Quantum Computation in Biology
(a.k.a. Quantum Consciousness)
CogSci 98/198 Spring 2018

Facilitators: Justin Riddle & Dillan Cellier
Contact: QuantumDeCal@gmail.com
Website: sites.google.com/site/QuantumDeCal/
University of California Berkeley: Democratic Education at Cal
Faculty Sponsor: Professor David Presti, Senior Lecturer of Neurobiology

Class is held in 166 Barrows Hall every Tuesday from 6-8PM, starting January 23rd and ending on April 23rd. There are 13 days of class, 12 weekly HW assignments, and a 3 page research paper. You may miss 2 homework assignments and 2 days of class.

The year 2017 was the year of quantum supremacy, when a quantum computer achieved computational capabilities that surpassed that of any digital computer in principle. The quantum computer revolution has implications for all fields of science and is not only a powerful new tool for studying and understanding biology but also has deep implications for a metaphysical description of reality. In this course, we explore the implications of the quantum computational revolution on the philosophical foundations of consciousness, creating a new field of quantum biology, and implications into the other fields of cognitive science including linguistics, psychology and anthropology.

Course Schedule

Unit 1 - Information - what can we learn from technology?
1/23 1: Quantum Consciousness & Penrose’s Three Worlds
Many Worlds, Copenhagen Interpretation, Self-Collapse
1/30 2: Computers: the illusion of Solid-State, Artificial Intelligence
Quantum Computers & Simulation Theory
* Antonella Vannini "Quantum Physics, Advanced Waves and Consciousness" (2011)
* Ray Kurzweil The Singularity is Near Ch. 1 The Six Epochs (2005)
* Seth Lloyd Programming the Universe Ch. 7 The Universal Computer (2006)
* Brian Greene The Fabric of the Cosmos Ch. 4 Entangling Space (2005)
* Michael Mensky “Logic of Quantum Mechanics and Phenomenon of Consciousness” (2011)
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Unit 2 - Philosophy - does quantum computation fit with physicalism?
2/6 3: Metaphysics of Mind/Matte: Physicalism & Dualism
Double-Slit Experiment, Wave-Particle Duality & the Particle Illusion
* Justin Riddle "Mind/Body/Spirit Complex in Quantum Mechanics" (2014)
2/13 4: Epistemology: limitations of human inference and logic
First Order Logic, Bayesian Inference, & Quantum Logic
* David Chalmers “Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness” (1995)
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Unit 3 - Biology - could quantum computers be in our brain?
2/20 5: Microtubules: A Model for Biological Quantum Bits
Quantum Coherence & Decoherence Free Zones
* Roger Penrose, Stuart Hameroff "Consciousness in the Universe: Neuroscience, Quantum Space-Time Geometry and
Orch-OR Theory" (2014)
2/27 6: Brain: Neural Oscillations, History of Neuroscience
Orchestrated Objective Reduction
* Terence McKenna The Invisible Landscapes Ch. 4 Toward a Holographic Theory of Mind (1975)
* Rhawn Joseph "Quantum Physics and the Multiplicity of the Mind: Split-Brain, Fragmented Minds, Dissociation, Quantum
Consciousness" (2009)
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Unit 4 - Fractals - what does a computer compute?
3/6 8: Frequency: Integrated Information, Nested Systems
Quasicrystals, Geometry in Physics
* Klee Erwin "A New Approach to the Hard Problem of Consciousness: A Quasicrystalline Language of Primitive Units of
Consciousness in Quantized Spacetime” (2013)
3/13 7: Cognition: Fractal Computation in the Human Brain
Digital Computer (Body), Quantum Computer (Mind) & Fractal Computer (Spirit)
* Justin Riddle “Fractal Cognitive Triad: A Theoretical Connections between Cognition and Neural Oscillations” (2015)
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Unit 5 - Linguistics - is language important to fundamental reality?
3/20 9: Metaphors, the Language of Information Processing Systems
The Rheomode, Pilot-Wave, Hidden Variables
******* RESEARCH PAPER PROMPTS ASSIGNED *******
* Robert Anton Wilson Quantum Psychology Ch. 13 E and E-Prime (1990)
* David Bohm Wholeness & the Implicate Order Ch. 2 The Rheomode (1980)
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3/27 *** SPRING BREAK ***
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Unit 6 - Psychology - how do you control your body?
4/3 10: Introspection: Automaticity and Attention
Quantum Zeno Effect & Counterfactual Measurement
* Michael Talbot The Holographic Universe Ch. 4 I Sing the Body Holographic (1991)
4/10 11: Extrospection: Collective Computation in the Internet of Things
Holograms, Fourier Transform, & Resonance
******* RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC DUE *******
* Carl Jung Collective Unconscious & Archetypes Sect. The Concept of the Collective Unconscious (1959)
* Edgar Mitchell "Quantum Hologram and the Nature of Consciousness" (2011)
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Unit 7 - Anthropology - evolution and development of modern society
4/17 12: Evolution, Scientism, Religion, and the Occult
Scientism, Quantum Revolution
* David Bohm Wholeness and The Implicate Order Ch. 1 Wholeness & Fragmentation (1980)
* Hazrat Salaheddin Ali Nader Angha Theory "I" Ch. 5 The Recognition and Discovery of "I" (2006)
* Dalai Lama The Universe in a Single Atom Ch. 3 Emptiness, Relativity, & Quantum Physics (2006)
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4/23 13: Prof. David Presti, guest lecture
******* RESEARCH PAPER DUE *******
* Presti, David “The Mind-Body Problem” (2011)
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Enrollment
To be enrolled, show up on the first day of class in 166 Barrows Hall on Tuesday, January 23rd at 6PM. If you cannot make it, you must email us before class. If student interest exceeds room capacity, a statement of interest determines enrollment. The Class Number is emailed out after the first day of class.
There are NO prerequisites for this class. All majors are encouraged to enroll.

Facilitators
Justin Riddle - riddler@berkeley.edu - Cognitive Neuroscience Doctoral Student
Dillan Cellier - dillcell@berkeley.edu - Cognitive Science Undergraduate

Homework
You are assigned to read one primary source article/chapter per week. Please download all readings from bCourses. Read the abstracts and look at the figures. Pick one of the papers to read and complete the online questionnaire every week found at: sites.google.com/site/quantumdecal/. You are allowed to miss two homework assignments. If you miss more than two you can make one of them up with a lengthy make-up assignment. Missing three homework assignments will result in a No Pass grade.

Attendance
You are allowed to miss two days of class. You will fail if you miss three days of class. There are credible reasons to miss class so make sure to use your two absences wisely. There is an assignment should you miss 3 days, but it will require about 3 to 4 hours of work.

Final Research Paper
You must turn in a paper topic on April 10th & the final draft on April 23rd, the last day of class. Cite at least 3 sources and answer one of three prompts assigned mid-semester. 3 page minimum, double-spaced with appropriate citations (MLA or APA). Figures and diagrams are encouraged, but do not count towards page length.

Grading: Pass/No-Pass
If you do ten of the twelve homework assignments, miss two or fewer days of class and submit a satisfactory term paper, then you pass the course.
11/13 points Attendance
10/12 points Homework
25 points Final Paper
= 46/50 points to pass the course

Optional Discussion Section (3 units)
When you enroll for the course you may select to take the course for 3 units, instead of 2. There will be an additional 1 hour discussion section each week on Thursday from 6-7PM in ________. You must attend 11 out of 13 discussion sections.
Every week you will be assigned to watch a lecture from an expert in the field of cognitive science (approximately 1 hour in duration). There will be a short question for comprehension due at 11:59PM the night before discussion section. Furthermore, students are required to bring a question/comment to discussion section.
Finally there will be a final project that students will be required to present. Essentially this is a 15 minute presentation based on your research paper from the lecture portion of the course. Final projects are presented April 26th, Thursday from 6-7PM.
11/13 points Discussion Attendance
10/12 points for Homework Assignment
25/25 points for Final Project
= 46/50 points to pass the course

Motivation for the Course

Our reality can be analytically divided into 3 aspects: General relativity describes the physical states of the universe in terms of discrete states and locality; Quantum theory groups physical reality into the functional states of quantum observers, these quantum observers are at the level of conscious states, responsible for memory access and executive control; Entanglement is the third and final aspect, which underlies the meaning and shared feelings of experience that are essential to the goals of every quantum observer: Plato’s world of forms, Carl Jung’s collective unconscious, David Bohm’s implicate order.

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