Quantum theory and human perception of the macro-world

Microtubules as a potential platform for energy transfer in biological systems: a target for implementing individualized, dynamic variability patterns to improve organ function

Variability characterizes the complexity of biological systems and is essential for their function. Microtubules (MTs) play a role in structural integrity, cell motility, material transport, and force generation during mitosis, and dynamic instability exemplifies the variability in the proper function of MTs. MTs are a platform for energy transfer in cells. The dynamic instability of MTs manifests itself by the coexistence of growth and shortening, or polymerization and depolymerization. It results from a balance between attractive and repulsive forces between tubulin dimers. The paper reviews the current data on MTs and their potential roles as energy-transfer cellular structures and presents how variability can improve the function of biological systems in an individualized manner. The paper presents the option for targeting MTs to trigger dynamic improvement in cell plasticity, regulate energy transfer, and possibly control quantum effects in biological systems. The described system quantifies MT-dependent variability patterns combined with additional personalized signatures to improve organ function in a subject-tailored manner. The platform can regulate the use of MT-targeting drugs to improve the response to chronic therapies. Ongoing trials test the effects of this platform on various disorders.

Physical Time Within Human Time

A possible solution is offered to help resolve the "two times problem" regarding the veridical and illusory nature of time. First it is recognized that the flow (passage) of time is part of a wider array of temporal experiences referred to as manifest time, all of which need to be reconciled. Then, an information gathering and utilizing system (IGUS) model is used as a basis for a view of manifest time. The model IGUS robot of Hartle that solves the "unique present" debate is enhanced with veridical and (corresponding) illusory components of not only the flow of time but also the larger entity of manifest time, providing a dualistic IGUS robot that represents all of the important temporal experiences. Based upon a variety of prior experiments, that view suggests that the veridical system is a reflection of accepted spacetime cosmologies and through natural selection begets the illusory system for functional purposes. Thus, there are not two opposing times, one outside and one inside the cranium. There is just one fundamental physical time which the brain developed, now possesses and is itself sufficient for adaption but then enhances. The illusory system is intended to provide a more satisfying experience of physical time, and better adaptive behavior. Future experiments to verify that view are provided. With a complete veridical system of temporal experiences there may be less need to reify certain temporal experiences so that the two times problem is less of a problem and more of a phenomenon.

Quantum Phase Stability in Human Cognition

Quantum approach to human cognition and behavior suffers from a so-called phase problem—lack of means to determine the phase parameter of quantum models before the experiment, which deprives them of predictive power and most of their potential practical impact. We report an empirically supported hypothesis which can help to resolve the issue. According to the hypothesis, the quantum phase between unresolved cognitive alternatives in a family of similar decision making situations is nearly constant across national, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds of subjects. If confirmed, the quantum phase stability phenomenon supplements the quantum model of decision making endowing it with predictive power. This possibility is demonstrated in the testing experiment where irrational behavior within previously unexplored social group could be probabilistically predicted with high accuracy.

Process mining with real world financial loan applications: Improving inference on incomplete event logs

In this work, we analyse and model a real life financial loan application belonging to a sample bank in the Netherlands. The event log is robust in terms of data, containing a total of 262 200 event logs, belonging to 13 087 different credit applications. The goal is to work out a decision model, which represents the underlying tasks that make up the loan application service. To this end we study the impact of incomplete event logs (for instance workers forget to register their tasks). The absence of data is translated into a drastic decrease of precision and compromises the decision models, leading to biased and unrepresentative results. We use non-classical probability to show we can better reduce the error percentage of inferences as opposed to classical probability.

Relativity Theory Refounded

We put forward a new view of relativity theory that makes the existence of a flow of time compatible with the four-dimensional block universe. To this end, we apply the creation-discovery view elaborated for quantum mechanics to relativity theory and in such a way that time and space become creations instead of discoveries and an underlying non temporal and non spatial reality comes into existence. We study the nature of this underlying non temporal and non spatial reality and reinterpret many aspects of the theory within this new view. We show that data of relativistic measurements are sufficient to derive the three-dimensionality of physical space. The nature of light and massive entities is reconsidered, and an analogy with human cognition is worked out.

Spin and Wind Directions II: A Bell State Quantum Model

In the first half of this two-part article (Aerts et al. in Found Sci. doi:10.1007/s10699-017-9528-9, 2017b), we analyzed a cognitive psychology experiment where participants were asked to select pairs of directions that they considered to be the best example of Two Different Wind Directions, and showed that the data violate the CHSH version of Bell's inequality, with same magnitude as in typical Bell-test experiments in physics. In this second part, we complete our analysis by presenting a symmetrized version of the experiment, still violating the CHSH inequality but now also obeying the marginal law, for which we provide a full quantum modeling in Hilbert space, using a singlet state and suitably chosen product measurements. We also address some of the criticisms that have been recently directed at experiments of this kind, according to which they would not highlight the presence of genuine forms of entanglement. We explain that these criticisms are based on a view of entanglement that is too restrictive, thus unable to capture all possible ways physical and conceptual entities can connect and form systems behaving as a whole. We also provide an example of a mechanical model showing that the violations of the marginal law and Bell inequalities are generally to be associated with different mechanisms.