>[!abstract] >The quantum mind or quantum consciousness is a group of hypotheses proposing that local physical laws and interactions from classical mechanics or connections between neurons alone cannot explain consciousness, positing instead that quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition that cause nonlocalized quantum effects, interacting in smaller features of the brain than cells, may play an important part in the brain's function and could explain critical aspects of consciousness. These scientific hypotheses are as yet unvalidated, and they can overlap with quantum mysticism (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Philosophy of mind]] (the study of consciousness, mental states, and their relation to the physical world) >- **West** (similar): [[Quantum biology]] (investigating quantum effects in biological systems such as photosynthesis, avian navigation, and olfaction) >- **East** (different): [[Classical neuroscience]] (the mainstream view that brain processes can be fully explained by classical physics, biochemistry, and neural networks) >- **South** (downstream): [[Orch-OR theory]] (Penrose–Hameroff’s specific proposal that quantum processes in microtubules contribute to consciousness)