a classical, probabilistic phenomena in principle.

Edition details

• Publisher: Janus Associates Inc.
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0972079513
• ISBN 13: 9780972079518
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 292