Consciousness, the Brain, and Spacetime Geometry
What is consciousness? Conventional approaches see it as an emergent property of complex interactions among individual neurons; however these approaches fail to address enigmatic features of consciousness. Accordingly, some philosophers have contended that qualia, or an experiential medium from which consciousness is derived, exists as a fundamental component of reality. Whitehead, for example, described the universe as being composed of occasions of experience. To examine this possibility scientifically, the very nature of physical reality must be re-examined. We must come to terms with the physics of spacetimeas described by Einstein's general theory of relativity, and its relation to the fundamental theory of matteras described by quantum theory. Roger Penrose has proposed a new physics of objective reduction
consciousness brain spacetime geometry quantum theory objective reduction cajal cytoskeleton decoherence dendrites gap junctions general relativity london forces microtubules microtubule-associated proteins (maps) orch or protein conformation quantum computation tubulin van der waals forces