Lifeboat Foundation

This controversial idea could completely change how we understand the mind.

At the risk of sounding a bit woo-woo, as any speculation about the “hard problem” of the unknowns of consciousness does, can’t both be true? In other words, is it possible that Schrödinger’s “total mind” is a kind of quantum reserve downloaded and differentially phased into qualia through the materialist medium of natural selection, which Edelman calls “neural Darwinism”? Is it the embodied human sensory organs interacting with their environment in feedback loops that unveils the unformed wave of fundamental consciousness through the particle of particular experience?

The correct answer is: Who knows?

“Who Knows?” would be an apt title for the best inventory to date of the myriad views on consciousness, from the metaphysical to the materialist, compiled by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and titled “A landscape of consciousness: toward a taxonomy of explanations and implications,” recently published in the journal “Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology.”

Avshalom Elitzur, Claudia de Rham and Harry Cliff debate the relationship between mystery and scientific discovery.

Does science eradicate mystery or expand it?

Continue reading “Claudia de Rham” »

Quantum is huge. Because quantum computing allows us to step beyond the current limitations of digital systems, it paves the way for a new era of computing machines with previously unthinkable power. Without recounting another simplified explanation of how quantum gets its power at length, we can reference the double-slit experiment and perhaps the spinning coin explanation.

A coin sat on a desk is either heads or tails, rather like the 1s and 0s that express the on or off values in binary code. Quantum theorists would prefer we think of the coin above the desk, spinning in the air. In this state, the coin is both heads and tails at the same time. This is because, at the quantum level, both values exist until we make an observation of its state at any given point in time. We could further increase the number of positions possible (literally known as quantum superposition) by altering the angle of view we take on the coin, which is somewhat similar to how we work with qubits in quantum mechanics.

So then, Schrödinger’s cat is both alive and dead at the same time and the dummies guide to quantum entanglement is out there on the web if needed. What matters most now is how we will make practical use of quantum computing and where it will be applied for best advantage.

“This breakthrough helps us better understand and study the fascinating world of quantum physics,” he says.

The fluorescent nanodiamonds, with an average diameter of about 750 nm, were produced through high-pressure, high-temperature synthesis. These diamonds were irradiated with high-energy electrons to create nitrogen-vacancy color centers, which host electron spin qubits.

When illuminated by a green laser, they emitted red light, which was used to read out their electron spin states. An additional infrared laser was shone at the levitated nanodiamond to monitor its rotation. Like a disco ball, as the nanodiamond rotated, the direction of the scattered infrared light changed, carrying the rotation information of the nanodiamond.

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That the universe began seems astonishing. What brought it about? What forces were involved? How did the laws of nature generate the vast expanse of billions of galaxies of billions of stars and planets in the structures that we see today? What new physics was involved? What more must we learn?

Continue reading “Alexander Vilenkin — Why Did Our Universe Begin?” »

In the quantum realm, a particle’s properties can be separate from the particle itself, including its angular momentum – which could require a rethinking of fundamental laws.

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology has released Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) publications for three quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms.

In a landmark announcement, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published its first set of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards. This announcement serves as an inflection point in modern cybersecurity: as the global benchmark for cryptography, the NIST standards signal to enterprises, government agencies, and supply chain vendors that the time has come to make the world’s information security systems resistant to future cryptographically relevant quantum computers.

Continue reading “NIST’s post-quantum cryptography standards are here” »

Scientists have discovered a way to simulate gravitational waves using quantum particles and Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC).