implications of the brain as a quantum computer?

[Little Bang]

I think what he is look for is a way that the brain can take an active role in an event without physical contact with the event. The fact that the brain emits electromagnetic radiation (EMR) in the process of thinking could be used as the mechanism. Every event involves the absorption or emission of EMR so in theory the brain could alter an event just by thinking about it in exactly the right way.

[alternative3]

ye gods you all are too smart for me.

Is there any kind of literature or a Dummies Guide to quantum mechanics that you all would probably completely scoff at that would be perfect for me?

[sanctus]

For this parallel universe computations things try to search for feynman interpretation of quantum field theory. Wikipedia usually has at the beginning the intuitive parts of a theory. The basic idea is, how I understand it, that if a electron wants to go from A to B then it tries all the possible ways to do so, I really mean all! This can be proven experimentally with photons (and has been), if you have a system where you make pass photons to a semipermeable mirror (=50% go straight 50% turn by 90°) and then use normal mirrors so that they come out at the same place (imagine a square in the top corner there is the semi-permeable mirror, in the up right corner and down left there are normal mirrors and you measure int he bottom right corner). Where they come out they interfere and it is calculable what should come out. The strange thing is that if you change someting in ONE path (for example top line of of the square) all the photons coming out know of this change, that means also the 50% not passing where the change was!

[Little Bang]

Alter, the parallel universe theory fits very nicely into quantum mechanics. Lets say you are writing a SF story where the hero wants someone to have an accident and the hero sets his brain to emit the correct EMR to make the event happen. The event might not happen in his universe but it does happen in some universe.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by alternative3

Is there any kind of literature or a Dummies Guide to quantum mechanics that you all would probably completely scoff at that would be perfect for me?

I’ve not know many SF writers who weren’t also pretty high-volume SF readers, so the “quantum mechanics for Dummies” I recommend are hard SF stories.

For quantum computers, Sawyer’s “Hominids” is a pretty good bit of reasonable (though likely very over-optimistic) speculation. There are so many good hard SF writers on the general subject of quantum mechanics, It’s hard to suggest a starting point, but I’ll go ahead and say nearly anything by Stephen Baxter, and for a really wild ride, Greg Egan’s 2002 “Schild's Ladder”.

Though I like Orson Scott Card and Ursula K Le Guin, and mentioned them previously, their SF is super-soft, more high space opera than science, so I wouldn’t recommend reading it for physics educational purposes.

[alternative3]

Originally Posted by CraigD

I’ve not know many SF writers who weren’t also pretty high-volume SF readers, so the “quantum mechanics for Dummies” I recommend are hard SF stories.

For quantum computers, Sawyer’s “Hominids” is a pretty good bit of reasonable (though likely very over-optimistic) speculation. There are so many good hard SF writers on the general subject of quantum mechanics, It’s hard to suggest a starting point, but I’ll go ahead and say nearly anything by Stephen Baxter, and for a really wild ride, Greg Egan’s 2002 “Schild's Ladder”.

Though I like Orson Scott Card and Ursula K Le Guin, and mentioned them previously, their SF is super-soft, more high space opera than science, so I wouldn’t recommend reading it for physics educational purposes.

Baxter and Card are two authors I love and consume rabidly. I'll go check out the other stuff too. Thanks.

I forgot all about the ansible in the Ender's saga. I need to reread that thing someday.