Physics of Consciousness

The Physics of Consciousness by the recently deceased Evan Harris Walker is one of the best books on the topic you'll ever read. Its pages are filled with an interwoven tapestry of multiple story lines that delve into the deepest questions of human existence. Plagued by the death of a girlfriend the author had in adolescence, he spends the rest of his life searching for meaning. What is the soul? How does the soul relate to the brain, and where does it go when we die? 

Emotional and vivid descriptions of the authors life with his girlfriend, spent so long-ago, are seamlessly integrated with a history of the science of physics and how discoveries made during the past 100 years are beginning to shed light on the world of conscious experience. These are in turn woven together with discussions of the mind which are at times haunting and always riveting. 

In the last part of the book, the author jumps into his own theories about how quantum mechanics explains or at least is involved with the brain to produce conscious thought. These theories are tentative and a bit of guesswork, but Harris has to be applauded for trying. Most scientists simply ignore the questions.

I was saddened to learn that last year Dr. Walker himself had passed away. Having spent his life tormented by the question of where the soul of his beautiful Marilyn had really gone after she died so long ago of leukemia, he may now have the answers. For those of us left behind, the Physics of Consciousness is an excellent, thought-provoking read that may someday help us find the answers.