{"id":41032,"date":"2025-03-06T20:45:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T04:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41032"},"modified":"2025-03-07T05:19:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T13:19:21","slug":"41032-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/41032-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quantum Brain: Trusting Neurodivergent Intuition"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Did you know that Quantum computers are being developed by Google, IBM, Microsoft and Amazon – introducing a technology that will transcend the current limitations humans face with historically unsolvable problems?<\/p>\n

To get a scope of what these things could potentially do, think of this – on a universal scale, we could understand what Dark Matter and Dark Energy are, simulate the origins of the universe, and crack the Theory of Everything \u2013 finally unifying general relativity and Quantum mechanics.[1]<\/a> At the scale of our own planet – quantum computers will allow us to unlock unlimited energy with nuclear fusion,[2]<\/a> eliminate extreme poverty,[3]<\/a> and accelerate solutions to reverse climate change.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

How? It\u2019s all about the way the computer answers questions with speed and parallel processing.<\/p>\n

Without getting too technical about superposition and entanglement (not that I could if I wanted to and I\u2019m fine with just leaving it where Einstein did with \u201cspooky things happening at a distance\u201d) Quantum computers analyze all possible solutions at once and collapse to the best answer.<\/strong> Classical computers cannot do this. Instead, they use sequential processing, checking each solution one at a time. It is difficult to comprehend the profound difference between these two systems – \u00a0specifically in terms of data being processed and the speed at which it is happening.<\/p>\n

For example, Google\u2019s Sycamore quantum processor<\/strong> demonstrated “<\/strong>quantum supremacy“<\/strong> by solving a problem in 200 seconds that would take the world\u2019s best (digital) supercomputer 10,000 years.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nDigital computers (left) process sequentially, taking one path at a time. Quantum computers (right) process all paths simultaneously. (Image generated with ChatGPT)<\/h6>\n

<\/h1>\n

Executive (DYS)Function in the Brain<\/h1>\n

The way quantum computers process and problem-solve is a near-perfect metaphor for what happens inside my clinically diagnosed ADHD brain. I am walking around subconsciously processing about 5 terabytes of data per hour.[6]<\/a> Typically, the executive function, in the prefrontal cortex of most brains, directs and filters all that data to determine what is relevant and worth giving attention to right now, and what can be shelved for later. You can think of the executive function as a police officer directing traffic at a five-way intersection, pausing some cars, and allowing others to pass through. Cars (a metaphor for thoughts) move about orderly, and at the right time.<\/p>\n

In my brain, the officer is asleep on the sidewalk, (executive DYSfunction) and cars are zooming through the intersection from every direction like they are driving on the autobahn. The drivers are rolling down their windows and trying to talk to each other while doing 120mph. When one of the cars catches my attention and I FEEL something strongly about the direction it could be heading, somehow all of my focus and attention collapses onto that car, and I grab ahold of it like Marty McFly on a skateboard, holding on to the bumper. For the next few hours, or days, or weeks I can see or hear nothing else. I am laser-focused, not on where the car is going, but of all the places the car could go. Drawing maps, building contingencies, and routing every possible path that answers the question the driver asked me as he was whizzing by.<\/p>\n

Wait, what was the question again?<\/p>\n

Let me explain how something called The Substitution Effect<\/em> may be hijacking my attention.<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

Understanding The Substitution Effect<\/h1>\n

In Thinking Fast and Slow, <\/em>Daniel Kahneman identifies two systems at work in the brain.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
System 1<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nSystem 2<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fast, effortless, and automatic<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Deliberate, logical, and effortful<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Instincts, emotions, and pattern recognition<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Requires focus and cognitive energy<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Used for everyday decisions and survival-based reactions<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Used for complex problem-solving and critical thinking<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Prone to biases, cognitive shortcuts, and snap judgments<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Less prone to bias but mentally exhausting to process<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

System 1 responds automatically to the most attractive thoughts that drive by. Through pattern recognition and implicit memory, it grabs ahold instinctively to the ideas that have the highest potential for creating my desires. It does this by running incredibly complex algorithms, synthesizing past experiences and future potential, and taking all parallel paths at once. It happens in an instant, releasing dopamine and engendering euphoria, creating the sense that something just \u201cfeels right.\u201d It is answering questions and solving problems with quantum speed and simultaneous processing, just like the computers we discussed above. Can I trust this feeling? The answer is yes\u2026.and no.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The extent to which I can trust this feeling is determined by the quality of the questions I am asking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What I mean is this, If I am pursuing the right question then I can trust the feeling. If I am pursuing a lesser question, then the decision to pursue it needs critical inspection.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

How do I know if I am pursuing the right question? \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026.That\u2019s the right question.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Questioning Your Questions<\/h1>\n

In Kahneman\u2019s dense book, he breaks questions down into two categories – for simplicity, we will call them First Questions<\/strong> & Easy Questions<\/strong>.[8]<\/a> When System 1 comes across an idea or a decision, it attempts to answer a question or solve the problem. If the First Question is a hard one that requires critical thinking (like most important things are), it automatically replaces it with a new, Essay Question and answers that one instead. It does this without me even knowing it. This is called the substitution effect, and it looks like this:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
First Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Easy Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Will moving to another place enhance my long-term well-being?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Does moving feel exciting and like the right next adventure?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Will building this venture allow for sustainable impact?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Will building this venture make more sense to the people around me?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Does this move the needle on my long-term desires?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Does this give me short-term relief from the tyranny of the mundane?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Will this make me more loving and available?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Will this feel like I am accomplishing something worthwhile?<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

The First Questions require critical thinking, an abandoning of bias, and sometimes death of exciting fantasies. (booooo!!) The Easy Questions, by contrast, quickly generate easy answers that give the feeling as if I answered the important First Question. But I didn\u2019t, I just replaced it. As Kahneman says \u201cyou may not realize that the target question was difficult, because an intuitive answer to it came readily to mind.[9]<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting back to that proper First Question is precisely the work of System 2. But that does not mean System 2 is a Debbie-downer. System 2 will help prove or disprove whether that feeling can be trusted and get me what I really want. It will prevent me from being hijacked and distracted by the shiny cars whizzing by. It will help me focus on what really matters. The more I engage both systems, the more I will be able to trust my intuition.<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

Visualizing The Right Questions<\/h1>\n

This work is challenging and not exactly intuitive yet. I can\u2019t do it in my mind. I need to see it. I am experimenting with a \u201cSystem 2 Dashboard\u201d to visually see this process unfold. With ChatGPT I created a prototype to start working with the exciting ideas that create so much energy in me. If you would like to test out this Obsidian template yourself, just comment below and I\u2019d be happy to share it with you.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m realizing that if I want to trust my intuition<\/span><\/strong>, I need to make sure I am asking and answering the right questions. My mind naturally moves at quantum speed, analyzing possibilities and generating energy around ideas faster than I can contain them. I want to give my energy, my time, my life to the pursuit of restoration. To solving complex problems for forgotten people, lonely places, and broken systems. I want to allow my mind to obsess over the right things. The things that align with my unique and authentic makeup. I want to answer the questions, the First Questions, the questions that propel me further down this mysterious journey of becoming fully human.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cQuantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything: Kaku, Michio: 9780385548366: Amazon.Com: Books.\u201d<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u201c(PDF) Quantum Computing for Nuclear Fusion: Advancing Simulation and Optimization.\u201d<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Pathstone, \u201cQuantum Computing Boosts for Sustainable Development.\u201d<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> \u201cQuantum Computing Just Might Save the Planet | McKinsey.\u201d<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Arute et al., \u201cQuantum Supremacy Using a Programmable Superconducting Processor.\u201d<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> N, P, and R, \u201cUnderstanding Unconscious Bias.\u201d<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em>, 19.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Kahneman, 98.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Kahneman, 99.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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