I have started reading the book The Quest for the Quantum Computer, by Julian Brown, and so far it seems to be very good. The author is not a professional scientist but writes with scientific precision, brings quality information and doesn't treat the reader like an idiot, a very irritating practice in this kind of literature (Mickey Mouse accounts of science) . A good science divulgation text can entertain even specialists on the subject. The first chapter starts by describing the nonusual (for non-scientists) daily life of David Deutsch. This brilliant physicist is an example of what Ahtekhar meant in his quotation of the preceeding post. In the 80’s David Deutsch dared to try solving problems that great physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists would consider either too difficult or nonsensical. One of his early ideas was about the possibility of building an artificial mind working at a quantum level. Such mind would then be able to tell us if there are many universes bifurcating at each moment or not. I wonder if such thing would be possible, since our own brains cannot figure out how they work. A very convincing way of explaining many aspects of our brains uses Marvin Minsky’s concept of the society of mind. A manager doesn’t need to know the inner workings of each machine under his supervision. It would be possible to conceive a mind that could understand and be aware of all its levels ? The drawing above was made by Stanislaw Lem (A depressed, hunchbacked robot).
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