Aleksey Melkikh: Evolution Originally Encoded All Knowledge in the Brain, like in a Computer

13:37, July 2, 2021

People do not learn, but only use the programs laid down in them, says the scientist of the university

Aleksey Melkikh, professor at the Department of Technical Physics of Ural Federal University, has proposed an original theory that explains in a new way the fundamentals of mathematics and the nature of thinking and behavior as such. The Ural physicist's conclusions are surprising: any mathematical object and procedure are a priori "imprinted" in the human brain, have a physical carrier there, and are subject to digitization as a result of coding. Memory volumes are supported by qubits, quantum degrees of freedom operating in neurons. An article outlining his teachings was published by the international scientific journal Symmetry.

How do we manage with infinities? Where do all the new mathematical concepts come from? Why can we prove anything at all in the framework of mathematics? After all, the human brain is only capable of storing and applying a finite number of objects. Mathematics itself does not answer such "simple" questions. To clarify them, Aleksey Melkikh turned to quantum mechanics and neurobiology.

"According to my ideas, the brain does not acquire new knowledge on its own; having received and recognized this or that signal from the external environment, it selects and launches the most suitable of its embedded thinking and behavioral programs in response to it. When often "used", e.g. in cases of danger, the innate programs are activated instantly, and in conditions of uncertainty - not immediately, but after several repetitions; this saves from excessive reactions to accidents and reduces the number of errors. If the brain never "recognized" the received signal, it does not start the corresponding a priori program. In other words, innate programs allow the consciousness to react flexibly to changes in the environment and adapt to them," explains Aleksey Melkikh.

Learning, transfer of experience from one organism to another occurs if they are "on the same wave", in other words, if the same inborn programs are embedded in them and "turn on" at the right moment. Otherwise, when we think that we gain new knowledge through learning (e.g., learning Chinese or the structure of the Universe), we actually activate certain programs, according to Aleksey Melkikh.

When applied to mathematics, this means, as the scientist logically and with a variety of examples, that any calculations and proofs are possible only because the "ideal", true result exists beforehand and is initially "built into" the brain. Taking it as novelty and exclaiming the famous Archimedesian "eureka!" we do not realize that until the moment of "discovery" we were simply dealing with a phenomenon that we did not fully "identify."

"Suppose we intuitively understand what a geometric figure, such as a straight line, is, but do not know the coordinates of all the points that make it up. Thus, we could argue that in proving any geometric theorem we use a priori data. Take the Pythagoras theorem. The basis of its proof is ideas about the similarity of triangles, the proportionality of their elements. The process of proving it is a description of the properties of numbers that characterize sides and angles, as well as numerical operations. How do we know for certain that if two angles in triangles are equal, then certain ratios are satisfied for their sides? After all, there are no definitions of each particular triangle and its components. Instead, it is only postulated that we know them. Thus Pythagoras' theorem, like any other, is simply a record of a priori knowledge of the properties of numbers," argues Melkikh.

Consequently, it is possible to assert that the directed evolution of the Universe (rather than random mutations as in Darwin's case) has created the human brain in such a way that it is adapted to cognition of mathematical objects, processes and regularities. They, according to Aleksey Melkikh, are encoded in the brain structure using combinations of zeros and ones, in the form of physical carriers - biologically important molecules: DNA, RNA, proteins and, possibly, others. This is how information about the same points, lines, triangles, their vertices and sides, angles and altitudes are encoded.

Scientist assumes that thinking is provided not only by genetic features of a personality: control with the help of 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synaptic connections existing in the brain requires much more information than is encoded in 3 billion nucleotides, "bricks" of which genes are composed. Therefore, Melkikh's hypothesis that additional information resource lies in interaction with biologically important molecules of non-trivial quantum effects - qubits. Due to their quantum nature qubits, unlike "classical" bits, can be not only in zero and one states, but in both states simultaneously. It is qubits that organize the clear and reliable functioning of DNA, RNA and proteins.

"In order to perform its tasks effectively, a protein must find a spatial configuration that is unique to it - the so-called conformation. It consists of so many amino acids that there are an incredible number of combinations. However, the protein finds the necessary conformation within just a few seconds or even fractions of a second. And this is a consequence of quantum effects," explains Aleksey Melkikh.

In addition, qubits are supposedly involved in the formation of synaptic connections between nerve cells.

"The most important cells of the brain are neurons; they conduct nerve impulses through a complex neural network. Each neuron can be compared to a megalopolis or even a country: it is connected to 10,000 of its kind, not only to the nearest "neighbors," but also to those who are far away. Neurons have assistants - glia cells, they are not directly involved in organization of thinking, but perform immune functions: "crawling" through tissues and "editing" the neuronal network - "eating" everything suspicious, destroying unnecessary, underused contacts. How to explain the fact that neuronal connections are non-random and spread over long distances? How does the glia cell unmistakably make its way to its target in the most complex three-dimensional structure of the brain, among billions of neurons? Why does it know precisely which area of tissue needs to be removed, and performs its work with the utmost care so as not to disrupt brain function? From my point of view, the answer is also in the non-trivial quantum effects, qubits. They recognize molecules and cells and guide them along strictly marked routes, to their intended targets," explains Aleksey Melkikh.

This is the indispensable role of qubits in the "ignition system" of the innate programs that condition thinking and behavior. Thus, mathematics represents operations that are both realized thanks to different organization of qubits as physical structures and reflect their interactions. This can be said not only about geometry, but also about all sections of mathematics, including higher mathematics. At the same time, according to Aleksey Melkikh, the brain uses them in coded form at the level of elementary mathematics, the "basics of fundamentals" - arithmetic.

It is easy to notice that, according to the ideas of Aleksey Melkikh, the brain is similar to a computer in its structure and properties: it also has a limited memory capacity, encodes information and receives ready-made data. Therefore, neither man nor computer can establish and operate with infinitely large or small numbers, "sets of sets". At the same time, according to the scientist, it is possible that the similarity of the brain and computer will facilitate the task of combining their forms and capabilities in the framework of further development of directed evolution.

"Perhaps what seems to be the result of free choice today is in reality the consequence of the hidden workings of algorithms. Knowing that you are being controlled by your own brain is not so pleasant. The idea that thinking is realized through qubits, non-trivial quantum effects, is reassuring. After all, the cornerstone of quantum mechanics is probability, and all algorithms based on quantum particles are probabilistic. If we assume that probability serves to provide free will and choice, this solves the problem," admits Aleksey Melkikh.