Managing Editor: David Chalmers
In his book Shadows of the Mind, Roger Penrose suggests that deep problems in artificial intelligence, physics, and the philosophy of mind are closely connected. He presents a detailed argument, using Gödel's theorem, for the conclusion that human thought cannot be simulated by any computation. This leads him to the conclusion that physics is noncomputable, and he presents suggestions about how noncomputability may enter into a theory of quantum gravity. Finally, he argues that this may take effect at the level of the mind through quantum collapse processes in microtubules, protein structures found in the skeleton of a neuron.
In this symposium, nine researchers in computer science, philosophy, psychology, mathematics, and molecular biology address Penrose's positions at some length, concentrating on his Gödelian arguments against artificial intelligence and on his proposal that quantum processes in microtubules are essential to the functioning of the mind. The commentaries are followed by a reply by Penrose.
Managing Editors: Winand Dittrich, Georgina Jackson & Stephen Jackson
Managing Editor: Scott Hagan
Recently considerable controversy has been generated in cognitive science and the broader community of researchers interested in the relation of mind and brain around the question of whether or not it is necessary to invoke quantum theory in addressing consciousness from a scientific perspective. The issue is complicated by the diversity of perspectives on both sides and a dearth of clear and concise formulations of the arguments, accessible to a wide range of disciplines. In the coming months PSYCHE will offer a cross-section of the current thought on the subject with the aim of fostering open, interdisciplinary dialogue and encouraging informed debate on the role, if any, that quantum mechanics should play in a fully elaborated theory of consciousness.
Managing Editor: Stephen Jackson
From the abstract of Richard Cytowic's article:
Synesthesia (Greek, syn = together + aisthesis = perception) is the involuntary physical experience of a cross-modal association. That is, the stimulation of one sensory modality reliably causes a perception in one or more different senses. Its phenomenology clearly distinguishes it from metaphor, literary tropes, sound symbolism, and deliberate artistic contrivances that sometimes employ the term "synesthesia" to describe their multisensory joinings. An unexpected demographic and cognitive constellation co-occurs with synesthesia: females and non-right-handers predominate, the trait is familial, and memory is superior while math and spatial navigation suffer. Synesthesia appears to be a left-hemisphere function that is not cortical in the conventional sense. The hippocampus is critical for its experience. Five clinical features comprise its diagnosis. Synesthesia is "abnormal" only in being statistically rare. It is, in fact, a normal brain process that is prematurely displayed to consciousness in a minority of individuals.
Managing Editor: Kevin B. Korb
