Hameroff reiterates: anesthesia shows quantum mechanism, classical computers can't be conscious
JosephJacks_ · x · 2026-10-14
Consciousness researcher Stuart Hameroff reiterated his Orch-OR position in a debate: anesthesia's selective action — blocking consciousness while sparing nonconscious brain activity via quantum interactions with microtubules in neurons and glia — offers a way to identify which brain activity underlies consciousness. On that basis he argues classical computers can never be conscious: you need microtubules and quantum collapse via Penrose's Objective Reduction. Joseph Jacks endorsed the claim. The post is a restatement of the Penrose-Hameroff stance, standing opposed to mainstream computational theories of mind.
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