Dr. Stuart Hameroff on Consciousness

Being the skunk at an atheist convention*

Most scientists and philosophers assume consciousness emerges from complex computation among  brain neurons and synapses acting as indivisible bits, or information states. Penrose and I suggest that consciousness involves processes at deeper levels, specifically sequences of quantum computations (~40 per second) in structures called microtubules inside brain neurons. The quantum computations we propose link to neuronal-level activities, and are also ripples in fundamental spacetime geometry, the most basic level of the universe.  

One implication of our model relates to a possible scientific basis for secular spirituality (unrelated to any organized religious approach). I should say that Roger avoids discussion of such implications, but I’ve been willing to raise this possibility.

For me, spirituality implies:

• Interconnectedness among living beings and the universe

• A ubiquitous reservoir of cosmic intelligence/Platonic values in touch with our conscious choices and perceptions

• Existence of consciousness after death

Can these issues be accounted for scientifically? I believe they possibly can.

Interconnectedness – Conscious minds and unconscious processes may be quantum entangled.

Cosmic intelligence/Platonic values – Penrose suggested in his 1989 book The emperor’s new mind that Platonic values including mathematical truth, ethical values and beauty were embedded in the fine structure of the universe, specifically in fundamental spacetime geometry at the inifinitesimally tiny (and ubiquitous) Planck scale. In a 1996 paper, Penrose and I further suggested that the precursors of conscious experience were also embedded in Planck scale geometry. In our theory, conscious choices and perceptions are affected by this universal Platonic information which Penrose termed non-computable influence. I liken such proposed influence on conscious choices to “following the way of the Tao”, or “Divine guidance”. 

Conscious existence after death – In my view, consciousness occurs at the level of Planck scale geometry amplified to quantum coherence/computation in brain microtubules. When metabolic requirements for quantum coherence in brain microtubules are lost (e.g. death, near-death), quantum information pertaining to that individual may persist and remain entangled in Planck scale geometry.

Taken as a whole, these ideas may be considered a plausibility argument for scientific, secular spirituality.

In November 2006 I was invited to a meeting at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California called “Beyond Belief” (http://beyondbelief2006.org/). Other speakers and attendees were predominantly atheists, and harshly critical of the notion of spirituality. They included Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Patricia Churchland, Steven Weinberg (the least venal), Neil deGrasse Tyson and others who collectively vilified creationists and religious warriors. But the speakers also ragged on the notion of any purpose or meaning to existence, heaped ridicule on the very possibility of a God-like entity (and those who believed in such an entity), declared that scientists and philosophers should set society’s moral and ethical standards, and called for a billion dollar public relations campaign to convince the public God does not exist. 

Near the end of the first day came my turn to speak. I began by saying that the conference to that point had been like the Spanish Inquisition in reverse -  the scientists were burning the believers. And while I had no particular interest in organized religion, I did believe there could be a scientific account for spirituality.

After pointing out faulty assumptions in conventional brain models for consciousness and summarizing the Penrose-Hameroff theory, I laid out my plausibility argument for scientific, secular spirituality, suggesting cosmic connections and influence in our conscious thoughts occurred via quantum interactions in microtubules. I closed with a slide of the DNA molecule which emphasized it’s internal core where quantum effects rule, suggesting a Penrose non-computable influence in genetic mutations and evolution (aimed at Dawkins in the form of a quantum-based intelligent design).

At the end a few people clapped loudly, but most sat in steely silence. The moderator and conference organizer Roger Bingham said I had enraged nearly everyone in the room. Indeed, I had raised a stink, and felt (happily) like the skunk at an atheist convention.

Comments from the audience were negative, but off base. Physicist Lawrence Krauss said my suggestion of backward time effects in the quantum unconscious (indicated by experiments, and required to rescue consciousness from its unfortunate characterization as epiphenomenal illusion) were impossible. He was apparently unaware of the verification of Wheeler’s delayed choice experiments which precisely prove such backward time effects. Krauss also questioned the possibility of biological quantum computation at brain temperature, but I pointed to evidence for warm quantum coherence in biological photosynthesis. Neuroscientist Terry Sejnowski attempted to criticize my view, but floundered, unable to explain how his conventional approach could explain 40 Hz gamma synchrony EEG (the best measurable correlate of consciousness) without quantum effects.

Our theory also chafes proponents of artificial intelligence (“AI”, including advocates of the so-called Singularity) who assume consciousness results from interactions among neurons with no consideration of deeper activities or quantum mechanisms. Along these lines I recently spoke at Google in Silicon Valley, my talk being titled A new marriage of brain and computer – Why the Singularity is bogus. That talk is at 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2069501759514424839

 

I am not by nature confrontational, but am happy to debate scientists and philosophers who oppose our theory. Atheism does not hold the scientific high ground. Secular spirituality based on quantum biology and the physics of spacetime geometry is a viable and important idea. I am not offering or suggesting any proof, just a plausibility argument.

*The above article is taken from  Dr. Hameroff website
Jaynarayan, Bangalore, India

Computation and Free will

The most debatable topic among researcher of computation  and consciousness is whether the living entity posses free will or not ? Most of the prominent scientists think that there is nothing like free will and everything that human being does is based on deterministic course of actions. According to some neuro-scientists the actions that a human being performs is nothing but a set of instructions executed in the brain in algorithmic fashion. Hence from that scientists speculate that there may not anything like free will, everything that happens is due to some complex algorithmic computation. However there are some phenomena which are really impossible to explain in terms algorithmic steps. Prof Penrose in his books Emperor's New Mind and Shadow of the Mind explains that there is something exists in the human which is non-computational in nature. He argues that the self awareness of human being is non-computational in nature. He compares this self awareness nature of human being with the various kind of action that a machine can mimic. Although the action that a machine can mimic might looks very similar to that the man can perform, however the difference between these is that the man is aware that he is performing something but the machine can not. Hence from this argument we can know that there is something which is non-computational in nature. Now, we have to see that how the similar kind of non-computational nature is also present in the will of human being which is known as free will. We will discuss the Vedic perspective on this free will in latter sections.

The free-will which is defined as a subjective choice of each individual  for their thoughts and action. Lets first consider the human being and try to observe and analyze some phenomena that  human being perform in his day to day life.  Lets try to observe the following sets of experiment; lets ask a person to make a foot path by walking for the first time and then let ask him to do the same for the second time and each time he does the we will color the foot print with unique colors. Now if we observe properly we can see that each of these foot path trace are different at least in one place (practically these foot prints are misaligned). From this observation the question comes why these foot prints are not aligned ? Lets do another experiment. Lets ask a person to write his own signature multiple times. In this case also we can see that none of these signature will match with each other exactly one-to-one. Why ? What is the reason for this ? 

Another kind of phenomena are also worth noticing. When we walk on the street or road  it is impossible for an observer to predict the movement of our feet or even it is not possible to predict the next step. Why this is a difficult problem although it does not seems like that ? Similarly it is difficult (perhaps impossible) to predict the projectile path of a flying bird.
  
Why it is difficult  to determine the next step in case of above described experiments. If we turn bit towards the machine we never faced any difficulty in determining the next step of computer. It is really very easy for some one to tell about the future steps of computer if he knows sufficient about the past and present state of computer. More technically, if some knows the current instructions he can very easily predict he next instruction to be executed by the processor. However in case of human foot step and trace of flying bird its seems that it is impossible to determine the next step. Science has its own approach to answer  this problem and similarly spirituality also its own approach to answer the same.

Looking from the modern science there are many attempt taken by prominent scientists mainly from neuro science. There opinions suggest that such kind of phenomena are mainly due to the collective behavior of  many neurons. Hence they hypothesizes that if we can learn sufficient enough the complex behavior of neurons it is possible to predict the future action of any living system(foot steps of human or trace of flying bird ). The spirituality goes beyond the neurons and answers the same question in quite differently. According to the Indian Vedic scripture each and every living entity are not just a lump of chemicals but they are spirit soul. The spirit soul has a set of fundamental property. One of its fundamental property is FREE WILL and because of this free will a living entity can act subjectively. The subjective action is only know to the performer but not to the observer. Hence according to the Vedic scripture the presence of free will is the cause of non deterministic action.

Jaynarayan, Bangalore, India