Consciousness and Logic in a Quantum-Computing Universe

Abstract

The early inflationary universe can be described in terms of quantum information. More specifically, the inflationary universe can be viewed as a superposed state of quantum registers. Actually, during inflation, one can speak of a quantum superposition of universes. At the end of inflation, only one universe is selected, by a mechanism called self-reduction, which is consistent with Penrose’s objective reduction (OR) model. The quantum gravity threshold of (OR) is reached at the end of inflation, and corresponds to a superposed state of 109 quantum registers. This is also the number of superposed tubulins — qubits in our brain, which undergo the Penrose-Hameroff orchestrated objective reduction, (Orch OR), leading to a conscious event. Then, an analogy naturally arises between the very early quantum-computing universe, and our mind. In fact, we argue that at the end of in- flation, the universe underwent a cosmic conscious event, the so-called “Big Wow”, which acted as an imprinting for the future minds to come, with future modes of computation, consciousness and logic. The postinflationary universe organized itself as a cellular automaton (CA) with two computational modes: quantum and classical, like the two conformations assumed by the cellular automaton of tubulins in our brain, as in Hameroff’s model. In the quantum configuration, the universe quantum-evaluates recursive functions, which are the laws of physics in their most abstract form. To do so in a very efficient way, the universe uses, as subroutines, black holes - quantum computers and quantum minds, which operate in parallel. The outcomes of the overall quantum computation are the universals, the attributes of things in themselves. These universals are partially obtained also by the quantum minds, and are endowed with subjective meaning. The units of the subjective universals are qualia, which are strictly related to the (virtual) existence of Planckian black holes. Further, we consider two aspects of the quantum mind, which are not algorithmic in the usual sense: the self, and mathematical intuition. The self is due to a reversible self-measurement of a quantum state of superposed tubulins. Mathematical intuition is due to the paraconsistent logic of the internal observer in a quantum-computing universe.