Re:Roger Penrose: “Consciousness must be beyond computable p...
by pencilguin on Wednesday November 16, 2022 @09:19PM
(#33634100)
Yes, this is what is silly.
That is not to say it's impossible that we, uniquely, possess the consciousness gene. Possession by demons is technically possible, too, and equally silly.
Re:Roger Penrose: “Consciousness must be beyond computable p...
by gary_0 on Wednesday November 16, 2022 @10:11PM
(#33634466)
It's also silly because if it's a gene, then it's just using conventional chemistry to produce an effect. Plants have genes to make chloroplasts that use quantum effects[0] to efficiently do photosynthesis, but nobody is arguing the mechanism is some sort of special woo-woo science. And you can use the same tricks in a machine[1].
Re:Roger Penrose: “Consciousness must be beyond computable p...
by dekhn on Thursday November 17, 2022 @12:12PM
(#33642116)
Uh, yeah, when photosynthesis was first shown to exploit quantum it was called special woo-woo science. But it just exploits coherence, which is the one thing that seemed within reach of enzymes.
IE, some magic gene duplication shortly after humans and neaderthals split from their common ancestor, then one copy evolved a slightly different structure that allowed neurons to exploit quantum magic.
This seems implausible, nor would I place the root around the human lineage; might as well assume that all animals, or really anything with a neuron, is capable of this.
Otherwise, we'd be able to isolate the factor (a gene that produces a protein).