Penrose argued something like this for quite a while (that the brain did quantum processing based on microtubule structures). Long story short, most scientists are pretty sure it's bunk.
I touched on this a bit in one of my FC presentations. Quantum entanglement only lasts in the absence of interaction. Interaction - especially with thermal systems - causes "decoherence" (the modern understanding of what used to be called "wavefunction collapse").
The brain's components are strongly coupled to each other. The bath of thermal noise from these interactions collapses any quantum state almost instantly - in a vastly shorter timeframe than that of information processing within the brain.
The brain is marvellous enough as a classical device, without having to ascribe quantum magic to it :).
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-01-25 05:08 am (UTC)I touched on this a bit in one of my FC presentations. Quantum entanglement only lasts in the absence of interaction. Interaction - especially with thermal systems - causes "decoherence" (the modern understanding of what used to be called "wavefunction collapse").
The brain's components are strongly coupled to each other. The bath of thermal noise from these interactions collapses any quantum state almost instantly - in a vastly shorter timeframe than that of information processing within the brain.
The brain is marvellous enough as a classical device, without having to ascribe quantum magic to it :).