From: mk_thisisit
The question of how human consciousness is born [00:00:36], or how consciousness is transformed from matter [00:00:42], is a fundamental issue [00:18:24]. Understanding is considered a feature of conscious beings [00:00:44]. Professor Roger Penrose has dedicated a significant part of his life to attempting to answer this question [00:18:33], specifically where the human ability to understand nature’s laws comes from [00:18:40].
Penrose’s Perspective on Consciousness
Roger Penrose suggests that consciousness is created [00:18:22] and that consciousness is born from matter [00:18:29]. He frequently mentions that conscious information transforms into consciousness as a result of a quantum effect [00:18:46]. He utilizes examples from mathematics to argue that conscious thinking is distinct from computer processing [00:19:18].
Gödel’s Theorem and Understanding
Penrose references the famous Gödel’s theorem in mathematical logic [00:20:06]. This theorem states that given a set of rules (which can be encoded in a computer), one cannot prove certain statements within those rules [00:22:10]. Yet, humans can know these statements are true [00:22:32]. Penrose argues that this knowledge comes from one’s own understanding [00:22:43], which goes beyond simply using the principles [00:22:58]. He believes that understanding involves consciousness [00:23:12].
“What tells me it’s true is my own understanding of it…I know the principles work and it goes beyond using the principles What does it mean to know why something is true it means to understand why something is true What does it mean to understand I don’t know but I can say that understanding involves consciousness” [00:22:40]
The quality of understanding is identified as a feature of conscious beings [00:23:36].
Natural Selection and Understanding
Penrose suggests that the quality of understanding likely emerged thanks to natural selection [00:29:12]. Natural selection is described as a powerful driving force that led to humanity’s current state [00:24:39]. This evolutionary process included understanding at various levels, not exclusively human [00:24:50]. For example, he cites an observation of hunting dogs communicating and executing complex plans, which required their understanding [00:25:00]. While understanding exists beyond the human race, it has developed in a more sophisticated way in humans [00:25:42].
Quantum Effects and Consciousness
Nobel Prize winner Jin Wigner proposed that the choice of quantum state might occur in the consciousness of the observer [00:26:03]. This implies that human consciousness influences the reduction of the quantum probability wave [00:26:11]. Professor Roger Penrose identifies the source of consciousness in the phenomenon of quantum effects [00:26:24].
Microtubules
Microtubules, which are common in living systems but not exclusive to conscious beings, are thought to be related to consciousness in a special way [00:26:44]. Recent observations suggest that microtubules may communicate through super-radiation or other means and could be responsible for the formation of information in the brain [00:28:02]. While microtubules are ubiquitous, specific types found in human brains might possess a feature indicative of a signaling process relevant to consciousness [00:28:50].