In episode 26 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle: the idea that every quantum bit comprises a bit of information and a bit of entropy such that knowledge of one dimension reduced knowledge of the other. We can think of each qubit has having two perpendicular axes: zero/one and plus/minus. The state of the qubit represents a point moving around on these axes. When you measure a qubit in the zero/one dimension, then it ends up getting reduced to a zero or one. From that state, the plus/minus dimension is now equal probability. By knowing about one dimension, we induce entropy in the other. You can only make one measurement at a time, so it is impossible to know whether the system is zero/one and plus/minus at the same time. In practice, physical systems, like an atom, will exhibit uncertainty between their position and momentum. This is more than just our knowledge of the system. When you know the momentum, the position is maximally smeared out across all possible options. This changes what the future of the system will look like. Biology might be leveraging measurement to change the future of physical systems like ions. In an ion channel, the center of the ion channel is so small that the ion gets spatially measured when passing through the channel. This has a dramatic effect on the momentum of the ion which could facilitate the transport of the ion to other receptor proteins. In addition, the uncertainty principle might be relevant to understanding human cognition, in that our knowledge of certain properties might coexist within an uncertainty relationship like that of position and momentum. By learning about one property, we reduce our knowledge of the other property. This is quite the divergence from classical models of human cognition. Finally, a speculation on how the uncertainty principle might be reflective of some deeper uncertainty in ascertaining existential truth. Carl Jung suggested that we can only ever reach a half truth, and that the core of reality is brimming with paradoxes. The more you get closer to some truth, the further you are from its complimentary opposite, which is also true. This form of cosmic censorship through paradox could be the ultimate expression of the uncertainty principle. Join me on this exciting delve into the mysteries of human consciousness through the lens of quantum mechanics.

#26 - Heisenberg’s Uncertainty in Biology and Human Knowledge

In episode 25 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses quantum error correction, a protocol by which noise from the environment is actively counteracted in order to create quantum computations that are robust against the destructive chaos of the environment. Quantum computers are on the near horizon with companies like Google and IBM actively working to improve the technology. These computers will revolutionize information technology by providing a speed-up to the run time of algorithms at a scale that our minds struggle to comprehend. The enormity of an exponentially increasing space truly boggles the mind. For example, two shuffled decks of cards have a 1 in 10^67th chance of ending up in the same configuration. This is vastly greater than the number of grains of sand on the beach and atoms on and within the planet. While quantum computers promise to search these massive spaces in feasible time frames, any perturbation from the environment renders these computations unusable. Quantum error correction is required to salvage the utility of quantum computers. In digital error correction, we can provide redundant information about a bit of information such that chaotic forces can be reversed if that bit flips from a zero to a one or vice versa. Quantum error correction is similar but with the addition of a phase flip and bit+phase flip. Quantum error correction is currently being developed and quantum computers will become practical and fault tolerant in the near future, we just need to divide the advertised qubits in modern computers by 5 or 9. Finally, could biology being using a form of quantum error correction to make quantum computation in the brain more feasible? Looking at the Penrose-Hameroff microtubule model as an example, microtubules could each be encoding a single register of one fault tolerant qubit in their multiple topologies, or the topological arrangement of tubulin could serve as a fault tolerant qubit in itself. Furthermore, there may be protein systems designed to interface with microtubules that apply corrective quantum gates to the system in order to actively counteract destructive environmental forces. While speculative at this point, quantum error correction in biology could be the defining feature for how usable quantum computations are sustained for extended time frames giving rise to consciousness itself.

#25 - Quantum Error Correction: why we need it and a novel theory for quantum consciousness

In episode 24 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses why neuroscience is in need of a quantum revolution. This revolution is underway in the field of information technology and low-level biology. Quantum computers are actively being developed and are on the precipice of overcoming the computational power of digital computers. Meanwhile, biology is increasingly acknowledging the role that quantum mechanics plays in various processes, including photosynthesis and magnetic-field perception in birds. But what about neuroscience? Could quantum mechanics contribute to neural function and directly to our conscious experience? There are quite a few reasons why quantum computers align with the human experience: (1) Quantum computer design encourages the creation of a single large system, similar to the creation of single self within a body. (2) The collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics may provide room for freewill. (3) Non-local influences in quantum mechanics provide novel ways to describe meaning beyond arbitrary associations in a physical world.While quantum mechanics provides novel solutions to solving the mysteries of consciousness, neuroscience reveals that the strongest correlate to human cognition is low-frequency electrical fluctuations in the brain. After a brief survey of recent research in the neural oscillatory basis of cognition, the potential alignment between neural oscillations and principles of quantum mechanics are discussed. While this connection is currently speculative, computational models of cognition are pointing towards human rationality exhibiting principles of quantum mechanics. There could be a very near future where descriptions of human psychology are quantum mechanical in nature and the parameters of these models relate to neural oscillations in the brain. While the details for how a quantum computer could be implemented in the brain is of critical need, cognitive neuroscience research can move forward utilizing these ideas in the meantime.

In episode 24 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses why neuroscience is in need of a quantum revolution. This revolution is underway in the field of information technology and low-level biology. Quantum computers are actively being developed and are on the precipice of overcoming the computational power of digital computers. Meanwhile, biology is increasingly acknowledging the role that quantum mechanics plays in various processes, including photosynthesis and magnetic-field perception in birds. But what about neuroscience? Could quantum mechanics contribute to neural function and directly to our conscious experience? There are quite a few reasons why quantum computers align with the human experience: (1) Quantum computer design encourages the creation of a single large system, similar to the creation of single self within a body. (2) The collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics may provide room for freewill. (3) Non-local influences in quantum mechanics provide novel ways to describe meaning beyond arbitrary associations in a physical world. While quantum mechanics provides novel solutions to solving the mysteries of consciousness, neuroscience reveals that the strongest correlate to human cognition is low-frequency electrical fluctuations in the brain. After a brief survey of recent research in the neural oscillatory basis of cognition, the potential alignment between neural oscillations and principles of quantum mechanics are discussed. While this connection is currently speculative, computational models of cognition are pointing towards human rationality exhibiting principles of quantum mechanics. There could be a very near future where descriptions of human psychology are quantum mechanical in nature and the parameters of these models relate to neural oscillations in the brain. While the details for how a quantum computer could be implemented in the brain is of critical need, cognitive neuroscience research can move forward utilizing these ideas in the meantime.

#24 - Why neuroscience needs a quantum revolution

In episode 23 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses quantum interrogation, the observation that in certain scenarios a quantum system can access the result of a measurement without actually making that measurement. This counterfactual measurement is best exemplified in the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb test, in which a bomb is determined to be real or a dud by sending a superposition at the bomb that shifts the probability distribution (or wave function) of a quantum system. The principle of counterfactual measurement applies to quantum computation: could you get the results of a quantum computation without actually running it? And to quantum cryptography: could you get someone’s password without actually changing the information stream? Finally, we wrap up the episode discussing the implications of counterfactual measurement to the human experience. If we accept the premise that each person is themselves a quantum computer, then could you simulate a possible future behavior and get the results of that simulation without actually performing the behavior? This episode definitely goes off the deep end, so hang in there until the end of the episode!

#23 - Quantum Interrogation: counterfactual measurement and its implications for human thought

In episode 22 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the quantum Zeno effect, the idea that with rapid measurement a system can be locked into its current state indefinitely. In the previous episode, we talked about how movement is the transition of a system from a fixed physical state into a superposition of many different states, and then upon measurement again will end up in a new state. However, it takes time for the wavefunction to evolve into a broad enough superposition with sufficient chance of ending up in a new location. So, if you make a measurement really quickly, then the system will most likely stay in the same place that it started. This leads to some strange scenarios such as a radioactive isotope that never decays as long as you keep applying rapid measurement. Henry Stapp theorized that the quantum Zeno effect may be the primary mechanism for how effortful attention makes an impact on brain activity. First, the quantum computing mind is presented with multiple options for what to do or think next; each of these options is generated by the brain. Now the mind has a choice of which option to make a reality. The mind pays attention to this thought and with enough effortful attention, this attention will change the brain and manifest the decision. The decision to choose one thought over another is a collapse of the wavefunction towards that physical outcome; however, a single collapse may not be sufficient to change the brain. With repeated collapses of the wavefunction towards that choice, the brain will get locked into that physical state and the desired choice will start to take effect. We wrap up the episode thinking about obsessive-compulsive disorder, a psychiatric illness where it is difficult to break a mental habit. Can you harness your quantum mind to change your digital brain? Find out in this episode!

#22 - Quantum Zeno Effect: using your quantum mind to change your digital brain

Justin Riddle

In episode 21 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the idea of quantization in quantum mechanics. Early models of the universe viewed reality as comprising a continuous domain of space and continuous domain of time. However, observations in physics revealed that these simple models were inaccurate. All things in the universe are quantized into chunks of matter or light or energy. This discovery gave birth to the field of “quantum” physics which refers to a “quanta” or “unit” of energy. At a fundamental level, the universe is not smooth and continuous but composed of discrete jumps in space and time. Between two points in space and two points in time, there is nothing! There is just ‘here-and-now’ and ‘there-and-then’ with nothing between those space-time moments. This realization breaks down some basic assumptions that we make when we look out at the world around us. Movement is at a basic level a flickering between different discrete configurations. Smooth movement is an illusion!What does all this mean for the mind? There are a couple different ways to understand the relation of our mind to a flickering physical universe. We could take our mind to be flickering as is suggested by the Stuart Hameroff &amp; Roger Penrose model of orchestrated objective reduction, or we could view the quantum computational level as provided a substrate for continuous experience with a flickering digital body.

In episode 21 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the idea of quantization in quantum mechanics. Early models of the universe viewed reality as comprising a continuous domain of space and continuous domain of time. However, observations in physics revealed that these simple models were inaccurate. All things in the universe are quantized into chunks of matter or light or energy. This discovery gave birth to the field of “quantum” physics which refers to a “quanta” or “unit” of energy. At a fundamental level, the universe is not smooth and continuous but composed of discrete jumps in space and time. Between two points in space and two points in time, there is nothing! There is just ‘here-and-now’ and ‘there-and-then’ with nothing between those space-time moments. This realization breaks down some basic assumptions that we make when we look out at the world around us. Movement is at a basic level a flickering between different discrete configurations. Smooth movement is an illusion! What does all this mean for the mind? There are a couple different ways to understand the relation of our mind to a flickering physical universe. We could take our mind to be flickering as is suggested by the Stuart Hameroff &amp; Roger Penrose model of orchestrated objective reduction, or we could view the quantum computational level as provided a substrate for continuous experience with a flickering digital body.

Justin Riddle #21 - Quantization

In episode 20 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses language as fundamental to a description of reality. It’s tempting to view linguistics as a luxury science only for humans with some free time on their hands. But language is fundamentally mysterious. Just as mathematics cannot be reduced down to simple principles, language has similarly avoided an easy description. Could it be because language is core to how our minds think at a fundamental level and is not just a tool used for communication? In this episode, we discuss the idea that language is the programming of our computational self. On a digital computer level, our code is like that of DNA – it can be copied directly. But at a quantum computer level, wave functions are not allowed to be copied directly (the no-cloning theorem). It goes to reason that quantum information requires a new type of information copying to occur: perhaps the language of quantum computers is more akin to a schema, motif, or meme. Finally, if we accept that the human mind is plugged into a fractal matrix that connects to the universe at a grander scale, then we must find some third type of language to describe the functioning of our fractal computing self. Borrowing from Susan Blackmore’s terminology, we use the word “teme” to describe a type of pure meaning that does not require interpretation but goes beyond any individual human. With these descriptions, we find ourselves with two types of information that appear to be polar opposites: (1) digital information that is arbitrary, and (2) universal meaning which is anything but arbitrary. The field of linguistics has grappled with these types of information when trying to describe the origin of language. Is language built from arbitrary associations and thus determined primarily by culture and history, or is there some universal grammar that enables all humans to process language which transcends culture and history? How will these competing origins of language be resolved? Watch this episode to find out!

Justin Riddle #20 - Language as Ontology

In episode 19 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses how our use of language for communication should be updated to account for life in an ever-changing quantum reality. We have been conditioned to think that we live in a physical world governed by physical laws; however, attempts to strictly define our reality using simple logical principles has failed (see Godel’s incompleteness theorem). This physicalist type of logic has also invaded how we use language to communicate with each other. We think that there must be a clear and objective way to define all of our words. We are told, “Before we can talk about consciousness, we must first define what is consciousness.” But no definition that we can come up with is sufficient to account for consciousness. Does this mean that we cannot talk about it? Or that we do not know what is consciousness? In this episode, we explore the problem with accepting that the dictionary is true, or accepting that tomatoes are fruits when you clearly would not put one in your fruit salad. Finally, we close the episode discussing David Bohm’s suggestion that we live in a holographic universe where the entire universe is reflected in each one of us. Within this grand context, our natural language is woefully inadequate to capture the ineffable truth of our reality. The best we can do is to more carefully explain with our words how our mind came to see things the way that we see them now. By more honestly portraying the functions of our mind, we can avoid making strong truth assertions about the world and avoid slipping into unproductive arguments with other people.

Justin Riddle #19 - Quantum Linguistics

In episode 18 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the potential for a third form of computation beyond digital and quantum computation: fractal computation. In the metaphysical model presented in this series, the body is a digital computer, the mind is a quantum computer, and (now) the spirit is a fractal computer. First off, the concept of a fractal is introduced using examples of recursion, or self-reference, in computer science. Next, evidence for fractal resonance between scales of biology is presented along with some pioneer work that attempts to reconstruct fractal-like resonance within an artificial system. The fractal computer description provides the backdrop by which all quantum systems are embedded – each system interacts with scales that are larger and smaller than it. At the grandest level, each quantum computer is resonating with a web of entanglements at the scale of the whole universe. This framing is similar to David Bohm’s concept of the “implicate order” or “pilot-wave” as well as a Henry Stapp’s description of the wave function of the whole universe. Finally, the episode wraps up discussing some curious scientific findings by Rick Strassman that people tripping on DMT often report communicating with higher dimensional entities. While seemingly absurd, a radical empiricist must explain the origin of such experiences. Could it be that we are indeed plugged into a fractal computer, which could explain some our sense of spiritual connection to a higher purpose? We definitely have some fun philosophical musing in this episode. Enjoy!

Justin Riddle #18 - Fractal Computation

In episode 17 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle explores the theory that your mind is composed of conscious beings in a nested hierarchy. Is your mind a single narrative flow or is it a conversation between competing viewpoints? Do you create your thoughts or do they spring into your mind fully formed? How much control do you have over your body and perception? In the Nested Observer Windows (NOW) Model, information integration units are created at multiple spatial temporal scales (brain region level, neuron level, protein level, etc) via SYNCHRONY. Synchrony sets your perception of time. Information is shared between observer windows at the same level via COHERENCE. Coherence is a dynamic conversation between semi-autonomous observer windows. Information is shared up and down the hierarchy via CROSS-FREQUENCY COUPLING. Cross-frequency coupling explains our rich experience and how simple decisions lead to complex behavior. Each of these three principles is explored with evidence from cognitive neuroscience. Next, the fractal nature of the NOW model is explored and the assertion is made that there is not an arbitrary, nor infinite, number of observer windows. Instead, observer windows are formed at distinct spatiotemporal levels. But how high and how low does the nested hierarchy of beings go? Finally, observer windows could be quantum computers where the strict requirements needed to create a quantum computer are the same requirements needed to create an observer window. There is plenty of ponder about the nature of your mind!

Justin Riddle #17 - Nested Hierarchical Consciousness

Justin Riddle explores the nature of consciousness from the perspective of recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, biology, computer science, and physics. Quantum computers and quantum biology are revolutionizing technology and science. What can these new advances teach us about ourselves?

In episode 16 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle describes how slow-wave electromagnetic fluctuations in the brain are the closest correlate to human cognition. Does this mean that these neural oscillations at the scale of entire brain regions and networks of brain regions are somehow able to support our consciousness? Historically, these oscillations were viewed as “steam off the train engine” and people thought that only the activation of individual neurons was worth analyzing. By that same logic, is the activity of neurons just the steam off the protein engine? And only proteins are worth studying? Recent evidence suggests that macroscopic electric fields in the brain contain unique information and disruption or enhancement of slow-wave electric fields directly alters cognition. The argument is made that biology enables the strong emergence of macroscopic systems that possess causal influence on the future and downward on more microscopic biological systems. Furthermore, the rhythmic nature of electric recordings lines up with the theory that perception and behavior is inherently rhythmic. Despite evidence that conscious experience correlates strongly with slow-wave electromagnetic oscillations, how exactly does consciousness get implemented? So far in this series we have presented evidence that the mind is likely a quantum computer, but it seems exceptionally challenging to build a quantum computer so slow. Perhaps molecular infrastructure enables superconduction with large circuits…. Or perhaps electromagnetic fields possess an inherent capacity for sustaining proto-consciousness. Stay tuned for the next video with a comprehensive model for scale-free information integration in the brain!

Justin Riddle #16 - Slow-Wave Electromagnetic Mind

In episode 15 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle speculates on the notion of time travel within quantum mechanics. In quantum computation, the circuits that you design to process your information must be time reversible. This leads to a curious situation where space and time are reversible within the confines of a quantum computation. While we have already discussed times where entanglement and superposition can defy classical ideas about space, it turns out that you can design experiments that show that our classical ideas of time can be violated. To this end, we explore Wheeler’s delayed-choice experiment, which is an iteration of the double-slit experiment, where the decision to measure which slit a particle went through can be made after the particle has already passed through the slits! Another experiment is delayed-choice entanglement swapping, in which the decision to entangle two photons in the future will alter the correlation between measurements we have already made in the past! These are truly mind-boggling experiments. If we assume that the brain is able to perform quantum computations (see previous episodes), then perhaps time reversibility might be used by the brain to generate a real-time experience of the present moment. Information can be processed in the future and then referred backwards in time so that the present moment is rich with a lot of detail. However, this does not violate time paradoxes because only quantum information can be transmitted to the past, and quantum information might be more like a feeling, an impression, or a suggestion, and less like hard data. Many questions to be raised in this episode as we explore the nature of time in quantum mechanics.

Justin Riddle #15 - Quantum Time Travel

In episode 14 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle spells out the orchestrated objective reduction theory of consciousness by Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose. Biology requires a central processing unit to integrated information across the cell. While quantum computation offers unique solutions to biology’s problems, the warm wet noisy environment of the brain does not lend itself easily to stable quantum superpositions. Penrose &amp; Hameroff propose that nonpolar pockets with limited environmental influence creates the conditions for delocalized clouds of electrons that enter superposition. Benzene rings and aromatic rings provide a geometric means of building superposed electron channels. At the core of each protein, nonpolar channels of electrons create a macroscopic functional unit to guide protein function. Tubulin extend this principle by aligning with their neighbors in a cyclical pattern to create topological pathways. The topological qubits in microtubules extend to their neighbors via microtubules associated proteins (MAPs). Quantum computers require a digital interface phase and a non-local quantum computation phase. Actin microfilaments dynamically isolate and expose the microtubules to the environment through phase transition from a liquid-state (digital) to a gel-state (quantum). As the microtubules are isolated, the superposition grows in complexity until it reaches an objective threshold and self-collapses. This collapse rate is hypothesized to be the equivalent of a single moment of conscious experience. As these moments are strung together, a conscious experience is created. Anesthetics and psychedelics are theorized to bind to tubulin proteins and either silence the electron channels or to enhance their resonance, thereby modifying conscious experience.

Justin Riddle #14 - Orchestrated Objective Reduction

In episode 13 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses how microtubules are the most likely candidate to be a universal quantum computer that acts as a single executive unit in cells. First off, computer scientists are trying to model human behavior using neural networks that treat individual neurons as the base unit. But unicellular organisms are able to do many of the things that we consider to be human behavior! How does a single-cell lifeform perform this complex behavior? As Stuart Hameroff puts it, “neuron doctrine is an insult to neurons,” referring to the complexity of a single cell. Let’s look inside a cell, what makes it tick? Many think the DNA holds some secret code or algorithm that is executing the decision-making process of the cell. However, the microscope reveals a different story where the microtubules are performing a vast array of complex behaviors: swimming towards food, away from predators, coordinating protein delivery and creation within the cell. This begs the question: how do microtubules work? Well, they are single proteins organized into helical cylinders. What is going on here? Typically, we think of a protein’s function as being determined by its structure but the function of a single protein repeated into tubes is tough to unravel. Stuart Hameroff proposed that perhaps these tubulin proteins are acting as bits of information and the whole tube is working as a universal computer that can be programmed to fit any situation. Given the limitations of digital computation, Roger Penrose was looking for a quantum computer in biology and Stuart Hameroff was looking for more than a digital computation explanation. Hence, the Hameroff-Penrose model of microtubules as quantum computers was born. If microtubules are quantum computers, then each cell would possess a central executive hub for rapidly integrating information from across the cell and to turn that information into a single action plan that could be quickly disseminated. Furthermore, the computation would get a “quantum” speed-up in that exponentially large search spaces could be tackled in a reasonable timeframe. If microtubules are indeed quantum computers, then modern science has greatly underestimated the processing power of a single cell, let alone the entire human brain.

Justin Riddle #13 - Microtubules are Biological Computers

In episode 12 of the quantum consciousness series, Justin Riddle explores what it means to create a theory of everything. Theories in physics explain natural phenomena; and yet, the two most predominant theories, general relativity and quantum mechanics, are fundamentally incompatible at the moment. How do we gravitize quantum mechanics or quantize gravity in order to bridge this apparent divide? Next, we discuss how humans are able to prove mathematical statements using simple visualization techniques that appear to exceed the capacity of digital computers. Roger Penrose calls this ability to ascertain mathematical truth “noncomputation.” Geometry plays a fundamental role as math prodigies use visualization techniques to solve complex numeric problems and physicists dream up novel geometric shapes, like the amplituhedron, to solve physics equations with increased elegance and simplicity. Roger Penrose speculates that our ability to access geometric forms is possible through resonance with a Platonic world of forms that is universally accessible. All of this begs the question, is geometry some magical catch-all to explain reality? Can love be described geometrically? There appears to be something missing in the geometric description… but what is it?

Justin Riddle #12 - A Theory of Everything

In episode 11 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle pitches a novel model of quantum computers as undergoing Bayesian learning to generate a model of how the world works and to guide future behavior. To get started, we talk about the act of observation in the double-slit experiment. When you look at which slit the photon traveled through then the wave function was destroyed and the photon behaved like a particle. The act of observing the wave function collapsed it! But what is observation? Is this merely the extraction of information? Roger Penrose would suggest that the atoms that compose the measuring device interacted with the photon and that interaction collapsed the wave function. It doesn't matter if "you," the experimenter, saw the result of the observation. The example of Schrodinger's cat further emphasizes the confusion that arises when we treat superpositions as knowledge and not as reality. What then is knowledge? How do we infer the future? One solution comes from Bayesianism, which provides an update rule for how we can test our theories on how the world works by collecting data and updating our theories based on this data. Artificial Intelligence has made great use of this simple update rule to create a predictive model of future events and to make an action plan for what to do next. Interestingly, Quantum Bayesianism proposes that the probability distributions of wave functions can be modeled using Bayesian principles. At the end of the video, we speculate that the cycling between digital computation and quantum computation might implement some form of Bayesian learning whereby digital information is acquired and then an internal model of the world is updated in the quantum computation phase. With each collapse of the wave function, the quantum computer could learn from the environment and then plan its future actions.

Justin Riddle #11 - Bayesian Inference & Quantum Computers

In episode 10 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle explains that mathematics does not have a firm foundation in first order logic. While it seems intuitive that mathematics should be able to be described by simple principles, there is no simple way to explain how humans can comprehend mathematics. What happens when we try to use first order logic to explain how first order logic works? Well, we run into paradox: situations that are impossible to resolve and do not make any sense. For example, take the liar’s paradox, “this sentence is false.” There is no way to make sense of this sentence, because it leads to paradox. The content of the sentence is not supposed to refer to the truth value of the statement itself. Similarly, you cannot use first order logic to refer to the truth value of first order logic itself. Sets cannot describe sets (Bertrand Russell’s set paradox). And most dramatically, digital computers cannot even describe digital computers (Alan Turing’s halting problem). All of this leads Roger Penrose to conclude that “humans are not using a knowably sound algorithm to ascertain mathematical truth.” While we can understand things and learn mathematics, it’s really not clear how this is possible and something more than digital computers are required! Quantum mechanics offers a novel lens to this problem as the first order logic that appears in particles also has a supervening wavefunction that does not appear to follow the rules of first order logic. I don’t have the answer for you, but I sure have a lot of questions for you to consider!

Justin Riddle #10 - Foundation of Math in Crisis

In episode 9 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses metaphysical models that rely on three aspects. The topics for today include: how the mind creates a mapping between syntax and semantics, Plato’s allegory of the cave and its relationship to the Matrix film trilogy, and a discussion of ways that the entanglement web and David Bohm’s pilot-wave might serve as a scientific basis for mathematics and universal concepts.To summarize this episode, David Chalmers pitches the model of “naturalistic dualism” that describes a domain of syntax (symbols and data without any meaning) and a domain of semantics (meaning beyond any symbolic representation). Syntax and semantics are independent from each other (Physical and Platonic Worlds) and are only connected via a mapping between the two that passes through the individual person and their culture (Mental World). In communication, a syntax is shared that attempts to relate meaningful concepts and through long-form conversation the mapping between two people can be aligned. Similar to Chalmer’s semantics, Plato believed in a “world of forms” that contained concepts and meaning. The Physical World is merely a shadow projected onto a cave wall and our goal as a philosopher is to seek out truth. The Matrix trilogy presents the allegory of the cave as the protagonist breaks free from a dream world projected into his mind through his biological perception. In each of these theories, it is relatively simpler to think about how the physical world might be implemented in physics, but the Platonic world of forms and meaning is much more difficult. Does quantum physics provide a novel solution? Quantum entanglement is the shared superposition of two systems that defies classical notions of space and time. David Bohm’s theory of hidden variables suggests that even after the collapse of the wave function, entanglement might leave an impression such that each system is unique and a hidden web of connections between systems exists under the surface. This “implicate order” permeates the background of the universe and could serve as a foundation for building an access bridge to universal concepts. Bohm speculated that at the scale of the entire universe a single “pilot-wave” is guiding all quantum computers within the universe towards the future and systematically determining the output of every single wave function collapse.

In episode 9 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses metaphysical models that rely on three aspects. The topics for today include: how the mind creates a mapping between syntax and semantics, Plato’s allegory of the cave and its relationship to the Matrix film trilogy, and a discussion of ways that the entanglement web and David Bohm’s pilot-wave might serve as a scientific basis for mathematics and universal concepts. To summarize this episode, David Chalmers pitches the model of “naturalistic dualism” that describes a domain of syntax (symbols and data without any meaning) and a domain of semantics (meaning beyond any symbolic representation). Syntax and semantics are independent from each other (Physical and Platonic Worlds) and are only connected via a mapping between the two that passes through the individual person and their culture (Mental World). In communication, a syntax is shared that attempts to relate meaningful concepts and through long-form conversation the mapping between two people can be aligned. Similar to Chalmer’s semantics, Plato believed in a “world of forms” that contained concepts and meaning. The Physical World is merely a shadow projected onto a cave wall and our goal as a philosopher is to seek out truth. The Matrix trilogy presents the allegory of the cave as the protagonist breaks free from a dream world projected into his mind through his biological perception. In each of these theories, it is relatively simpler to think about how the physical world might be implemented in physics, but the Platonic world of forms and meaning is much more difficult. Does quantum physics provide a novel solution? Quantum entanglement is the shared superposition of two systems that defies classical notions of space and time. David Bohm’s theory of hidden variables suggests that even after the collapse of the wave function, entanglement might leave an impression such that each system is unique and a hidden web of connections between systems exists under the surface. This “implicate order” permeates the background of the universe and could serve as a foundation for building an access bridge to universal concepts. Bohm speculated that at the scale of the entire universe a single “pilot-wave” is guiding all quantum computers within the universe towards the future and systematically determining the output of every single wave function collapse.

Justin Riddle #9 - Metaphysics Part 3 - The Entanglement Web

In episode 8 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle asks the question: will we see a revival of mind-body dualism in the coming age of quantum computers interacting with digital computers? To explore this topic, Rene Descartes process of methodological doubt is explained. First, we must doubt the physical world a merely a dream. Second, we must doubt our sense of logic and rationality as manipulated by an Evil Deceiver that is able to override the Platonic world. Then, we are left with our mental experience, which cannot be doubted. These philosophical concepts may find parallels in the realization that the universe is fundamentally an interaction between particle-like and wave-like states. By extension, computer technology is moving towards a cyclic process of digital computation followed by quantum computations. The holistic nature of a wavefunction contrasted by the localized nature of digital-physical states is reminiscent of the framework proposed in mind-body dualism.

Justin Riddle #8 - Metaphysics Part 2 - Mind-Body Dualism

In episode 7 of Quantum Consciousness, Justin Riddle introduces the fundamental mysteries surrounding metaphysics. What is reality? Do you exist? Are concepts real independently of humans or are they creatively constructed? The topics for discussion are behavioralism, functionalism, and the emergence of "physicality" from a universe of wave-functions.

Justin Riddle #7 - Metaphysics Part 1 – Physicalism

Justin Riddle explores the nature of consciousness from the perspective of recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, biology, computer science, and physics. Quantum computers and quantum biology are revolutionizing technology and science. What can these new advances teach us about ourselves?

Justin Riddle Podcast

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