Information, Time and the Human Mind

Quantum approaches to consciousness seem to explain several but not all
observations in the field of mind-brain interaction. Information is introduced
as a key to a wider world view since we have – according to
Thomas Nagel –<i> to transcend the built-in limits of contemporary scientific
orthodoxy </i>before we may <i>understand mind</i>. In the macroscopic world
information is limited in contrast to the capability of our mind to work with
unlimited information in mathematics. The world of mathematical concepts with
unlimited information is independent of time and space and the mind is an
intermediary between the macroscopic and the mathematical world. In the
macroscopic world time is unidirectional while for the mind as well as in quantum
physics time is bidirectional. In a given experimental system a photon carries 1
bit of information. Using a double slit gedankenexperiment it is shown that the
transmission of the information from the photon to the detector takes the time
span delta t = λ/c and Planck’s formula
for the energy of the photon can be interpreted as Planck’s constant h multiplied by the elementary information flux (1bit) c/λ. The time span was
determined by an observer in the macroscopic world. For the photon, however, time does not flow and space is shrunk to zero. For
the discussion of time in quantum physical
measurements these two viewpoints have to be distinguished. We may describe
the photon as the elementary information unit in a world independent of time
and space. The world of the photon is evidence for the existence of the world of
mathematical concepts which is independent of time and space. When the information is transmitted
from the world of the photon to the world of the detector it is absorbed and the loss of
1 bit information causes an increase of energy in the system. For complex information
the hypothesis of an extended energy conservation law is formulated. An experimental
test of the hypothetical equivalence of energy and information flux is necessary
as a next step on the way which could lead to a better understanding of
consciousness as well as to a quantitative theory of information.

意识研究的量子进路，可解释心脑交互领域中的部分观测现象，但无法涵盖全部观测结果。我们将信息作为构建更广阔世界观的核心要素，正如托马斯·内格尔（Thomas Nagel）所言：在“理解意识”之前，我们必须“超越当代科学正统的固有局限”。宏观世界中的信息总量有限，而人类心智却能够处理数学领域中无限的信息，二者形成鲜明对比。承载无限信息的数学概念世界，不受时空约束；而人类心智则是宏观世界与数学世界之间的中介桥梁。宏观世界中的时间具有单向性，而心智活动与量子物理领域中的时间则具备双向性。在特定实验系统中，单个光子携带1比特（bit）信息。借助双缝思想实验（double slit gedankenexperiment）可证明：光子向探测器传递信息的时长为Δt = λ/c；而光子能量的普朗克公式，可被解读为普朗克常数h 乘以基本信息通量（1bit）c/λ。该时长由宏观世界中的观测者测定。但对于光子而言，时间并不流逝，空间也坍缩为零。在讨论量子物理测量中的时间问题时，必须区分这两种视角。我们可将光子视为不受时空约束的世界中的基本信息单元。光子的世界，佐证了不受时空约束的数学概念世界的存在。当信息从光子世界传递至探测器世界时，信息会被吸收；1比特信息的损耗会导致系统能量增加。针对复杂信息，本文提出了扩展版能量守恒定律的假说。作为后续研究的必要环节，需对能量与信息通量等价性的假说开展实验验证，这一工作既有助于深化对意识的理解，也可为信息的量化理论提供支撑。