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arXiv:gr-qc/9411004 · magr

Probabilities Don't Matter

Don Nelson Page

Published Nov 1, 1994• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

It is suggested that probabilities need not apply at all to matter in the physical world, which may be entirely described by the amplitudes given by the quantum mechanical state. Instead, probabilities may apply only to conscious perceptions in the mental world. Such perceptions may not form unique sequences that one could call individual minds.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.gr-qc/9411004

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It is suggested that probabilities need not apply at all to matter in the physical world, which may be entirely described by the amplitudes given by the quantum mechanical state. Instead, probabilities may apply only to conscious perceptions in the mental world. Such perceptions may not form unique sequences that one could call individual minds.
Perception is a very complex process. Physics examines not only the mechanism of communication of information but also the role of mind/consciousness in the process of perception. Medical science assumes that the brain processes and analyzes the information it receives from the sense organs. It also suggests that the brain is the decision-making authority. Medical science assumes that the mind and consciousness do not play any role in the process of perception. In this paper, we have analyzed all aspects of the process of perception. We have shown that the information is not communicated physically. We have also shown that the information is projected in physical form only in the state of mental alertness. This paper also shows that the mind, not the brain, is the decision-making authority. This paper resolves several major theoretical problems in physics and offers clues to the solutions to some other unresolved issues like measurement problem and entanglement problem. It also adds a new dimension to the world of neuroscience by showing that the mind is the key player in the process of perception.
Some hypothetical quantum operation is assumed to underline our perception of the external world. Choosing the so-called unravelling of the operation, we can change the probabilities of impressions. There explicitly evaluated an extremal unravelling which minimize the informational content of impressions and so make the picture of the external world most predictable. Being applied to sequences of impressions, the concept of the extremal unravelling yields the phenomenon of distinctive 'quantum prognostics'. Communication between conscious minds is also possible by means of varying unravellings. NeuroQuantology | March 2013 | Volume 11 | Issue 1| Suppl 1 | Page 110-115
Physicists have, hitherto, mostly adopted a frequentist conception of probability, according to which probability statements apply only to ensembles. It is argued that we should, instead, adopt an epistemic, or Bayesian conception, in which probabilities are conceived as logical constructs rather than physical realities, and in which probability statements do apply directly to individual events. The question is closely related to the disagreement between the orthodox school of statistical thought and the Bayesian school. It has important technical implications (it makes a difference, what statistical methodology one adopts). It may also have important implications for the interpretation of the quantum state. 1 1.
One of the most serious challenges (if not the most serious challenge) for interactive psycho-physical dualism (henceforth interactive dualism or ID) is the so-called ‘interaction problem’. It has two facets, one of which this article focuses on, namely the apparent tension between interactions of non-physical minds in the physical world and physical laws of nature. One family of approaches to alleviate or even dissolve this tension is based on a collapse solution (‘consciousness collapse/CC) of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics (QM). The idea is that the mind brings about the collapse of a superposed wave function onto one of its eigenstates. Thus, it is claimed, can the mind change the course of things without violating any law figuring in physical theory. I will first show that this hope is premature because energy and momentum are probably not conserved in collapse processes, and that even if this can be dealt with, the violations are either severe or produce further ontological problems. Second, I point out several conceptual difficulties for interactionist CC. I will also present solutions for those problems, but it will become clear that those solutions come at a high cost. Third, I shall briefly list some empirical problems which make life even harder for interactionist CC. I conclude with remarks about why no- collapse interpretations of QM don’t help either and what the present study has shown is the real issue for ID: namely to find a plausible integrative view of dualistic mental causation and laws of nature.