RE: Consciousness causes higher entropy compared to unconscious states in the human brain
January 31, 2018 at 9:36 am
(January 31, 2018 at 9:14 am)polymath257 Wrote: Several different points here.
1. Entropy provides an arrow for time, and all chemical reactions in the brain obey the second law of thermodynamics (the one involving entropy), so there is a sense in which entropy drives the brain (as it does everything else).
2. Yes, an active brain will have more complexity, and thereby more entropy than a passive brain. This doesn't mean entropy is the most relevant variable.
3. There have been studies that show that doing *less* work is more the key to intelligence than doing more. A schizophrenic's brain would likely have very high entropy, but that doens't make it a good thing.
Conclusion: to the extent this isn't obvious, it is irrelevant.
Granted, I'm not sure I entirely grasp what is being said in the study cited in the OP, Poly, but I think that the study concerns consciousness alone and not intelligence. So I don't see how #3 fits into it.
