Researchers explain human decision-making with physics theory…
"Whenever something comes up that isn't consistent with classical theories, we often label it as 'irrational.' But from the perspective of quantum cognition, some findings aren't irrational anymore. They're consistent with quantum theory--and with how people really behave."
In two new review papers in academic journals, Wang and her colleagues spell out their new theoretical approach to psychology. One paper appears in Current Directions in Psychological Science, and the other in Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Their work suggests that thinking in a quantum-like way¬--essentially not following a conventional approach based on classical probability theory--enables humans to make important decisions in the face of uncertainty, and lets us confront complex questions despite our limited mental resources.What was that about rational choice again?
Eureka Alert
You're not irrational, you're just quantum probabilistic
Ohio State University
ht Mark Thoma at Economist's View
I think I would be asking the question: 'what is it in me, that wants to model decision-making processes mathematically'? Believe that it might be possible, or believe that it might be impossible.
ReplyDeleteAnd where does that get me if I succeed or fail? You might find yourself on your own doorstep again, after having made the journey – the very first person to greet you being You. Decisions or no decisions.
Would it not be better to understand the nature of mind first, before you even set out on that journey?
That's easy enough: mind is the doubt-maker; mind is the ego-maker; mind will take you out into a desert and dump you there, then call you an idiot (id-iota); mind will create false logic; mind will battle other minds; mind will create an illusion; mind will live in the false imagination; mind is the SLAYER of the real; mind is not your friend. Mind goes around and around and around, until death intervenes. 'The worldly mind is born in darkness, lives in darkness, dies in darkness' (darkness=ignorance). [Upanishads] Kabir said: 'Oh mind – you make me carve a rock into a god, then fall down and worship it' (rock=smartphone, anything we create). Mind is not capable of perceiving 'truth' – only the human heart can perceive truth.
Mind does not seem to have all that good of a track record, despite the technology and quantum physics.
Because after you have made all of your decisions, both good and bad – if everything were taken away from you – you are still left with you.
When the attention turns inside, mind (the window pane) becomes clear and still, and you notice a little light burning in your living room, that is you. And you understand that is what you were looking for all along – even the ones who wanted to turn mind into a mathematical equation. Does not that make you want to smile …...!!!!
A quantum possibility .... :-)
Considering the brain is basically a quantum computer, it's unsurprising, maybe not to economists though...
ReplyDeleteIgnorant people trying to appear smart. Classical probability theory is at the very heart of quantum mechanics. Without it, there is no quantum mechanics. The problems inherent in quantum mechanics have led theorists to attempt various ways of tinkering with probability theories, with absolutely no success.
ReplyDeleteIn the sense that everything is quantum mechanical, though we don't observe these effects on the classical scale, then the brain is quantum mechanical. You can argue whether the brain is analogous to a classical computer, but it certainly isn't a quantum computer, running superposition states to make the kind of difficult calculations that are near impossible in classical computing.
We know almost nothing about the brain, the mind and almost certainly the true nature of the quantum world to make the assertions many physicists and quantum computer scientists sometimes make about the human mind. Humility is required!
What they're essentially saying is that any result is rational. Nonsense. It may be a (physical) solution to an equation but that tells you nothing about its rationality. In any case, rational and irrational concepts have been taken apart and shown to be not all that useful decades ago. If memory serves, von Neumann was one of the first. Steve Keen gives excellent demonstrations of how concepts like rationality are impossible standards to use.
Rationality and irrationality aren't physical concepts, let alone quantum concepts, they're human concepts. They mean nothing in the physical world. These academics don't understand the terms they're using: rational, irrational, quantum mechanical, probabilistic, quantum probabilistic, etc. No doubt they will go far.
Mind is like the seed of a tree. Within every seed there lies, potentially, an almost infinite number of trees and an almost infinite number of seeds. Within every question, an infinite number of questions. That is why mind is a limited tool in its usefulness: - it doesn't cut to the chase. It just creates more questions.
ReplyDeleteWhat you need is something that for every one of those questions, has an infinite number of answers. Ummm! These, like all concepts, are words playing with concepts, relevant only to a universe held in a steady state (it changes every moment, which I guess is the symbology of superpositioning): - the real question is - 'is there something like That'? You cannot measure reality with a matchstick. However, if it flies a plane safely from one port to another, fair enough.