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hey swarmfesters
From: |
schristley |
Subject: |
hey swarmfesters |
Date: |
Mon, 15 Apr 2002 18:38:20 -0700 |
Hello All,
I wanted to say how enjoyable it was to attend this year's Swarmfest; I
saw many old friends and discovered some new ones as well. I passed out
a couple business cards, and I realized when I got back that the email
address on those cards is old; I think email will bounce if you send to
it. Use this account, address@hidden, and it will work much
better :-)
During the banter session, I mentioned a book that I had read
(partially) about a theory linking quantum mechanics and consciousness;
I couldn't remember the name/author at the time, so here it is if you
are interested.
'Information Theory and Quantum Physics, Physical Foundations for
Understanding the Conscious Process" by Herbert S. Green published by
Springer-Verlag 2000.
The book is very heavy on the physics which I was not able to follow at
times, so much so that it is easy to get lost. The book covers so much
that I do not think I could give a decent overview in a short email; he
touches areas from string theory to gravity to show you can think of
them in information theoretic terms, and all the sections are
mathematically rigorous. Though his prose sections are well written and
quite readable.
One of the interesting notions that I got out of the book is that the
act of observation or measurement of a quantum variable, which by its
quantum nature is indeterminate, forces the variable to take an actual
value; this is in essence the creation of new information. His
definition of consciousness is a synthesis of awareness and volition,
where awareness is the acquisition of information, and volition is the
creation of new information.
What makes the book not become a fanciful mash of quantum physics and
biology is his use of information theory; specifically he shows that
Shannon's classical definition of information holds true with quantum
bits (qubits), defines quantal 'tapes' which are equivalent to the tape
in Turing's machine, and states that the fluctuating potentials in the
electrolytic fluid of the cortex can be regarded as a tape in a quantal
Turing machine.
"The quantal effects are in the microscopic channels that are known to
permeate the unmyelinated cells of the grey matter of the cortex."
After reviewing it again, I notice that it is more a discussion of how
physics can be thought of in information theoretic terms then it is an
actual book about consciousness, so I don't suggest rushing out and
buying it. If you are interested in more specifics, send me a private
email.
As what usually happens, after going to Swarmfest, I get all types of
ideas on models that I should try to implement. My current interest is
modeling the software development process, so look for some emails about
that in the future. I'm currently thinking about how I can describe the
interactions between agents in a simple way. I don't want to code in
the known parts of the process (requirements, design, implementation,
etc) as implicit in the model; instead I want to see if the agents can
organize themselves into the process; i.e. what "outside" factors cause
these patterns of behaviour to occur.
cheers
Scott Christley
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