They call it “the irrational effectiveness of mathematics.” Physicist Eugene Wigner finds it fascinating that just by manipulating numbers, we can describe and predict all sorts of natural phenomena, from the motion of planets and the strange behavior of elementary particles to cosmic influences, with astonishing clarity. He coined the term in the 1960s to summarize the facts. Collision of two black holes billions of light years away. Some now wonder if mathematics will succeed where all else fails, and are unraveling what it is that allows us to ponder the laws of nature in the first place.
That’s a big question. The question of how matter creates a felt experience is one of the most thorny problems we know. And sure enough, the first fleshed out mathematical model of consciousness has sparked a great deal of debate about whether it can teach us anything meaningful. But as mathematicians strive to hone and expand their tools for looking deep within themselves, they are faced with some startling conclusions.
In particular, what they make clear is that if we try to achieve an accurate description of consciousness, we can put aside our intuition and realize that all sorts of inanimate objects, perhaps the entire universe, can become conscious. It seems to suggest that we may need to accept. ‘This could be the beginning of a scientific revolution,’ he says Johannes KleinerMathematician at the Munich Center for Mathematics and Philosophy, Germany.
If so, it’s been around for a long time. Philosophers have pondered the nature of consciousness for thousands of years, to little avail. And half a century ago, biologists got involved. they discovered…
Article corrected on May 4, 2020
Fix: Hedda Hassel Morch’s home campus of the Norwegian Inland University of Applied Sciences has been updated to change the attribution of studies on the effects of sleep or sedation on phi.
