Mind-Matter Unification Project

Professor Henry Stapp

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California

Both talks will be given in the Pippard Lecture Theatre of the Cavendish Laboratory, Madingley Road, Cambridge.  map (N.B.: the A604 is now the A14/A1307).

Thursday Apr. 6th., 2000 at 2.30 pm:

"Signals, Influences, and Information: from Einstein Nonlocality to von Neumann Reality"

Recent nonlocality results support a new picture of reality built on the ideas of John von Neumann.

Friday Apr. 7th. , 2000 at 2.30 pm:

"Decoherence and Quantum Theory of Mind: Closing the Gap between Being and Knowing."

Recent theoretical and experimental papers support the prevailing opinion that large warm systems will rapidly lose quantum coherence, and that classical properties will emerge. This rapid loss of coherence would naturally be expected to block any critical role for quantum theory in explaining the interaction between our conscious experiences and the physical activities of our brains. However, the quantum theory of mind described here evades disruption by decoherence effects: efficacy of mental effort is achieved by a Quantum Zeno Effect that is not weakened by decoherence. The theory is based on a relativistic version of von Neumann's quantum theory. This theory encompasses the predictions of Copenhagen quantum theory and, in addition, forges two-way dynamical links between the physical and experiential aspects of nature. The theory has significant explanatory power.