Is the brain a quantum computer?
Abninder Litt, Chris Eliasmith, Frederick W Kroon, Steven Weinstein, Paul Thagard
Cognitive Science May 6, 2006 DOI: 10.1207/s15516709cog0000_59 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that quantum computation is irrelevant to explaining how brains produce thought, because quantum effects lack the temporal properties needed for neural information processing, face substantial physical obstacles to organic instantiation, and are not required by psychological evidence on consciousness or mathematical thinking. |
Abstract
We argue that computation via quantum mechanical processes is irrelevant to explaining how brains produce thought, contrary to the ongoing speculations of many theorists. First, quantum effects do not have the temporal properties required for neural information processing. Second, there are substantial physical obstacles to any organic instantiation of quantum computation. Third, there is no psychological evidence that such mental phenomena as consciousness and mathematical thinking require explanation via quantum theory. We conclude that understanding brain function is unlikely to require quantum computation or similar mechanisms.
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- The Historical Aspect of the Development of Quantum Consciousness at the Beginning of the XXI Century Gerontology & Geriatrics Studies January 23, 2019
- Bio-centric Views of the Origin of Consciousness: The Search for the Solution to the Hard Problem The First Minds December 22, 2018
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