Roger Penrose - Quantum Physics of Consciousness

Congratulations to Sir Roger Penrose for winning the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Are quantum events required for consciousness in a very special sense, far beyond the general sense that quantum events are part of all physical systems? What would it take for quantum events, on such a micro-scale, to be relevant for brain function, which operates at the much higher level of neurons and brain circuits? What would it mean?

Sir Roger Penrose is a mathematical physicist, mathematician, philosopher of science, and Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, an emeritus fellow of Wadham College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, and of University College London (UCL). Penrose has made contributions to the mathematical physics of general relativity and cosmology. He has received several prizes and awards, including the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics, which he shared with Stephen Hawking for the Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems, and one half of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity". The other half was awarded to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez.

Closer to Truth presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[yoananda]

Roger Penrose is a Nobel price. He writes a book, which is a "failure", he admits himself. That lead him to another path, but he is still an outcast trying to prove his intuition.
What a great man !!! We need more of this kind of man : extreme intelligence and courage. He is seeking truth and not career.

[mildanimal]

Wait, what is this? Two sage (old) men calmly discussing matters of importance to humanity, and they don’t even need a moderator to stop them interrupting? To think this is happening in my lifetime!

[bossbear]

I'm grateful for the smart folks out there that can verbalize the stuff that keeps me up at night, but don't know the words to describe. Thank You.

[pranabchangdar]

Congratulations sir.
Ultimately you have been awarded the #Nobel Prize in Physics this year for your ground breaking research on Black-hole which was long due since 1965. I'm so delighted.
Wishing your sound health.

[hiddenknowledge]

I can listen to him talk all day. I might only understand 2% of what he says, but I greatly enjoy it.

[tiamnik]

I am a quantum biologist and I researched this topic a lot. I have Roger book "The New Mind of the Emperor" for many years. The field of quantum biology evolved tremendously last 10 years, we know the quantum effects control photosynthesis, control retinal perception, control bird magnito-orientation, but I still don't see any good evidence of quantum effects to have a strong role in the brain activity. Initially I thought that all the neuro-sinaptic networks opperate purely on classical level, but when we look deeper we see that for example long term memory is kept on genomic level and translating the electric information into gene-expression epigenetic modification we can easily imagine some quantum effects can take place. I bet that our mind opperate 90% classically, but not 100%.

[elliotpines]

Can't think of anyone whose lifetime achievements make them more worthy of that prize. Indeed, congratulation Prof. Penrose! -and well overdue at that.

[djjfive]

Consciousness has the potential to redefine literally everything. It’s the only thing we can personally be sure of. Everything else we see such as matter, physics, mathematics, space and time are only relative to the consciousness observing them.
What we perceive as consciousness defines everything else we perceive, therefore until we understand what consciousness is, we really can’t say with 100% certainty what anything else is.

[monizakkour]

So humble, smart and funny Dr Penrose. Congratulations for the nobel prize👏

[htannberg]

The way you have described the interaction of the micro tubes and the neurons would make me think this could be a biological transistor of sorts, where the gate is the micro tube. So now we have the quantum world effecting the classical world. Consciousness may be seated in the brain but it may ultimately exist outside in the quantum realm.

[marcopony]

Eckhart Tolle said something like: "Consciousness doesn't exist
It doesn't stand out
It isn't a thing in the field of our perceptions
It has no form
Consciousness is being itself"

[robinvandervliet]

Even though it remains close to impossible to explain this to most, he sincerely does trie to communicate the essential and scientifically proven the best he can.

Standing out is the roughest path, only a few dare to take it.

[larissabsa]

Thank you sooo much for sharing this work with us! Dr. Robert Lawrence, you rock!

[robertflynn]

congrats to roger penrose on 2020 nobel prize. much deserved. far reaching math too!!

[BigParadox]

I find Penrose to be very sympathetic. He is humble, honest or open, and intelligent.

[ahmedmohammed-lutfial-imam]

“If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself, ”...
One of Albert Einstein’s most famous phrases.

[elevenvolt]

How is he 89? He looks like he's 70

[henrikamundsen]

Thank you for your efforts to make these statements available. Vel formulated and easy to understand.

[paulmiller]

I read and finally called John Archibald Wheeler on the phone at his home in Austin in the 80s. I asked him about this issue and he said, "We need to understand Kant". True anecdote.

[asifilyas]

Dear Robert I have one request from you. Please make the videos with subtitle. I regularly watch your every video and I really appreciate you. But some times It is difficult for me to catch every sentence because I am not English national. I am from Pakistan. I am sure that so many other non english native would also face the same problem like me. It would be easy for us to understand if there are subtitle. You are doing great job because things for which we need to read a big book but you clear it in just 15 to 20 minutes video. I love watching your the stuff you share and enjoy it by discussing with my friends.. Waiting for kind and positive response.