#Quantum weirdness doesn't stop at a thing existing in multiple possible states all at once. Quant

#Quantum weirdness doesn't stop at a thing existing in multiple possible states all at once. Quantum behaviors also seem to defy the laws of #physics, like the law that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. When two quantum #particles get close enough, their wave functions become #entangled, and anything done to one particle instantly affects the other. If a measurement on one particle, collapsing its wave function, it immediately determines the state of the other particle, even if the other particle is located across the universe. Einstein called this spooky action at a distance because it seemed to suggest information was traveling from one particle to another, faster than the speed of light.

Penrose sees wave function collapse as a gateway between quantum and classical realities. The price to traverse realities is charged to the #classical #reality's timeline. Experiments show the collapse reduces multiple #quantum states and is instantaneous. However, the effect may only seem instantaneous to us because the destruction of multiple quantum #realities retroactively alters the classical reality timeline. #Penrose calls this effect retro-activity, which clears a path for making quantum behavior consistent with Einstein's theory of special relativity.

#Specialrelativity says time passes at different rates depending on your frame of reference, which is called time dilation. Experiments show that time dilation is a natural part of how time works. There isn't a universal time, and the average person and other scientists may be skeptical about the idea of retro-activity. Penrose's ideas about retro-activity as an explanation for #quantum #anomalies are only recently gaining traction.

Penrose's ideas about #retrocausality, the proposal that a measurement in the present can change a #particle's properties even before the measurement was made, are essential for understanding the relationship between gravity and consciousness. He believes that gravity-induced wave function collapse could produce non-computational #consciousness because it is retroactive.

Penrose, a physicist, has been exploring the concept of consciousness in quantum mechanics. He believes that conscious decisions under extreme time constraints are made unconsciously, and that our conscious internal experience might be a kind of quantum reality. Penrose suggests that there would be something in #quantum superposition between these actions and that action, somewhere at the earlier stage in the #brain when these two procedures are in #quantum #superposition. The quantum state would contain both those alternatives, and then, when you decide to do one, it retroactively goes back.

Penrose is concerned that people might misinterpret his ideas about retro-activity, but he insists that it can only happen along the past light cone, which represents every single past event that could have influenced a particular event. If #retroactivity happens, it happens within these parameters.

#Penrose has faced criticism for making unsupported connections between strange #phenomena in #quantummechanics and the mystery of consciousness. He describes alternative theories and gives reasons for why he doesn't think they are credible. He suggests that the only other good alternative might be a theory that no one has thought of yet. As things stand, Penrose feels that both classical physics and quantum mechanics are extraordinary theories and both have proven to be extraordinarily precise when tested.