Of my own invention

 

Funny things happen when people tell you you’re a genius from a young age. It’s easy to get conceited when you’re so far ahead of everyone else, for example. On the other hand, others are always ready to pounce when you screw up (as, of course, you will) and that can by annoying—so much so that you eventually learn a decent humility. And then, as Wittgenstein observed, if a man is merely ahead of his time, that is no great matter, for time will eventually catch up to him.

Time has caught up with me: Quantum Interaction 2008

In the last few days, my web site on Quanta & Consciousness has logged six visits from the Kremlin—as well as the Leiden Institute for Advanced Computing. Over the last few months, the site has logged visitors from scores of famously wealthy neighborhoods around the world, as well as numerous leading universities, business & technology centers, the Presidential Estate of India and the puzzle palace around DC.

What, now? A major R&D effort is called for, with an emphasis on the ‘D’: Field Effect Tech

As to the ‘R,’ I’ve done most of the heavy lifting already: On the Unification of Mind & Matter (PDF)

I’ve finally decided to take the plunge so far as the much-rumored “real world” goes, following several recent breakthroughs, as related in Nature. For decades, I’ve been trying to square visual fields with quantum fields—or so I would frame the effort now, with the benefit of hindsight. Within the last year or so, I became sufficiently confident in my results where vision is concerned that I ventured into the realm of audition, or hearing … 

And was astounded to find that what I’d been arguing all along with respect to color applied equally well to the realm of sound. It all goes back to spectra—the spectrum of light, the spectrum of sound—and such issues as symmetry, action, projective geometry, matrices and so forth. All of which are brought together under one roof by the illustrious French mathematician and physicist, Alain Connes.

Well, this really is humbling. Although I am not immune to the pleasures of vindication, I feel as though I’ve been granted a gift far in excess of my worthiness. On the other hand, it’s been more work, struggle and sacrifice than I ever could have imagined, almost 40 years ago, when I started out, as a lad of 16. Still, the view is breathtaking, and so …

The technological ramifications extend to a revolution in all of IT, and most clearly where AI and machine vision are concerned. Robotics and prosthetics are also obvious applications, but beyond that … even I can’t see, at the moment.

 

Can America Invent Its Way Back?

“Innovation economics” shows how smart ideas can turn into jobs and growth—and keep the U.S. competitive

by Michael Mandel

 

 

Will 2009 be the year of innovation economics?

Pessimism about America’s future is growing. People worry about the long-term impact of the housing crisis, global competition, and expensive energy. And the policy solutions offered by Republicans and Democrats—mainly tax cuts and government spending programs—seem insufficient.

Yet beneath the gloom, economists and business leaders across the political spectrum are slowly coming to an agreement: Innovation is the best—and maybe the only—way the U.S. can get out of its economic hole. New products, services, and ways of doing business can create enough growth to enable Americans to prosper over the long run.

Certainly the Presidential candidates are taking the idea seriously. John McCain has proposed a $300 million prize for the person or company that creates a better battery technology to power cars. Barack Obama has called for spending $150 billion over the next 10 years on clean-energy technologies. The hoped-for outcome: more jobs, more competitive trade, less dependence on foreign oil.

 

BusinessWeek

Fractal Genetics

One of the biggest thrills of my life came one day when I got an email from Dr. Andras Pellionisz, whose work with Llinas on ‘tensor network theory’ inspired a generation of neuroscientists, including the Churchlands.

He wrote to tell me how delighted he was with my paper, “Are Perceptual Fields Quantum Fields?”

Pellionisz drew attention early on to the fractal character of dendritic trees.

He then moved on to genetics, where he argued that gene expression is not, as was dogmatically asserted, a one-way street from DNA –> organism, but rather a recursive process akin to the generation of fractals.

This latter work has recently found vindication in the recent discoveries that go under the rubric of ‘epigenetics.’ I am, of course, very happy for Andras, who has since become a friend and collaborator and who is now Director of Genome Informatics at Mitrionics in Silicon Valley.

Now, we learn of yet more recent work on ‘nanotrees,’ which result from crystalline ‘defects’ in nanowires and which exhibit both fractal characteristics and, in some cases, a spiral shape which suggests a kinship with the helical structure of DNA — an aperiodic crystal.

I wish I knew what all this means, but … It seems clear enough that we have here a direct path from the symmetries of quantum theory thru fractal crystals thru DNA and on up the ladder to fractal neurons — thus lending further plausibility to my thesis that ‘neural form follows quantum function.’

What’s also clear is that these developments open entire new vistas for R&D on medical applications by way of genetic therapies. (Kuh-ching!)