One more poast, for those who think QM has anything to do with consciousness.
My cat can jump really high. I know that his jumping ability probably has something to do with his muscles.
Muscles are tissues. Tissues are groups of cells. Cells are the fundamental unit of life.
All cells are surrounded by lipid membranes. A lipid membrane is a double-layer of fats. It is, in fact, a liquid crystal.
The chemistry and physics of liquid crystals is an active area of research. They underlie much of our technology (like most TV/computer screens). The name “liquid crystal” also makes them sound weird and mysterious. Studies in liquid crystals have upended our traditional conception of phases of matter. Liquid crystals display ordered parameters somewhere between a solid and a liquid.
If I had the means and the wherewithal, I could make a 2-hour documentary about the amazing nature of liquid crystals, how liquid crystals have challenged so much of physics and chemistry, etc etc.
Now ask yourself: what the hell does our understanding of liquid crystals have to do with my cat’s remarkable jumping ability. Nothing.
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Likewise, we humans can think; we have consciounsess. We know our thinking probably has something to do with our brains. Brains are made of cells. Cells are made of molecules. Molecules are made of quantum particles. Those quantum particles obey the rules of quantum mechanics, a remarkable, mysterious, and revolutionary branch of science that is the subject of 2-hour documentaries. What the hell does our understanding of quantum mechanics have to do with consciousness? Probably less than my cat’s jumping ability has to do with liquid crystals.