Spogg wrote:But I have a suspicion (with no proof) that the brain makes use of strange quantum effects, possibly in the synapses or inside the neurons.
That's an interesting idea, and matches a property, that the brain definitely has. There are two properties, that I think is not passed enough attention to.
No controllerWhen we build PCs, it is always a central point that manages, what gets processing time, what has priority, what is allowed to use memory, etc. But that's not how the brain works. It has no "leader", no main controller. Everything just does its work, and only the tree of inputs is a means of direction and control. We have, just like a synth, a filter for every incoming signal from the world around us. Our senses detect much, much more, than is needed or is helpful. Those filters make sure, information is already lost, before it is transmitted into deeper brain areas. But, these filters have no instructions, they have no knobs to tweak, and they sometimes fail, or lose important information. But obviously, the negatives are ok (or else evolution would have resulted in different brains), in return for a fast, energy-efficient "algorithm".
Different information conceptPCs are built on a simple concept. An information is a unit that's either powered or not. We call it a "bit". But for our brain, information can be anything, from a simple number to a complete scene from our childhood. When we have such big information, it seems like minutes to live through them, but in reality, only a few ms have passed. Our brain has one information, and it takes as long as the neurons need to fire.
Modern quantum computers begin to work similar to the latter. A quantum bit is in the state of uncertainty, and by finding the right moments and places to watch it, you get different results. One quantum bit effectively holds an unlimited number of information (as it is not just on or off, but everything in between as well). But the amount of complexity in the design of such quantum computers only allows us to control 4 quantum bits currently. Recently, a QC with such 4 bits made calculations in a minute, where traditional PCs would have taken thousands of years. With just 4 quantum bits! Now imagine having access to possibly billions of quantum bits (here I'm playing with your thought about "inside the neurons").
There are aspects that speak for that thought. People who can calculate the most complex numbers faster than a PC. People who can draw a whole city with every single detail and no error from just one short flight over it. Or the most known "intuition". Sometimes we just know, without being able to explain it, or having studied what we intuitively know.
(I made my whole school career based on intuition
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