Elusive Consciousness

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari, Surendrasingh Pokharana, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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game of tennis, specific movements to return a fast-moving ball precede conscious identification of ball location and trajectory.
6.2. Exploring use of Quantum physics, General Theory of Relativity and Neurophysiology to understand consciousness
Hence Possibility of using quantum physics for consciousness was explored from the discovery that light and electrons behave both like wave as well particle and there is an inbuilt uncertainty about the outcome which is determined by the experimental set up, which in turn is determined by the state of human consciousness. Thus light shows wave like properties when we talk of its interference and diffraction and shows particle like behavior in a laser beam or in the process of photosynthesis. In general quantum systems can exist in many possible states (known as Eigen states), but when we try to perform a measurement then it shows only one of these possible Eigen states. Quantitatively, one can give only probability of finding the quantum system to show a given state. This is similar to uncertainty in our thinking process, which is ultimately related with our consciousness. (Appendix 1 describes several models developed in these areas).
We have seen above that human memory is holographic in nature that is it not localized and is therefore non-local, which is again a property similar to that of a quantum mechanical system because a wavefunction is always non-local. In addition, quantum physics, we also have a property which is called entanglement, as per which two parts of a quantum system are strongly interrelated like spins of a two electron system. Entanglement can explain the strong interconnectedness, which is a result of association of large parts of neurons and synapses which is not reducible into the properties of individual neurons and synapses.
The property of non-locality can play an important role, in binding of say sense of colour, shape and motion of an object whose corresponding "regions" in the visual cortex are located in different regions and are also processed in different times.
Regarding the processes occurring in the subconscious mind, it is observed that they could be different from those taking place in the conscious mind. There is a speculation that quantum mechanical processes involving even quantum computers are going on in sub-conscious mind. (Hameroff 2011). Memory is stored in the form of "state of a person in certain space at a given time". With each new input, system state change to a new space time coordinate. It explains holographic memory and the space time geometry can lie outside the brain also.(See James