Conscious Pulse I: The rules of engagement

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new rule for the interaction between conscious states and brain states, suggesting that superpositions in the brain may not always collapse upon observation, impacting understanding of consciousness and quantum measurement.

Contribution

It introduces a novel rule for continuous conscious brain states that cannot resolve eigenvalues, extending the rules of engagement between consciousness and quantum states.

Findings

Observation of superpositions may not always cause collapse.

Superpositions in brain states can persist without reduction.

New rule applies to models where eigenvalues are indistinguishable.

Abstract

This paper elaborates on four previously proposed rules of engagement between conscious states and physiological states. A new rule is proposed that applies to a continuous model of conscious brain states that cannot precisely resolve eigenvalues. If two apparatus states are in superposition, and if their eigenvalues are so close together that they cannot be consciously resolved on this model, then it is shown that observation will not generally reduce the superposition to just one of its member eigenstates. In general, the observation of a quantum mechanical superposition results in another superposition. Key words: Brain states, consciousness, conscious observer, macroscopic superposition, measurement, state reduction, state collapse, von Neumann.