Why the Brain Cannot Be a Digital Computer: History-Dependence and the Computational Limits of Consciousness
arXiv.org March 13, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2503.10518 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Addiction |
| Key points | Argues that the minimum information required to specify a conscious state exceeds the physical information capacity of the human brain by a significant factor, because consciousness has mandatory temporal-historical dependencies that multiply storage requirements. Concludes that non-classical information processing mechanisms may be necessary to account for conscious experience. |
Abstract
This paper presents a novel information-theoretic proof demonstrating that the human brain as currently understood cannot function as a classical digital computer. Through systematic quantification of distinguishable conscious states and their historical dependencies, we establish that the minimum information required to specify a conscious state exceeds the physical information capacity of the human brain by a significant factor. Our analysis calculates the bit-length requirements for representing consciously distinguishable sensory"stimulus frames"and demonstrates that consciousness exhibits mandatory temporal-historical dependencies that multiply these requirements beyond the brain's storage capabilities. This mathematical approach offers new insights into the fundamental limitations of computational models of consciousness and suggests that non-classical information processing mechanisms may be necessary to account for conscious experience.