Neuroquantology, the Ultimate Quest - Brain Theory from a Circuits and Systems Perspective - page 147

Chapter 9
Neuroquantology, the Ultimate Quest
Introduction
A circuits and systems view of consciousness is in a sense novel given the pervasive
popularity of such sciences as molecular biology and biochemistry. But the fact
remains that neurons are fundamentally a circuit, constrained to be connected in a
certain way to work as a system. This system of course underlies human behavior.
The brain is not at all a general-purpose programmable computer, even though
much effort goes into using them to simulate brains. Supercomputers, usually with a
stored program, and often synchronized with the aid of a central clock, are funded
and built a new one every year or so, as long as this author can remember, using
microprocessors such as the currently popular ARM9. 1 Such machines are pro-
moted as being electronic brains, and are always interesting, but thus far have failed
to simulate consciousness, or even the beginnings of what practically any brain
accomplishes with relatively little energy.
This topic has introduced simulated qubits based on assemblies of recursive
neurons while ignoring computational possibilities within individual neuron. The
big question is: Is there more to brain power than pulsating neurons and synapses?
In particular, do subneural particles have computational possibilities for supporting
human intelligence and consciousness?
Possibilities are the following: (1) there might be a way for subneural molecules
to configure themselves into simulated qubits to accomplish controlled toggling;
(2) there might be a way for significant number of neural pulses to become
synchronized together because of quantum mechanical tunneling, thus increasing
1 ARM9, a 32-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) or Central Processing Unit (CPU), is
useful for smaller conventional computers in mobile phones, robots, tablets, mobile phones, digital
media and music players, handheld game consoles, calculators, and computer peripherals such as
hard drives and routers.