Josella
Nonsense? 'Quantum physics is a mystery + consciousness is a mystery, so there must be a relation.'
Updated: Jun 17, 2022
I just came across someone in the faculty that I hadn't seen before. We had a nice conversation about my experiments in which we are trying to measure quantum effects in the brain. He was very interested in it until I said that our research was linked to getting to know more about consciousness.
Then he said:
'Quantum physics is a mystery and consciousness is a mystery, so now you are assuming that there must be a relation. That is nonsense. '
He instantly lost his interest in my research.
And I agree that because both quantum physics and consciousness remain a mystery to a certain extent, it makes no sense to assume a relation just because of that.
It felt like a failure that my research lost his interest, so I tried to repair his sympathy for it by saying:
'Basically we are trying to measure quantum effects in the brain. Relating the outcomes to consciousness would be just one possible interpretation of the results. It is very well likely that the results could help progress the general understanding of humans at the most basic level. And in that way improving for example the treatment of psychiatric disorders.'
Then I talked about the equipment we have in the lab like the special laser that can send photons through the skull. His enthusiasm returned.
He concluded: 'Ok, you might be the first person that can change my view on this kind of research.'
We agreed to soon visit my lab with the experiment setup.
I was happy that I was able to change his mind about totally rejecting my line of research.
Because you know, it is always good to keep some critics close to keep you sharp :)