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BRAD BUHR (3)
Hameroff is best known for serving as a kind of gadfly
in the fields of neuroscience and philosophy. He emerged in
1994 from the windowless bowels of the Arizona hospital
where he still works as an anesthesiologist to put forward
what seemed — at the time — some of the more outlandish
ideas about the human brain.
Most neuroscientists say thoughts are born from brain
cells called neurons. Hameroff suggests the most mean-
ingful action happens at the impossibly small quantum
level, where subatomic particles like photons and electrons
exhibit bizarre behavior. Quantum physics drives
consciousness, he believes.
If Hameroff proposed these ideas him-
self, he might have been ignored, but his
co-theorist was Sir Roger Penrose, an
esteemed figure in mathematical phys-
ics. Their theory, dubbed “orchestrated
objective reduction,” or Orch-OR,
suggests that structures called micro-
tubules, which transport material inside
cells, underlie our conscious thinking.
But the Penrose-Hameroff model of
what you’d call quantum consciousness
was a scientific non-starter. Leading experts
dismissed the new model outright. Quantum effects, the
criticism went, are notoriously difficult to maintain in
the lab, requiring ultracold temperatures and shielding to
protect against even the mildest interference. Critics said
living things are simply too “warm, wet and noisy” to
allow significant quantum effects to persist. What’s more,
neuroscientists argued, the Penrose-Hameroff model
offered no testable hypotheses.
The pair disagreed unequivocally, churning out more
papers over the years. But while Penrose’s reputation is too
towering to destroy, Hameroff seemed to find his firmest
footing through pop culture. He embraced support from
STUART HAMEROFF is an impish figure
— short, round, with gray hair and a broad,
gnomic face. His voice is smoke — deep and
granular, rumbling with the weight of his
70 years. For more than two decades, he’s run a
scientific conference on consciousness research.
He turns up each day in rumpled jeans and short-
sleeved shirts. The effect is casual bordering on
slovenly. But up close, he is in charge, and to his
critics, he comes off as pugnacious.
He may not care so much about how he’s
dressed. He cares a great deal about how he and
his theories are addressed.
Deepak Chopra, an author and New Age
guru of quantum consciousness theories.
He was also featured in What the Bleep Do
We Know?, a film that angered scientists
for pushing a quantum mysticism that
underlies our nuts-and-bolts existence.
Along the way in 2006, Hameroff gave
a talk that encapsulated his relationship
with the scientific community. At a con-
ference called “Beyond Belief ” that was
packed with leading luminaries from
many disciplines, he presented his
theories on everything from
consciousness to a quantum
mechanics-based “spiritual-
ity.” At the end, prominent
physicist Lawrence Krauss
spoke from his seat in the
audience. “From a phys-
ics perspective,” he said,
“everything you said is
nonsense.”
Many regard Hameroff as
nonsensical, a creature from a Lewis
Carroll story calling out from under a
toadstool that we’ve got it all wrong, that
some kind of quantum magic undergirds
our brain function.
But just four years later, a shift was
underway. In 2010, Hameroff was invited
to speak at a less public meeting, at
Google’s campus in Mountain View,
California. His presentation suggested he
might have a firmer view of reality than
some may have thought.
Hameroff and several other scientists
Quantum physics
might be vital to
our awareness,
cognition and
even memory.
