Tgd Based View about Living Matter and Remote Mental Interactions

ion appears also in the music experience. Ordinary listener is not able to identify the key of the music piece but this does not a↵ect the music experience much since only the ratios of the pitches of notes of the melody matter. People with ”absolute ear” can however recognize the absolute key of the music piece and regard pieces in di↵erent keys as di↵erent ones. In the standard scale used for the piano, the ratios are not quite the same in di↵erent keys but this causes troubles for people with ”absolute ear”. 2. Hawkins sees the formation of associations as an important aspect of invariant representations allowing to recognize the same object using di↵erent sensory channels. Second aspect of abstraction is the elimination of un-necessary details: kind of reduction of sensory/cognitive resolution. Some kind of averaging could be involved. 3. Hawkins concludes that neo-cortex is specialized to the construction invariant representations and that there is a hierarchy of increasingly abstract invariant representations assignable to 96 Chapter 4. Comparison of TGD Inspired Theory of Consciousness with Some Other Theories of Consciousness sensory percepts and motor actions. All these representations are needed to achieve ideal perception but only the highest level abstractions are usually conscious-to-us. Note that in standard neuro-science framework ”conscious-to-us” is synonymous to ”conscious” but in quantum TGD approach entire hierarchy of conscious entities can be imaged so that ”subconscious” translates to ”conscious-but-not-to-us”. This distinction allows to understand many brain disorders [J141] such as being not conscious of being able to see (and other agnosias) or believing that one sees although one is cortically blind or being cortically blind but believing that one is able to see. Note that if primary visual experience is at the level of retina, cortical blindness need not mean subjectively experienced blindness. One of the hard challenges is to identify the mechanism giving rise to invariant representations. Neural firing patterns are though to transform synaptic connections and in this manner give rise to associations. Hebb’s rules define an attempt to model what happens in the process. One can also understand what abstraction could mean. In TGD framework one can consider the generation of negentropic entanglement as a mechanism of association: negentropically entangled state defines a rule represented as a superposition of state pairs (or n-plets) such that each pair (n-tuple) represents one particular instance of the rule. Abstraction means also getting rid of insignificant details. Here one can consider some kind of averaging (kind of ensemble of mental images at quantum level) or quantum superposition of states representing same object but with di↵erent details below cognitive resolution. I have also proposed that quantum states in general are superpositions of preferred extremals which have equivalent statistical geometries meaning that various geometric correlation functions are identical for them. 4.2.4 Observations about the structure and functioning of the neocortex The proposal of Hawkins relies heavily on the observations about the structure and functioning of the neo-cortex. 1. Neocortex (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocortex) [J13] is a very thin grey layer at the top of cortex having thickness of about 3 mm and consisting of 6 layers, which according to Hawkins are functionally hierarchically ordered with layer 1 at the top representing the highest level of abstraction. Layer 4 is the layer to which inputs from distant regions of neocortex arrive and are transferred to the levels above and below it. There is a strong feedback and feedforwad between the layers. 2. Neo-cortex decomposes to various sensory and motor areas. In associative areas the inputs from sensory areas are combined and sent to motor areas. Sensory and motor areas in turn have hierarchical structure: for instance, visual areas consisting of sub-areas V1, ..., V5. Sensory input arrives to V1 and V1 is believed to identify from the sensory input various simple features. Higher areas identify more abstract features and sequences of them. 3. Hawkins emphasizes the fact that sensory perception and motor action are not simple bottomup and top-down processes. Feedback is present and can be even 10 times more massive than input. The proposed interpretation is that input to from a given layer of neo-cortex to a higher layer (from say from 3 to 2) means formation of a more abstract and less detailed representation and vice versa. This representation consists also longer sequences of basic patterns and allows easier recognition. A good example is a situation in which music piece on CD changes: at the lower level this means unexpected input. At higher level music pieces on CD form a sequences and recognition as new piece is possible. The higher level can send this prediction back to the lower level. 4. Neo-cortex and also cortex look the same everywhere. This suggests that all basic units of the cortex perform essentially same basic function or algorithm. This idea is elegant and far reaching and would apply to the formation of cognitive representations which would be just the identification and naming of objects of sensory percept. 5. This picture applies also to motor action. If one accepts that motor action is time reversal of sensory perception and leads from abstract to less abstract and more detailed, one can ask 4.2. The vision of Hawkins 97 whether the feedback to less abstract levels could be interpreted as motor action at neuronal level. A fractal structure in which sensory perception and motor action takes place in various time and length scales would suggeset this kind of view. There are many notions which require more detailed definition. The proposed detailed model for feedback need not of course be correct as such. What matters is the existence of hierarchical structure and communications between the levels of the hierarchy. In TGD framework this hierarchy would naturally correspond to self hierarchy and hierarchy of quantum jumps within quantum jups. In zero energy ontology it has as correlates the hierarchy of space-time sheets at space-time level and that of causal diamonds within causal diamonds at the level of imbedding space. Also the p-adic length scale hierarchy and hierarchy of e↵ective Planck constants assigned with dark matter in TGD Universe relate to these hierarchies. 4.2.5 Universal algorithm These observations inspire Hawkins to propose for the universal algorithm run by the units of neo-cortex. 1. The homogenuity of neocortex motivates the proposal that all units of the neo-cortex forming a hierarchy are performing the same universal algorithm, which is recognition of the virtual sensory input represented as nerve pulse pattern with some standard input stored in memory. If the recognition attempt fails, the input is sent to a higher more abstract level with less details and this level makes a similar trial. If the recognition attempt is successful, the input is sent to a lower level (this corresponds to a feedback) and same attempt is made. 2. This process continues until recognition is made at all levels or if this is not possible, the pattern is sent to hippocampus as a genuinely new pattern to be stored to memory. Some maximum time of unsuccessful processing is a natural criterion for the novelty. Percept is thus stored as a memory in hippocampal level only when it represents something new. The percepts which do not enter hippocampus are stored at lower cortical layers but do not represent memories conscious-to-us. This could explain why people at older age are not able to remember details of say movie unless they represent something genuinely new. To me this picture looks rather attractive and inspires the question whether a generalization to quantum context say in TGD framework is possible. 4.2.6 The basic objection against the vision of Hawkins The basic objection against Hawkins’s vision applies to neuroscience view in general. 1. As Hawkins notices, the homogenuity of the neocortex and brain in general is in conflict with the idea that cortex is the seat of the sensory qualia. It is di cult to understand why the auditory and visual pathways could give rise to so di↵erent sensory qualia if only the organization of the sensory pathways matters. 2. A possibility not discussed by Hawkins nor by neuroscientists is that sensory qualia could be formed at the level of sensory organs. (a) TGD approach would suggest that qualia are realized at the level of sensory organs [K32] and quale mental images (sub-selves) entangle with the cortical mental images representing names of objects of the perceptive field represented at cortex and thus give rise to a coloring of the cognitive map. This would explain why the qualia associated with di↵erent sensory pathways are so di↵erent. Pure thought would correspond to cognition without this coloring and dreams would involve a feedback to the level of sensory organs (REM sleep) transforming thinking to vivid imagination. Note that also the feedback to the level of sensory organs and comparison of this virtual sensory input with the actual one is quite possible in TGD framework since there is no reason to restrict the feedback hierarchy to the 6 neo-cortical layers. Dark photons with large value of ~eff could make possible this feedback by generating sensory input by transforming to ordinary visible photons interpreted as bio-photons. 98 Chapter 4. Comparison of TGD Inspired Theory of Consciousness with Some Other Theories of Consciousness (b) The basic objection against this view is the phenomenon of phanton limb (see http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_limb) [J80], which in standard physics framework forces to locate the pain to the map of sensory field at cortex. One manner to solve the problem would be that that the pain is somewhere else than in phantom limb but mislocated in the construction of cognitive representation: this would be just wrong kind of association. The alternative approach would give up the standard view about the relationship between subjective and geometric time: the phantom pain is sensory memory of an actual pain in the limb which exists in the geometric past at a distance of maybe decades. The third option is that qualia are formed at the level of neurons and under some conditions correspond to those experienced by us. This requires new physics at the level of neurons and clear identification what the physical correlates of qualia are in this new physics. 4.3 Quantum TGD very briefly Before discussing the TGD inspired identification of the universal algorithm as quantum jump in turn identified as a moment of consciousness, it is good to briefly summarize some basic aspects of quantum TGD. 4.3.1 Many-sheeted space-time, imbedding space, WCW The basic geometric notions of TGD are many-sheeted space-time (see fig. http://www.tgdtheory. fi/appfigures/manysheeted.jpg or fig. 9 in the appendix of this book), imbedding space M4 ⇥ CP2 (see fig. ?? in the appendix of this book) and ”world of classical worlds” (WCW) identified as the infinite-dimensional space of space-time surfaces, which can be seen as analogs of Bohr orbits representing kind of archetypal field patterns in their geometry. The choice of the imbedding space is fixed by particle physics considerations uniquely and can be justified also by very general mathematical arguments. For instance, M4 is the only space with Minkowskian signature allowing twistor structure, and CP2 is one of the very few Euclidian compact manifolds allowing twistor structure and the only one for which twistor space is Kähler manifold. TGD leads to geometrization of the classical fields appearing in standard model and particle quantum numbers can be understood in terms of the symmetries of the imbedding space. I will not go the detailed definitions of these notions here but refer to the articles and books at my homepage. What is essential is that TGD space-time is topologically non-trivial in all length scales and objects of various size scales that we see around us can be interpreted in terms of space-time sheets defining their own sub-Universes. Second essential generalization and deviation from Maxwell’s electrodynamics (and other field theories) is topological field quantization. For instance, magnetic field decomposes to flux quanta (flux tubes and sheets) represented as space-time time quanta. This quantization is in key role in the model of living matter and the dynamics of the ”magnetic bodies” is crucial for understanding various aspects of bio-catalysis and also EEG. Magnetic body (hierarchy of them) brings to the usual picture of living system as biological body interacting with environment a completely new level. 4.3.2 Zero energy ontology (ZEO) The failure of the strict determinism for the preferred extremals of Kähler action means that data in time=constant snapshot do not determine the future and past behavior. Several time=constant snapshots must be assumed and this led originally to the notion of association sequence. Later the notion of zero energy ontology (ZEO) emerged and was forced by number theoretical universality: the vanishing total quantum numbers indeed make sense in number theoretically universal manner. ZEO allows also to avoid the paradox suggested by the fact that Poincare invariance is exact in laboratory scales but not in cosmological scales: the solution relies on the observation that the notions of energy and momentum for the positive energy parts of zero energy states are scaled dependent in ZEO. 4.3. Quantum TGD very briefly 99 1. Zero energy states are superpositions over pairs of positive energy states and negative energy states and correspond to initial and final states of a physical event in positive energy ontology. Positive and negative energy states are localized at the opposite light-like boundaries of a causal diamond (CD) defined as intersection of future and past directed light-cones (CP2 appears as a Cartesian factor but will not be mentioned separetely in the sequel). Spacetime surfaces in the quantum superposition are identified as preferred extremals of Kähler action and are restricted inside CD for the simplest option. 2. CDs form a fractal hierarchy with size scales coming as integer multiples of fundamental size scale. Translates and Lorentz boosts of CDs are also possible. It is not quite clear whether one should allow CDs to intersect or should one require strict nesting. System has in general wave function in the moduli space of CDs and in quantum jump a localization to CDs for which either upper or lower boundary is fixed takes place. 3. CDs are the geometric correlates of selves at the level of imbedding space M4 ⇥ CP2. The 4-D space-time surfaces define the correlate of selves at space-time level. One can consider two time coordinates: imbedding space time coordinate and that of 4-D surface. 4.3.3 p-Adic physics and cognition and intentionality I ended up with p-adic physics from accidental observations related to the mass scale ratios of elementary particle spectrum. The construction of p-adic thermodynamics predicting particle masses with excellent accuracy inspired questions which led to the proposal that p-adic physics describes cognition present already at elementary particle level. 1. Imbedding space has also p-adic sectors corresponds to various p-adic number fields. These sectors are glued together along rational points common to real and p-adic number fields and also via common algebraic points in the case of algebraic extensions of p-adic number fields. The common rational points of real and p-adic space-time surface (or at least partonic 2surface) define cognitive representation so that cognitive representations are always discrete. At the level of WCW the points of real and p-adic sectors identifiable with each other correspond to surfaces, whose algebraic representations make sense both in real and p-adic sense. The general vision is that life resides in this this intersection of real and p-adic worlds. For instance, this motivates the notion of number theoretic entanglement entropy which can be negative and is interpreted as a measure of information assignable to entanglement. 2. Mappings of real space-time surfaces to p-adic ones are fundamental and define cognitive representations [K119]. The mappings of p-adic space-time surfaces to real ones are interpreted as realizations of intentional actions. When motor action is identified as the time reversal for the formation of sensory representation, intentional action becomes time reversal for the formation of cognitive representation so that a very powerful and elegant symmetry emerges. 3. Finite measurement resolution is fundamental notion and actually forced by the notion of p-adic manifold. An attractive additional constraint is that the space-time surfaces in the superposition are perceptively equivalent in given measurement resolution characterized by p-adic prime assignable to the space-time surface and corresponding pinary cuto↵s and also by the algebraic extension of p-adic numbers characterizing the angle resolution. 4.3.4 Length scale hierarchies and cognitive hierarchies TGD involves several hierarchies. 1. One hierarchy is formed by the p-adic length scales assignable to p-adic primes coming as primes near powers of two. 2. Second hierarchy corresponds to size scales of CDs coming as integer multiples of CP2 scale with secondary p-adic length scales being favored. One can assign to these length scales length scale resolution as p-adic length scale multiplied by a half-integer power of p, and angle resolution defined in terms of algebraic extenion of p-adic numbers used. These length 100 Chapter 4. Comparison of TGD Inspired Theory of Consciousness with Some Other Theories of Consciousness scales are now an essential part of the definition of the notion of p-adic manifold necessary for the construction of number theoretically universal calculus. The resolution scales have also natural counterpart at quantum level and can be realized in terms of inclusions of hyper-finite factors of type II1 [K100]. The included factor defines the degrees of freedom which cannot be seen in given resolution and the factor space obtained by dividing with the included factor defines quantum space with finite but fractional dimension. 3. The increase of resolution means getting rid of un-necessary details in the case of cognitive representations it would be un-necessary information allowing a formation of abstraction. The reduction of the resolution means addition of details and formation of lower level representation. In the realization of motor action this process indeed occurs. This process can be however as a formation of sensory representation in non-standard time direction. The findings of Libet conform with this view about motor action. 4. The hierarchy of (e↵ective) Planck constants ~eff was conjectured for about 8 years ago [K24]. (a) The values of ~eff would come as multiples of ordinary Planck constant: ~eff = n~. TGD provides two possible explanations for how ~eff emerges. The first one relies on multi-furcations of space-time surface implied by the failure of strict determinism of the basic variational principle: ~eff = n~ would correspond to n-furcation taking place at the boundary of causal diamond. Second explanation relies on the general structure of p-adic Lie-algebras predicting e↵ective values of Planck constant coming in the proposed manner [K119]. These explanations should and could be equivalent. (b) For large values of ~eff the quantal scales (say Compton length of electron) become large and this makes possible macroscopic quantum coherence. The hypothesis is that dark matter corresponds to ordinary matter but with non-trivial value of ~eff . What would make it dark is that particles with di↵erent values of ~eff cannot occur in the same vertex of a generalized Feynman diagram although particles with di↵erent value of ~eff can transform to each other. (c) The proposal is that magnetic flux quanta (sheets and tubes) can be carriers of dark matter. The phase transitions reducing ~eff reduce the length of the magnetic flux tube and if biomolecules form an ”Indra’s net” connected by flux tubes, these phase transitions could force two biomolecules connected by flux tube near to each other so that they could find each other in the dense molecular soup. The reconnection of closed magnetic flux tubes associated with two molecules in turn generates two flux tube pairs connecting the molecules and allowing the two systems to become e↵ectively single quantum system in dark degrees of freedom with large value of Planck constant. Persinger’s recent experiments give support for this vision [L32]. 4.4 Quantum jump as the counterpart of fundamental algo-