I’m not entirely sure—he didn’t explain it all that clearly. But it is definitely reminiscent of the factorization problems one sees in intro quantum mechanics, like noticing when you can do psi(x,y,z) = X(x) Y(y) Z(z). The similarity is that this scheme is all about finding that kind of joint to carve nature at—find things that are relatively independent from each other but strongly interacting within themselves.
Ok, that’s a start, thanks. So is he suggesting that the way consciousness carves reality at the joints is special?
...in which case, this carving must be done at the analysis stage, right, not at the perception stage? Because at the perception stage, our senses work just like other (non-conscious) sensors.
And then finally, if he is talking about the way the conscious mind carves reality at the joints, this is processing after we have all the data so why is quantum mechanics relevant? (I imagine that a creature could analyze sensory data in lots of different ways, for example a bee might use Fourier analysis for all I know, where we might use some sort of object identification criteria…)
It’s fine if you don’t know the answers to these questions, or they are too wrong to respond to.
Another way of asking my question is, since we evolved from non-conscious creatures, and the hardware is largely the same, where does using the wave function to carve reality at the joints come in?
He’s trying to find the joints that you have to carve in quantum mechanical systems so that you can find any consciousnesses that happen to be in them.
So yes, it’s entirely in the analysis stage—finding how to describe in quantum mechanical terms those things we already know how to describe in informal language, like ‘person’ or ‘choice’ or ‘memory’.
Ah, thanks. My interpretation was that he was saying that conscious minds do that particular carving, but your interpretation is that he proposes that particular carving for finding conscious minds – and other entity like objects. That makes more sense.
Question: would someone with a stronger physics background be willing to explain what is Tegmark’s “quantum factorization problem”? Section 1E
I’m not entirely sure—he didn’t explain it all that clearly. But it is definitely reminiscent of the factorization problems one sees in intro quantum mechanics, like noticing when you can do psi(x,y,z) = X(x) Y(y) Z(z). The similarity is that this scheme is all about finding that kind of joint to carve nature at—find things that are relatively independent from each other but strongly interacting within themselves.
Ok, that’s a start, thanks. So is he suggesting that the way consciousness carves reality at the joints is special?
...in which case, this carving must be done at the analysis stage, right, not at the perception stage? Because at the perception stage, our senses work just like other (non-conscious) sensors.
And then finally, if he is talking about the way the conscious mind carves reality at the joints, this is processing after we have all the data so why is quantum mechanics relevant? (I imagine that a creature could analyze sensory data in lots of different ways, for example a bee might use Fourier analysis for all I know, where we might use some sort of object identification criteria…)
It’s fine if you don’t know the answers to these questions, or they are too wrong to respond to.
Another way of asking my question is, since we evolved from non-conscious creatures, and the hardware is largely the same, where does using the wave function to carve reality at the joints come in?
He’s trying to find the joints that you have to carve in quantum mechanical systems so that you can find any consciousnesses that happen to be in them.
So yes, it’s entirely in the analysis stage—finding how to describe in quantum mechanical terms those things we already know how to describe in informal language, like ‘person’ or ‘choice’ or ‘memory’.
Ah, thanks. My interpretation was that he was saying that conscious minds do that particular carving, but your interpretation is that he proposes that particular carving for finding conscious minds – and other entity like objects. That makes more sense.