The Mystery of Consciousness

Is free will real?

I’ve long thought about an experiment that I wonder if we’ll ever be able to conduct.

Say you were able to keep a brain and its associated nervous system intact and alive outside of the body. Then, you were able to control all input to that system and measure the state of every neuron in it. Given its state in any given moment and given the input about to go into it, could you determine the output? If you could, could you then map every state and every input and output?

What I’m describing is what’s known as a finite state machine (FSM). It’s a very important concept because it says a FSM has, given a certain state, predictable output given certain inputs.

It turns out that the argument over whether the human brain is an FSM is raging on the internet. Although, as far as I can tell, the answers for “no” are not particularly backed up by any scientific study or fact. It is true that the human brain itself is more complex and powerful than any computer we have today, so actually conducting this experiment would be impossible. FSMs also generally don’t have long term memory, but incorporating it into the FSM model isn’t outside its definition.

Most of the arguments against the brain being predictable are that it acts more like a neural network rather than an FSM. But not one person making this argument can cite a study. As usual, I am shocked at how much we know about the world when we know so little about ourselves. Meanwhile, there have been several studies that have put forward that the brain is in fact a finite state machine.

Here’s the thing: if you do not believe in anything greater than biology, physics, and chemistry, what magical element brings about anything greater that would make the brain so special as to not be entirely predictable? Given a large enough computer, just about anything is predictable. Think about it: the only reason we cannot accurately predict the weather is that we cannot measure it closely enough and we do not have the computing power or understanding to do so. But there are a limited number of variables, although very high, that affect it. So, given the capabilities, we could predict every raindrop.

In fact, without free will, the universe almost runs on rails, like a ride at an amusement park. Look at space. We can predict the positions of satellites and asteroids with incredible precision because… that’s physics. These are exact sciences. So where is the inexact part of biology that defines free will? I must have missed that part of the textbook.

This is part of the reason I’m an agnostic. While it appears the argument over whether you can prove a negative is also raging on the internet, I was taught by everyone with a PhD in my life that you cannot. So I do not believe that we can definitely prove that a higher power does not exist. It’s not that I believe in one, it’s that I don’t definitively believe there isn’t and I don’t believe we can prove this.

Which brings me back to free will. Where is the part of science that explains how free will magically manifests itself out of a cluster of neurons? Think about the ability to flip a coin in our heads and if we are a finite state machine. If we are a finite state machine, then I already know which way you are going to say that coin is going to come up. If we are not, and free will exists, then it’s unpredictable.

The ramifications of this on a grand scheme are massive. If human behavior is entirely predictable, then free will is an illusion. Therefore, we are all living our lives on pre-set tracks, albeit with so many variables that it gives the illusion of free will. And if free will is real, how does it come about? Try Googling that one and seeing how little information there is on it.

Even better, if free will is something that can be explained by science alone, how come we cannot replicate it in a computer?

Now, I’m not arguing for the case of a higher power. I’m just pointing out how incomplete science is. Anyone worth his salt knows that science is in fact ever-evolving and we are constantly learning and adapting new things. Take the food pyramid we were all taught.

What an incredibly unhealthy way to eat! Thank God science is always adjusting.

Similarly, there are many new theories about the brain emerging that do explain free will and also fit into our current understanding of physics. Most specifically, the one I believe is the Quantum Mind theory, which is basically that classic physics cannot explain consciousness. It exists on a quantum level. Believe it or not, I came to this conclusion on my own around 2012 or so. There are several very good books on the subject, and it’s starting to get mainstream adoption. The only problem is, well, we understand very little about quantum physics. And, we understand even less about the brain. It’s going to be a long time before we really understand the convergence between the two beyond theory.

So there you have it. Is free will an illusion, or is it real? And, if it is real, then does it require the brain to operate on a quantum level? This is probably my favorite topic of all, as the mystery of consciousness may be the greatest unsolved question of our time. Yet, so little attention is paid to it. I could wax philosophical about this for hours, but we all have our lives to attend to. If you ever want to get a coffee and discuss it while in the Boston area though, I’m always down to discuss this one.

Have a great day.