International Consciousness Research Laboratories | Furthering the establishment of a Science of the Subjective Quantum mysteries John Gribbin For seventy years, physicists have worried about what quantum mechanics means. They can use quantum physics, to be sure; witness the successful designs of lasers and computer microchips, and the understanding of molecules that makes genetic engineering possible. In fact, few physicists worry about such things. The archetypal example of the quantum mysteries is the "experiment with two holes", where the measured position of a single electron that passes through two holes in a screen can only be explained in terms of the wave function travelling through both holes at once and interfering with itself. Imagine that we have a source which will emit a single quantum particle in a random direction (ordinary radioactive nuclei do exactly this, so there is nothing special about the source). So far, simple enough. But a giant leap in what might be called quantum philosophy has recently been taken by the American physicist John Cramer. It works like this.
Vitamin D: evolutionary, physiological and... [Curr Drug Targets. 2011 'Collision Course' in the Science of Consciousness: Grand Theories to Clash at Tucson Conference | Deepak Chopra by Deepak Chopra, MD and Stuart Hameroff, MD, Anesthesiology, Psychology, Center for Consciousness Studies, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona The nature of consciousness, the reality it conveys, and our place in the universe remains unknown. Since ancient times, two types of views have approached these problems. In Western science and philosophy, consciousness is strictly a by-product of brain activity, the reality it perceives is not to be trusted ('Plato's cave', Descartes' 'brain-in-a-vat', Dennett's 'multiple drafts'). On the other hand, in Eastern philosophy, consciousness is primary, the fundamental basis for reality. William James popularized consciousness at the turn of the 20th century, but behaviorist psychologists then focused on quantifying brain function. Around the early 1990s, great scientists Francis Crick, Sir Roger Penrose and others seriously addressed consciousness. In his 1989 book "The Emperor's New Mind", Sir Roger Penrose took a quite different approach.
Physics for the 21st Century Course Overview Welcome to Physics for the 21st Century: an on-line course that explores the frontiers of physics. The 11 units, accompanied by videos, interactive simulations, and a comprehensive Facilitator's Guide, work together to present an overview of key areas of rapidly-advancing knowledge in the field, arranged from the sub-atomic scale to the cosmological. About This Course | Using This Site
Rethinking the Placebo Effect: How Our Minds Actually Affect Our Bodies by Maria Popova The startling physiological effects of loneliness, optimism, and meditation. In 2013, Neil deGrasse Tyson hosted a mind-bending debate on the nature of “nothing” — an inquiry that has occupied thinkers since the dawn of recorded thought and permeates everything from Hamlet’s iconic question to the boldest frontiers of quantum physics. That’s precisely what New Scientist editor-in-chief Jeremy Webb explores with a kaleidoscopic lens in Nothing: Surprising Insights Everywhere from Zero to Oblivion (public library | IndieBound) — a terrific collection of essays and articles exploring everything from vacuum to the birth and death of the universe to how the concept of zero gained wide acceptance in the 17th century after being shunned as a dangerous innovation for 400 years. Among the most intensely interesting pieces in the collection is one by science journalist Jo Marchant, who penned the fascinating story of the world’s oldest analog computer. Donating = Loving
Consciousness Might Emerge from a Data Broadcast Quantum physicist Wolfgang Pauli expressed disdain for sloppy, nonsensical theories by denigrating them as “not even wrong,” meaning they were just empty conjectures that could be quickly dismissed. Unfortunately, many remarkably popular theories of consciousness are of this ilk—the idea, for instance, that our experiences can somehow be explained by the quantum theory that Pauli himself helped to formulate in the early 20th century. An even more far-fetched idea holds that consciousness emerged only a few thousand years ago, when humans realized that the voices in their head came not from the gods but from their own internal spoken narratives. Not every theory of consciousness, however, can be dismissed as just so much intellectual flapdoodle. During the past several decades, two distinct frameworks for explaining what consciousness is and how the brain produces it have emerged, each compelling in its own way. This neural buffer does more than process recent sensory inputs.
Introduction to quantum mechanics Non-technical introduction to quantum physics Many aspects of quantum mechanics are counterintuitive[3] and can seem paradoxical because they describe behavior quite different from that seen at larger scales. In the words of quantum physicist Richard Feynman, quantum mechanics deals with "nature as She is—absurd".[4] Features of quantum mechanics often defy simple explanations in everyday language. One example of this is the uncertainty principle: precise measurements of position cannot be combined with precise measurements of velocity. Quantum mechanics helps us understand chemistry, because it explains how atoms interact with each other and form molecules. History[edit] Maxwell's unification of electricity, magnetism, and light in the 1880s led to experiments on the interaction of light and matter. Evidence of quanta from the photoelectric effect[edit] Hot objects radiate heat; very hot objects – red hot, white hot objects – all look similar when heated to the same temperature.
Missing link found between brain, immune system -- with major disease implications Implications profound for neurological diseases from autism to Alzheimer's to multiple sclerosis In a stunning discovery that overturns decades of textbook teaching, researchers at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought not to exist. That such vessels could have escaped detection when the lymphatic system has been so thoroughly mapped throughout the body is surprising on its own, but the true significance of the discovery lies in the effects it could have on the study and treatment of neurological diseases ranging from autism to Alzheimer's disease to multiple sclerosis. "Instead of asking, 'How do we study the immune response of the brain?' "We believe that for every neurological disease that has an immune component to it, these vessels may play a major role," Kipnis said. New Discovery in Human Body Even Kipnis was skeptical initially. 'Very Well Hidden' Kipnis J et al.
A Neuroscientist's Radical Theory of How Networks Become Conscious - Wired Science WIRED: How do you square what you believe about animal consciousness with how they're used in experiments? Koch: There are two things to put in perspective. First, there are vastly more animals being eaten at McDonald's every day. The number of animals used in research pales in comparison to the number used for flesh. And we need basic brain research to understand the brain's mechanisms. WIRED: Getting back to the theory, is your version of panpsychism truly scientific rather than metaphysical? Koch: In principle, in all sorts of ways. The theory also says you can have simple systems that are conscious, and complex systems that are not. The more relevant question, to me as a scientist, is how can I disprove the theory today. WIRED: I still can't shake the feeling that consciousness arising through integrated information is — arbitrary, somehow. Koch: If you think about any explanation of anything, how far back does it go? With consciousness, it's ultimately going to be like that.
A Lazy Layman's Guide to Quantum Physics That's an easy one: it's the science of things so small that the quantum nature of reality has an effect. Quantum means 'discrete amount' or 'portion'. Max Planck discovered in 1900 that you couldn't get smaller than a certain minimum amount of anything. This minimum amount is now called the Planck unit. The meaning of quantum physics is a bit of a taboo subject, but everyone thinks about it. To make it all a bit more respectable, it is better to say 'ontology' than 'meaning' -- it's the same thing. Copenhagen Interpretation (CI) This is the granddaddy of interpretations, championed by the formidable Niels Bohr of Copenhagen university. The CI has a bit of a cheek calling itself an interpretation, because it essentially says "thou shalt not ask what happens before ye look". When you do try to take Copenhagen seriously you come to the conclusion that consciousness and particle physics are inter-related, and you rush off to write a book called The Dancing Wu-Li Masters. Consistent Histories