💡 Roger Penrose on Why Consciousness Doesn’t Compute

The latest from Nautilus, the best things we learned today, and more. [View in Browser]( | [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? Sign up here Together with: Hello there Nautilus readers, and thanks for dropping in. Today we have high mountains, ancient shells, and the wonder of deep time. Plus, the weirdest stuff we’ve sent into orbit. Also, some of the best things we learned today—insects of frightening dimensions, glue made by frogs, and more. The coolest thing I’ve ever witnessed in the night sky was the clear night sky itself, reflected on the glass-smooth water I was canoeing on at the time. It seemed everywhere I looked there was starlight, as if I were traveling in deep space. Check out today’s question (on a song choice) and free story (on consciousness and quantum mechanics) below. I had a lovely paternity leave but it’s great to be back with you all! — Brian Gallagher The latest from Nautilus High Mountains, Ancient Shells, and the Wonder of Deep Time Learning to appreciate the big picture. [Continue Reading→]( The Weirdest Stuff We’ve Sent into Orbit 15 human space oddities. [Continue Reading→]( Don’t limit your curiosity. Enjoy unlimited ad-free Nautilus stories every month for less than $5/month. [Join now]( Join the Conversations Shaping Tomorrow [Interintellect]( is a leading cultural platform hosting high-quality nonpolitical conversations every day across time zones. It's a vibrant community where thinkers, creators, and curious minds gather to explore the most pressing issues of our time. Our events and discussions span a multitude of topics, from philosophy and technology to art and social change. Each of our [newsletters]( offers a curated selection of upcoming events, recordings of past events, and insightful essays, ensuring you never miss out on the conversations that matter. [Sign up and join]( a global community of curious minds! [Join Interintellect]( *Thank you for supporting our sponsors. The best things we learned today - The oxygen-rich atmosphere 300 million years ago enabled arthropods to grow to frightening dimensions, with some armored insects as long as 6 feet. [Read on Nautilus→]( - The Mozambique rain frog and the tomato frog are separated by 100 million years of divergent evolution, yet share one sticky trait—making glue. [Read on The New York Times→]( - The first “space burial” took place in 1992, when the cremated remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry were carried into orbit by the space shuttle Columbia. [Read on Nautilus→]( - Cats appear to grieve if a fellow pet in a household—even a dog—dies. [Read on The Guardian→]( - In India, the Milky Way is known as the “Heavenly Ganges” (आकाशगंगा—ākāśagaṅgā) and stretches across the belly of a cosmic dolphin. [Read on Nautilus→]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... If you were traveling to space for the first time, what song would you want to listen to during lift off? Send us your answer! Reply to this newsletter with a brief explanation of your response, and we’ll reveal the top answers in a future newsletter. This question was inspired by “The Weirdest Stuff We’ve Sent into Orbit.” [Read on Nautilus→]( Top answers to our previous question: On the Coolest Thing You’ve Seen in the Night Sky On a 10-day hiking and canoeing trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, in northern Minnesota, we were all hoping to see the northern lights but no joy. Then, on our last night, we were standing on a footbridge, and the aurora borealis appeared in the sky. We all stood silent, awestruck. That happened long ago, and I can still see it in my mind’s eye. – John L. I saw Comet Hale-Bopp. I was traveling in Ethiopia in 1997 from my post at the U.S. Embassy at Addis Ababa. My return to the town of Jijiga after a long, hot day stretched into the night. But I was rewarded with a spectacular view of the comet in a clear, dark sky. It was a beautiful and magical thing to see. – Tom A. Toward the end of a showing of Verdi’s Nabucco, in the open-air opera venue Verona Arena, we began seeing shooting stars above and beyond the stage. It was the Perseid meteor shower, which always occurs around our wedding anniversary (August 12). The opera’s climax—in which Nabucco rescues Fenena and the Israelite prisoners, and declares that he will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and the whole opera company sings praises to God—took place under a canopy of shooting stars, making it the most amazing opera climax I have ever seen. – Marilyn T. Kiss Dead Batteries Goodbye The [Anker Power Bank]( is small enough to slip in your pocket and powerful enough to charge a laptop and your phone. [Buy on Amazon]( Today’s unlocked free story PHYSICS Roger Penrose On Why Consciousness Does Not Compute The emperor of physics defends his controversial theory of mind. BY STEVE PAULSON Once you start poking around in the muck of consciousness studies, you will soon encounter the specter of Sir Roger Penrose, the renowned Oxford physicist with an audacious—and quite possibly crackpot—theory about the quantum origins of consciousness. [Continue reading]( P.S. The British mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose was born on this day in 1931. He doesn’t seem to mind being branded a maverick, though he disputes the label in regard to his work in physics. “But his theory of consciousness pushes the edges of what’s considered plausible science and has left critics wondering why he embraces a theory based on so little evidence,” wrote Steve Paulson. “He starts with the premise that consciousness is not computational, and it’s beyond anything that neuroscience, biology, or physics can now explain,” requiring a [major revolution in quantum mechanics](. Thanks for reading! What did you think of today's note? Inspire a friend to [sign up for the Nautilus newsletter](. Copyright © 2024 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 3112 Windsor Rd, Ste A-391 Austin, TX, 78703 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](