We take a break from biology to bring you the Australian single-atom qubit.
By my understanding, the Australian effort to create a solid-state quantum computer (by doping a silicon chip with addressable phosphorus atoms), which is ten years old, had foundered in recent years; but the enterprise was saved and revived by Michelle Simmons. It's now her job to make sure the world isn't overrun by unfriendly Australian quantum AI. Good luck, Professor Simmons!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Spin chains as the conceptual bridge
There is a different sort of tau function which appears in the theory of integrable systems, and it may be more appropriate for what I have in mind. Thus we have, on the one hand, "Classical tau-function for quantum spin chains", and on the other hand, "Pseudo-spin model for the cytoskeletal microtubule surface".
(Also see: "A spin chain primer".)
(Also see: "A spin chain primer".)
Tau meets tau
Hello world. This blog represents a whimsical first approach to some topics that aren't whimsical at all.
Tau is the name of a microtubule-associated protein. It's also the name of a special function from number theory.
Owing to their geometry and complexity, there is a large literature of outre speculation about the biophysics of microtubules. Back when I took a regular interest in that topic, I remember wondering idly if the mathematical tau function would ever turn out to be relevant for the dynamics of tau the protein. This was not a totally arbitrary speculation; the tau function is the sort of high-powered math that is potentially relevant to a low-dimensional physical system with a nontrivial dynamics.
Meanwhile, back in the present day, I affiliate myself in a qualified way with both "transhumanism" and "quantum-mind theories". I stipulate that my affiliation is qualified, because I would dissent from some common transhumanist ideas (such as the idea that a digital simulation of a brain could or would be conscious) and I'd also reject most of what is said about "the quantum mind". In fact, it's because I believe that the locus of consciousness probably has to be something like a quantum condensate, rather than a "program", that I don't believe in conscious simulations.
The occasion for the launch of a "tau-squared" blog is provided by the work and intellectual positions of Athena Andreadis, an American neuroscientist. Her day job involves research into tau's role in dementia - "Tau splicing and the intricacies of dementia" is a nice recent paper where she reviews the state of her field - but she also dabbles as a futurist and culture critic, and she's written polemics against both transhumanism and quantum-mind theories, while nonetheless being into her own version of long-term futurism.
I don't especially want to get into the polemics of these obscure culture wars, at least not here. Instead, what I propose to do is to just return to my old whimsy about the tau function being related to the function of tau, as a step towards more serious engagement with the scientific issues. "One measures a circle, beginning anywhere." If the idea is to investigate whether something highly nontrivial could be going on in microtubule dynamics, a tau-tau conceptual collision is as good a place as any to begin.
Tau is the name of a microtubule-associated protein. It's also the name of a special function from number theory.
Owing to their geometry and complexity, there is a large literature of outre speculation about the biophysics of microtubules. Back when I took a regular interest in that topic, I remember wondering idly if the mathematical tau function would ever turn out to be relevant for the dynamics of tau the protein. This was not a totally arbitrary speculation; the tau function is the sort of high-powered math that is potentially relevant to a low-dimensional physical system with a nontrivial dynamics.
Meanwhile, back in the present day, I affiliate myself in a qualified way with both "transhumanism" and "quantum-mind theories". I stipulate that my affiliation is qualified, because I would dissent from some common transhumanist ideas (such as the idea that a digital simulation of a brain could or would be conscious) and I'd also reject most of what is said about "the quantum mind". In fact, it's because I believe that the locus of consciousness probably has to be something like a quantum condensate, rather than a "program", that I don't believe in conscious simulations.
The occasion for the launch of a "tau-squared" blog is provided by the work and intellectual positions of Athena Andreadis, an American neuroscientist. Her day job involves research into tau's role in dementia - "Tau splicing and the intricacies of dementia" is a nice recent paper where she reviews the state of her field - but she also dabbles as a futurist and culture critic, and she's written polemics against both transhumanism and quantum-mind theories, while nonetheless being into her own version of long-term futurism.
I don't especially want to get into the polemics of these obscure culture wars, at least not here. Instead, what I propose to do is to just return to my old whimsy about the tau function being related to the function of tau, as a step towards more serious engagement with the scientific issues. "One measures a circle, beginning anywhere." If the idea is to investigate whether something highly nontrivial could be going on in microtubule dynamics, a tau-tau conceptual collision is as good a place as any to begin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)