General

Reading using the "Cheshire cat smile" method. team goal

An experimental method of reading in a foreign language, as a result of which:

• increase reading speed;
• intuitive knowledge of common grammatical constructions will appear;
• vocabulary will increase.

This method not way to learn a language! Language level suggests any, but it seems to me that it is most interesting for beginners and for those for whom reading "in the original" is not yet a feasible task. Any language.

On one of the forums (nickname) she shared the preserved instructions, and it became interesting for us to follow them.

To get started you will need:

1. choose the book you very much want to read in the target language.
2. two paper copies of the selected book: 1) in the target language; 2) in your native language (or in a language in which you have a sufficient level and an irresistible desire to read in this particular language). Library copies of books will not work. It will be necessary to "vandalnichat" in the text.
3. a set of multi-colored pens (except black), highlighters.

Then:

1. "Weigh the book in your hand, look at the table of contents and decide for yourself if the book was in Russian would you be able to easily read a chapter or just 10 pages? No need for enthusiasm. There is nothing better to kill your motivation than to over-commit yourself.
   Choose a standard for yourself that is easy to meet and ... overfulfill, if you suddenly find inspiration. Feeling like a leader is more useful than a loser, even if objectively the leader did less than the loser who lost to himself. The leader will continue to move forward, and the one who gave Olympic commitments will go the distance ... ". The selected amount of text is yours daily allowance, for convenience, hereinafter referred to as " head ".
2. "divide the total number of pages by the norm - this is the number of weeks after which the book will be read."
3. Follow the instructions posted as posts. For convenience, you can use the sorting of records on the right by stages.
4. Share your feedback, impressions, difficulties and joys in posts with the indicated day that you passed today.

Goal Accomplishment Criteria

reading method mastered within 8 weeks

1. Week 1

   Day 1.

   Chapter 1. We take not black pen and turn all the dots into vertical lines. Those. text from a long array of characters turned into a set of segments. If you missed points somewhere (and you will definitely miss it), then do not scold yourself, in next days deliver dashes. Screenshot example.

   At the same time, pay attention to how direct speech stands out in the target language.

   Look at the text. The text has ceased to be a continuous avalanche, it has become like small rice fields in Japan - you can consider each section separately.

   Day 2

   Chapter 1. unions

   "a, and, or, but".

   We find out = ask Google, look in the grammar guide, ask on the forum - any way is good. Circle these conjunctions in Chapter 1.

   Day 3

   Chapter 1. Finding out how to write in the target language question words:

   who, what, which, how.

   Day 4

   Chapter 1. Finding out how to write in the target language question words:

   when, where, how much, why.

   In chapter 1, circle these question words.

   Day 5

   Chapter 1.

   Finish Days 1-4. People with enthusiasm that has not yet died down - write out other unions from reference books on a piece of paper.

   Day 6. Rest

   Day 7. Rest

   For atheists - in chapter 2

   
   

2. 2 weeks

   Are looking for characters.

   Day 1.

   We write a list of pronouns (in the nominative case, i.e. I/we, he/she/it/they, you/you/you) in the target language.

   AT chapter 2 with a pink marker we mark the pronouns from the list.

   Day 2

   In the text chapter 2 on the famous Own names.

   Day 3

   In the text of chapter 2 on target language, mark everything with a pink marker proper names.

   Day 4

   In the text chapter 2 on the famous language, we mark with a pink marker all nouns that describe people (man / woman, baby, bitch, etc.). In computer books - the main characters are searched - buttons, menus, cycles, etc.

   Day 5

   In the text chapter 2 on the target language, we look for and mark with a pink marker nouns that describe people. How are we looking for if we know the word - highlight. We look for the rest of the words like this: we look in the Russian text and the target text, if the word is repeated in the same position - we check it in the dictionary - we are NOT afraid to make mistakes. No mistakes - no learning. Or as the Japanese say, "Mistake is the mother of success."

   Day 6. Rest

   For atheists, chapter 3 put dashes instead of dots and circle conjunctions with question words.

   Day 7. Rest

   For atheists, chapter 3 mark the actors with a pink marker.

3. 3 Week

   Place. Where? Where? Where?
   Everything related to space.
   Right-left, top-bottom, middle, front-back.
   Here-there, here-there, here-there.
   Somewhere, somewhere, somewhere.

   Day 1. Think about what words about place, about space, can be used in the book you are reading. Look for pictures for word spaces for the target language. Divide Chapter 3 into sentences, while circling the unions that you remember.

   Day 2. Skim through chapter 3 in plain language Who are the main characters in it? What's the name of? Are there names of the area, shops, buildings? In the text of chapter 3 in target language in pink, highlight the names of the characters and the pronouns that replace them), in green, the names of places.

   Day 3. In the text of chapter 3 on the known language we mark with a pink marker nouns that describe people. And after each paragraph where there are pink marks, we try to find these words in the text in target language. It's okay that you won't find some words. It is possible that you still know little, but there is another option - the text was structurally changed during translation due to the peculiarities of the language. For example, one Russian word "old man" corresponds to a Japanese phrase of 3! words "years taking man".

   Day 4. In the text of chapter 3 in a known language we mark in green everything that, in our opinion, refers to the place: "in the pocket", "on the road", "100 steps from the garden fence", "on the mantelpiece", "on the right bank of the Thames" (although we also marked the Thames on Tuesday).

   Day 5 In the text of chapter 3 in target language, relying on our green marks in the text in a known language, we search and mark with a green marker everything that is where, from where and where. Do not be afraid of mistakes! It is better to guess incorrectly than to be numb in a state of "I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid."

   Day 6 Relaxation
   For perfectionists - we write out on a piece of paper (but NOT in a column !!!) all green phrases grouped by prepositions, i.e. by the first words of phrases in European languages.
   For each such group of words - visualize a picture - you can draw next to it on a piece of paper - what is there in common?

   Day 7 Relaxation
   For atheists - in chapter 1 and / or 2, mark with a green marker where, where and from where.

4. 4 Week

5. 5 week

   Week 5

   By the 5th chapter, any fiction book is already full of dialogues, the replicas of which, the author introduces different words: whispered, shouted, asked, said etc.
   These words will be the goal of this week. But be careful - do not confuse words and phrases. From the phrase "he said a little audibly" - you need to select only the word "said", only in some languages ​​there are words that are written with a space (in English they are called phrasal verbs), and there are languages ​​where prefixes can jump off the verb (as in German), then you will need to select the entire word along with a space or an escaped prefix.

   Marker - blue, select with a frame, since a solid selection will be needed on next weeks.

   Day 1. Write out on a sheet folded 4 times from chapter 5 in the reference language all verbs that introduce replicas, think about how they can be grouped taking into account the meaning.

   Day 2 Divide Chapter 5 (in both languages) into sentences, highlighting conjunctions and interrogative words. Have previously not come across unions been used?

   Day 3. In the text of chapter 5 (in both languages) highlight with a pink marker the names of the GG (main characters), pronouns (I-you-he-she, we-you-they), nouns that describe people. Have new characters emerged? Found new words to describe people? - If necessary, write down on a bookmark, on the side that corresponds to the 2nd week.

   Day 4. In the text of chapter 5 ( in both languages) use a green marker to highlight the place and time. Try to work at a pace, relying on what you already know, and highlight only what is easily found in both texts.

   Day 5. Chapter 5 in target language we look through all the dialogues and try to guess which words indicate the voicing of replicas. If the comparison is difficult - use the text in a known language, starting with those sentences of the author's speech where there are only 2 words - who and the verb. Do not be surprised that some of the remarks will not be accompanied by introductory words, and vice versa. Write down next to the words that you wrote on Monday the words you found out. It is possible that it is in the 5th chapter that there will not be a single dialogue, then look for dialogues in the first 4. Those who completed the task of the week write a short report in the topic about the most striking discoveries.

   Day 6 Relaxation Perfectionists finish the unfinished.

   Day 7. Rest
   Atheists look through the dialogues of all 5 chapters, trying to figure out maximum amount words that describe the process of speaking.

6. 6 Week

   Week 6

   For some languages, the week will be very difficult.

   Every language has a very important verb TO BE. Moreover, this verb is so important for languages ​​that almost all languages ​​(and maybe all) use this verb both for its intended purpose and as an auxiliary for the formation of complex tenses. The second important verb of the language is the verb HAVE.

   There are languages ​​where the verbs BE and HAVE have merged into BE-HAVE. For example, Japanese.
   There are languages ​​where there are several verbs to BE. For example, the same Japanese.

   Marker - blue solid.

   Day 1. Open the grammar and write out ALL forms of the verb BE that can be used immediately after the pronoun I / we, he / they, you / you, i.e. be predicable.

   An example for Russian is to be: was, was, were, will be.
   An example for English is be: am, is, are, was, were, will, shall, would.

   Similarly for the other verbs BE and the verb HAVE.

   An example for Russian is to have: I have, we have, has, have, you have, you have, had, had, had.
   An example for English is have: has, had.

   We beautifully write a small cheat sheet, which we will keep in front of our eyes while reading.

   Day 2. Chapter 6 (in both languages) divide into sentences, highlighting conjunctions and interrogative words. Has anything new come up? In the same chapter, with a pink marker, mark the names of the GG (main characters), pronouns (I-you-he-she, we-you-they), nouns that describe people.

   Day 3. In the text of chapter 6 ( in both languages) use a green marker to highlight the place and time. Try to work at a pace, relying on what you already know, and highlight only what is easily found in both texts. In the text for chapter 6, quickly circle the verbs of speaking.

   Day 4 Choose one verb that has the least different forms.
   In the text of chapter 6, highlight all forms of this verb with a blue marker. Mark with a marker on the cheat sheet all the forms that you come across in the text. If you have time, highlight this verb in previous chapters for as long as you need to peep into the cheat sheet.

   Day 5 Repeat the steps of the fourth day for the next verb.

   Day 6 If the verbs have not yet run out, continue to highlight the verbs with a cheat sheet.

   Day 7. If all the verbs are learned, then open the grammar of the language again and look for other auxiliary verbs of the language, what is their main meaning? In the report for the week, write your cheat sheet and what other auxiliary verbs are in the language. Perhaps it will take another week for someone to automatically recognize all forms of the verbs BE and HAVE.

7. 7 Week

   The nature of the activities for 7 weeks is very dependent on the target language. For English and German, this is again a technical week, and, for example, for Japanese, here is work for two weeks - technical (relatively simple) and semantic (oh, how many wonderful constructions are here).

   For any language, a grammar reference will be required in week 7. The technical goal is get acquainted with those verbs that always require another verb after themselves. In English and German, it so happens that these same verbs denote skill / permission / prohibition / duty, etc. and known by the terrible name "modal verbs". However, for example, in Russian the so-called "modality" is not expressed by verbs. For intimidation, you can open the "Modality" page on the "Russian Corpus Grammar" website. But there are other verbs that require a verb in dictionary form after them - go to bed, lie down to read, start flipping, continue to sleep, finish dinner, although they can also be used without the second verb.

   Minimum target of the week- find and circle with a blue marker "modal verbs" from the directory.

   Maximum target- train in the text to recognize pairs of verbs according to the dictionary form of the second verb.

The book is a series of research by the author, which began with sensory physiology and gradually moved into the field of neuroscience, linguistics, psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics and philosophy - now all this is called cognitive research and is an example of the convergent and transdisciplinary development of science. The initial hypothesis coincides with the title of one of the sections of the book - language as an interface between the brain, consciousness and the world, and this reflects the position of the author and his view of evolution and nature verbal language and other higher functions, their phylo- and ontogeny, on genetic and cross-cultural aspects of the development of consciousness and language and their brain correlates, on the possibility of interspecies communication and modeling of human cognitive processes.

In a review of the book by T.V. Chernigovskaya, published in the Psychological Journal by Yu.I. Alexandrov, E.A. Sergienko write: “The title of the monograph by T.V. Chernigovskaya "The Cheshire Smile of Schrödinger's Cat: Language and Consciousness" intrigues, evokes mixed feelings and sets you up for riddles, but the riddles of science. The goal of science is the solution of riddles. Let us immediately explain the meaning of the title, which becomes the core for the entire book. E. Schrödinger, one of the founders of quantum physics, Nobel Prize winner, explained the possibility of transferring the uncertainty principle from the micro level to the macro level, using the well-known "Schrödinger's cat paradox". The cat is in a sealed box with a container of poisonous gas that can be released when the radioactive core decomposes. The probability of decomposition of the core is 50%. According to quantum physics, if the nucleus is not observed, then both of its states are possible: decayed or non-decayed, and, consequently, two states of the cat - alive or dead. The principle of uncertainty in living complex systems is only growing. Thus, the author metaphorically sets the degree of uncertainty and ambiguity in modern science about man, his evolution, ontogenetic development. The Cheshire smile of Schrödinger's cat deepens the metaphor of modern knowledge on the key issue - consciousness. It is a smile that gives hope for understanding a person and his world that is so characteristic of a conscious person, for communications between people and cultures. /…/ The formulation of a problem is an essential step towards its solution. Tatyana Vladimirovna's book is full of similar problems-questions. Their discussion opens up new ways of experimental and theoretical developments, and at the same time shows the dead end of some existing approaches, including those belonging to the mainstream. The author asks questions about what is consciousness, the subjective world, language, what is the relationship between them and what is the role of brain and genetic laws in their evolutionary dynamics? How to study them? A brain-computer that sorts through "ones and zeros"? Why/why are the languages ​​so different? What kind of language is music? Is it true that the universal language is mathematics? And this is only a small part of the questions asked and the problems discussed. /…/ The author uses a multidisciplinary approach, touches on many problem fields, realizing that it is impossible to build a holistic scientific picture of reality, remaining within the narrow framework of a specific problem field, a specific "textbook" discipline. Namely, such a picture, obviously, is the goal of the author.

In the year of the publication of the third edition of the book by T.V. Chernigovskaya "Cheshire smile of Schrödinger's cat: language and consciousness" the author's ideas received a new sound.

On August 7-8, 2017 in Delhi, a group of famous Russian scientists met with the Dalai Lama for the first time to discuss the problems of the nature of consciousness within the framework of the Fundamental Knowledge: Dialogue between Russian and Buddhist Scientists program. The meeting was organized by the Center for Tibetan Culture and Information and the Save Tibet Foundation with the support of the Moscow Center for the Study of Consciousness at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Moscow state university them. M.V. Lomonosov.

During the meeting with the Dalai Lama T.V. Chernigovskaya presented a report "Cheshire smile of Schrödinger's cat: language and consciousness"

On October 31, 2017, a meeting was held at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during which Russian scientists discussed the results of the first meeting with the Dalai Lama. In work round table major Russian specialists in psychology, philosophy and brain research.

During the meeting, scientists reported that it was approved to conduct scientific experiment to test the truth of the doctrine of past lives and the transference of consciousness.

T.V. told about her impressions of the meeting. Chernigovskaya: “The brain is a physical thing (I would say, in part), but, let's say, a physical thing. It obeys the laws of physics, if so, what kind of physics? What are you starting to think about: if this is quantum physics, then it is not clear what to do with causality, it is not clear what to do with time and beyond whole list. Buddhist tradition has been doing this for several millennia, we must not forget. When I watched conversations with Western scientists (neurophysiologists, philosophers, quantum physicists, biologists), I was amused by this note, with which scientists mainly spoke - they came as teachers in Kindergarten: “You sit down, we will now explain to you how the world works, you have fairy tales here, and we are scientists ...” I swear - I came to study. These are things that have been worked out so well - problems that have only now begun to come out in our country, they have been dealing with it for so long ..., century after century. Who is going to teach whom? We should have questions."

The book is a series of research by the author, which began with sensory physiology and gradually moved into the field of neuroscience, linguistics, psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics and philosophy - all this is now called cognitive research and is an example of the convergent and transdisciplinary development of science. The initial hypothesis coincides with the title of one of the sections of the book - language as an interface between the brain, consciousness and the world, and this reflects the position of the author and his view on the evolution and nature of verbal language and other higher functions, their phylo- and ontogenesis, on genetic and cross- cultural aspects of the development of consciousness and language and their brain correlates, on the possibility of interspecies communication and modeling of human cognitive processes. The book is intended for the intellectual reader interested in the nature of man and his place in the world.

Tatiana Chernigovskaya - Russian biologist, linguist, semiotician and psychologist. At the same time Doctor of Biological Sciences and Doctor of Philology, Professor of St. Petersburg State University. He specializes in neuroscience and psycholinguistics, as well as the theory of consciousness. Deputy director of the NBIK Center of the Kurchatov Institute, teaches courses "Psycholinguistics", "Neurolinguistics", "Cognitive processes and the brain".

The book includes articles from the field of humanities and natural sciences, which the author has been dealing with for almost forty years. Chernigovskaya notes that during this time science has changed, now cognitive research combines linguistics, neurophysiology, psychology, and the problems of artificial intelligence. However, the author gives articles in their original version, which allows the reader to trace the evolution of the interests and views of the scientist. The author comments on the sections of the book, based on the experience of today.

“Language, reason, consciousness, and the brain that generates them are the most complex systems known to us. How can we study them “from the inside”? Even Gödel advised not to do this ... Let me remind you of his famous theorem: the logical completeness (or incompleteness) of any system of axioms cannot be proven within this system; in other words, the method of deductive inference is not powerful enough to describe complex systems, let alone one as super complex as the human brain.

Approaching the study of such systems with the greatest possible accuracy and tension of thought, we see that they flicker, transform, deceive and almost disappear, leaving only a smile (I would like to know whose ...). As Manin rightly emphasizes, Gödel also made a serious contribution to the humanities: the "principles of prohibition" apply only to the deterministic processes of reasoning familiar to us from the macrocosm, while after the work of Bohr and Schrödinger we know that there are other spaces where other laws operate. The work of the brain in this case can take place outside Godel's prohibitions.

Thinking about this and analyzing the rapidly growing mountains of empirical evidence at times raises questions that physicists have somehow been able to adapt to since the days of Schrödinger and his cat: can we even see the real state of affairs, or does the fact of an invasion choose a certain option, and we look under another angle, on another day or hour, or through the eyes of other people or other neighbors on the planet - the picture will change ... What to do with causality and free will against the background of emerging functional brain mapping data and other fixations of unconscious behavior? And in general, does a complex brain give rise to consciousness and semiotic systems of a high rank, or, on the contrary, do they form it by implementing an epigenetic scenario? What is language, after all (without dwelling on the obvious textbook answer that language is a system of signs)? Did it emerge as a means of communication or as an instrument of thought? How does the brain cope with it, given that in human language, unlike computer ones, 1 ≠ 1 and everything is determined by the context?

Not only language, but the world itself is always different and, as is known from the foundations of semiotics, depends on the interpreter (the reader is a co-author, Tsvetaeva noted), which puts us in an almost agnostic position: can we even learn something about it, can we Can we trust our brains and their languages, from mathematics to art, including, of course, verbal language? Why should we assume that mathematics is universal and objective? Recent times they even talk not only about the language “instinct” (that is, innateness), but about the “instincts” of mathematics and music ... Maybe Homo sapiens just have a head that is arranged like that, but we don’t know what mathematics the Universe actually obeys (heretical thought , but not absurd: we have no other candidate for an algorithm for controlling the Universe since the time of Galileo - the Book of Nature is written in the language of mathematics). However, why would evolution need to consolidate in the genome the ability for mathematics that does not reflect the laws of Nature?.. Let us recall Poincaré:

... that harmony that the human mind believes to discover in nature, does it exist outside the human mind ... due to natural selection, our mind has adapted to the conditions outside world, mastered the geometry that is most advantageous for the view or, in other words, the most convenient[Poincare 1990].

The question of how Plato's World relates to the physical picture of the world remains the most important and extremely complex in modern cognitive science: many scientists again and again return to the discussion of whether it is necessary to turn to understanding the processes of thinking, perception, memory, and finally, causality itself to the laws quantum world(in contrast to the traditional view, according to which these laws are not applicable to the macrocosm) (see, for example,).

It is clear that for man and other inhabitants of the planet simplest way to grasp reality and somehow organize it for internal use is to operate with sets formed by different types creatures according to the laws of their world and brain. Ikskyul wrote about this, emphasizing that all beings live in their own worlds - Umwelt. This was clearly formulated by Nietzsche (“We have arranged for ourselves a world in which we can live — having prefaced it with bodies, lines, surfaces, causes and effects, movement and rest, form and content: without the dogmas of faith in this, no one could live even a moment! But in this way these dogmas are by no means proved yet. Life is not an argument at all; among the conditions of life there could be error") and Kant ("Reason does not draw its laws a priori from nature, but prescribes them to her").

A person is constantly faced with vague and ambiguous information. However, he must make decisions by decoding it in a way that is relevant to the situation. Such uncertainty concerns all modalities of perception; it is not for nothing that the idea of ​​fuzzy sets has long conquered the space for describing these phenomena (fuzzy sets - Zadeh). This is especially evident in the example of verbal language. The smile of the Cheshire Cat serves as a good metaphor for this: meanings are conventionally attributed to words, they may disappear, change, or for the time being not have suitable designations at all. Such uncertainty and even fluctuation of names is quite close to both Carroll and the creators of quantum theory.

Chernigovskaya T. V. Cheshire smile of Schrödinger's cat: language and consciousness. - M .: Languages ​​of Slavic culture, 2013. - 448 p. - (Reasonable behavior and l - language. Language and Reasoning).

The book is a series of research by the author, which began with sensory physiology and gradually moved into the field of neuroscience, linguistics, psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics and philosophy - all this is now called cognitive research and is an example of the convergent and transdisciplinary development of science. The initial hypothesis coincides with the title of one of the sections of the book - language as an interface between the brain, consciousness and the world, and this reflects the position of the author and his view on the evolution and nature of verbal language and other higher functions, their phylo- and ontogenesis, on genetic and cross- cultural aspects of the development of consciousness and language and their brain correlates, on the possibility of interspecies communication and modeling of human cognitive processes. The book is intended for the intellectual reader interested in the nature of man and his place in the world. This series of author's research aims to shed more light on the biological foundations of human cognitive abilities - primarily on language and mind. Starting from sensory physiology it gradually moved to neuroscience, linguistics, psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics and philosophy - all these currently forming cognitive studies and represent convergent trans-disciplinary trend in modern science. The main idea of ​​the book concurs with one of the chapter "s title - language is an interface between brain, mind and the world. It depicts the author's position and understanding of language evolution and development, it's phylo– and ontogeny, genetic and cross-cultural basis of mind and language and their brain correlates. Accordingly, is also discusses possible cross-species communication and modeling human cognition. The book will appeal to scholars and students and to intellectual readers interested in the specificity of humans and their position in the world.

On our website you can download the book "The Cheshire Smile of Schrödinger's Cat: Language and Consciousness" by T. V. Chernigovskaya for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.

The book is a series of research by the author, which began with sensory physiology and gradually moved into the field of neuroscience, linguistics, psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics and philosophy - all this is now called cognitive research and is an example of the convergent and transdisciplinary development of science. The initial hypothesis coincides with the title of one of the sections of the book - language as an interface between the brain, consciousness and the world, and this reflects the position of the author and his view on the evolution and nature of verbal language and other higher functions, their phylo- and ontogenesis, on genetic and cross- cultural aspects of the development of consciousness and language and their brain correlates, on the possibility of interspecies communication and modeling of human cognitive processes.

The book is intended for the intellectual reader interested in the nature of man and his place in the world.

book characteristics

Date of writing: 2013
Name: Cheshire smile of Schrödinger's cat: language and consciousness

Volume: 449 pages
ISBN: 978-5-9551-0677-9
Total number of pages: 449
Copyright holder: Languages Slavic Culture

Introduction to Schrödinger's Cheshire Cat Smile

I decided to call the book on language and consciousness Schrödinger's Cheshire Cat Smile because it seems to me that this formula most of all reflects the state of research on the best skills of Homo sapiens. The book ends with a smile of a cat - I came to this, making my way along the roads different sciences, starting with linguistics and sensory physiology and gradually moving into the field of neurosciences, psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics and philosophy; now all this is called cognitive research and is an example of convergent and transdisciplinary knowledge. The initial hypothesis - language as an interface between the brain, consciousness and the world - reflects my view on the evolution and nature of verbal language and other higher functions, their phylo- and ontogeny, on the genetic and cross-cultural aspects of the development of consciousness and language and their brain correlates , on the possibility of interspecies communication and the prospects for modeling human cognitive processes.

Let me remind you that the thought experiment of Erwin Schrödinger (one of the founders of quantum mechanics and Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933), which became known as the Schrödinger cat paradox, is that uncertainty at the atomic level can lead to uncertainty at the macroscopic scale (“ mixture" of a live and a dead cat). The "experiment" is as follows: a cat is placed in a closed box containing a radioactive core and a container with poisonous gas. If the core disintegrates (50% chance), the container will open and the cat will die. According to the laws of quantum mechanics, if no one is watching the nucleus, then its state is described by a mixture of two states - a decayed nucleus and an undecayed nucleus, therefore, the cat sitting in the box is both alive and dead at the same time. If the box is opened, then only one state can be seen: the core has disintegrated - the cat is dead, or the core has not disintegrated - the cat is alive. The question is when the system ceases to exist as a mixture of two states and one is chosen.

Schrödinger is known not only as a physicist: by the mid-1920s, he gained a reputation as one of the leading experts on color theory and the evolution of color vision, however, in subsequent years, he did not return to this topic, although interest in biology did not lost, trying to formulate a unified picture of the world, and in 1944 he wrote the book “What is life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell", the first few chapters of which are devoted to the mechanisms of heredity and mutations, including an analysis of the views of Timofeev-Resovsky.

Schrödinger prophetically states that a "moderately satisfactory" picture of the world has been achieved high price: due to the removal of us from it and our occupation of the position of an outside observer. The model of the world from which consciousness is removed is cold, colorless and mute. Color and sound, heat and cold (in other words, qualia) are our immediate sensations, our world is like that, and the model of the world without them is inadequate. Schrödinger, referring to the works of the famous physiologist Sherrington, emphasizes the futility of searching for a “place” where the mind acts on matter or vice versa, and states that the construction of a physical picture of the world is possible only at the cost of withdrawing consciousness from it.

Language, reason, consciousness, and the brain that gives rise to them are the most complex systems known to us. How to study them "from the inside"? Even Godel advised not to do this... Let me remind you of his famous theorem: the logical completeness (or incompleteness) of any system of axioms cannot be proved within the framework of this system; in other words, the method of deductive inference is not powerful enough to describe complex systems, let alone one as super complex as the human brain.

Approaching the study of such systems with the greatest possible accuracy and tension of thought, we see that they flicker, transform, deceive and almost disappear, leaving only a smile (I would like to know whose.). As Manin rightly emphasizes, Gödel also made a serious contribution to the humanities: the "principles of prohibition" refer only to the deterministic reasoning processes familiar to us from the macrocosm, while after the work of Bohr and Schrödinger we know that there are other spaces where other laws apply. The work of the brain in this case can take place outside Gödel's prohibitions.

Thinking about this and analyzing the rapidly growing mountains of empirical data at times raises questions that physicists have somehow been able to adapt to since the days of Schrödinger and his co-th: can we even see the real state of affairs or does the fact of invasion choose some option , and if we look from a different angle, on a different day or hour, or through the eyes of other people or other neighbors on the planet, the picture will change. What to do with causality and free will against the background of emerging functional brain mapping data and other fixations of unconscious behavior? And in general, does a complex brain give rise to consciousness and semiotic systems of a high rank, or, on the contrary, do they form it, realizing the epigenetic scenario? What is language, after all (without dwelling on the obvious textbook answer that language is a system of signs)? Did it emerge as a means of communication or as an instrument of thought? How does the brain cope with it, given that in human language, unlike computer languages, 1 F 1 and everything is determined by the context?

Not only language, but the world itself is always different and depends, as is known from the foundations of semiotics, on the interpreter (the reader is a co-author, Tsvetaeva noted), which puts us almost in an agnostic position: can we even learn about it something, can we trust our brain and its languages ​​- from mathematics to art, including, of course, verbal language? Why should we think that mathematics is universal and objective? Recently, they even talk not only about the language “instinct” (that is, innateness), but about the “instincts” of mathematics and music. Maybe Homo sapiens just have a head that is arranged like that, and we don’t know what mathematics the Universe actually obeys (a heretical thought, but not absurd: another candidate for the algorithm for controlling the Universe since the time of Galileo — the Book of Nature is written in the language of mathematics - we do not have). However, why would evolution need to fix in the genome the ability for mathematics that does not reflect the laws of Nature?.. Let us recall Poincaré:

... that harmony that the human mind believes to discover in nature, whether it exists outside the human mind ... due to natural selection, our mind has adapted to the conditions of the external world, has mastered the geometry that is most beneficial to the species, or, in other words, the most convenient [Puancare 1990].

The question of how Plato's World relates to the physical picture of the world remains the most important and extremely difficult in modern cognitive science: many scientists again and again return to the discussion of whether it is necessary to understand the processes of thinking, perception, memory and, finally, the causality itself to turn to the laws of the quantum world (as opposed to the traditional view, according to which these laws are inapplicable to the macrocosm)

Cheshire smile of Schrödinger's cat: language and consciousness — T. Chernigovskaya (download)

(trial version of the book)