Thread by @newscientist

Can physics explain consciousness?
We are finally testing the ideas that quantum collapse in the brain gives rise to consciousness and that consciousness creates the reality we see from the quantum world
newscientist.com/article/mg2503… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

If physics explains all the phenomena in the universe, and if consciousness is part of the universe….can physics explain consciousness?

Consciousness isn’t separate from material reality, say @danieldennet at @PhilosophyTufts andMichael Graziano at @PsychPrinceton. They argue that it’s a mirage produced by intricate brain mechanisms

No need for new physics, just a better understanding of how the brain creates models of the world and subjective experiences.

Quantum mechanics may offer an explanation. Quantum systems can exist in a superposition of all possible states simultaneously, and classical reality emerges when this superposition collapses into a single state (classical reality).
newscientist.com/article/228822…

Does consciousness make reality? Let’s first consider how the reality of everyday experience emerges from the quantum reality

Quantum systems collapse into a single state only when someone or something observes or measures it. But what counts as a measurement and observer and how exactly does it collapse?

So what are some alternate theories to solve this ‘measurement problem’

The Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, for example, says that there is no collapse and that each classical state in the superposition is physically realised in a different world.
newscientist.com/article/mg2102…

Another possibility is that consciousness causes collapse. David Chalmers (@davidchalmers42) at NYU and KelvinMcQueen at Chapman University, California came up with an admittedly speculative but mathematically grounded account of how this is possible. philpapers.org/rec/CHACAT-24

Is the universe conscious? For some, this question makes little sense when thinking about it in the sense of the universe experiencing emotions like embarrassment or happiness.
newscientist.com/article/mg2463…

But others - called panpsychists - don’t dismiss the question outright. There is an idea that any system that integrates information is conscious. So the universe could have quantum mechanically evolved until matter first became able to integrate information.

Tap to read more, as part of New Scientist’s #consciousness week: newscientist.com/article/mg2503…