In this highly interesting monograph, a brief account of Finkelstein's approach to quantum theory and some of its ramifications is given. Specifically, his suggestion that some sort of quantum-set-like structure should underlie our macroscopic perception of spacetime is developed to the point where a fair slice of fundamental physics (for a massless world) may be formally derived in an elementary fashion from the ground up. In detail, a model of what Finkelstein has dubbed a “quantum net”, in conjunction with a carefully and extensively articulated correspondence principle, gives rise to the standard Lagrangians for: massless Dirac fermions, general relativity, and Yang-Mills fields for the gauge groups, U(1) x SU(2), and SU(3). These Lagrangians emerge replete with (Feynman) gauge-fixing terms and ghost fields, and a chiral breaking mechanism in the case of SU(2). The results are interpreted in the light of the Standard Model.

In this expanded edition of Quanta, Logic and Spacetime, the logical base is greatly broadened and quantum-computational aspects of the approach are brought to the fore. The first two parts of this edition may indeed be regarded as providing a self-contained and logic-based foundation for ? and an introduction to ? the enterprise known as quantum computing.The rest of the work takes on the task (as in the first edition) of computing from first principles certain dynamical expressions which turn out to compare favorably with the Lagrangian densities of the (massless) Standard Model, including gravity. The logic of this process is now subject to greater formal rigor than was possible in the first edition, and the central thesis ? that quantum physics at a fundamental level may itself be realized as a species of quantum computation ? is strongly underscored.

Do brains compute? If they do, what do they compute and how do they do it? The first part of the book introduces the development of a model that simulates actual biological neurons more closely than do current standard models of neural networks, as well as the deduction of its physics-like and computational properties from first principles. The second part presents a collection of applications of the model to memory formation and loss, a general syntax for memory retrieval, language itself, and certain forms of aphasia. A linear development of the discussion with proofs in situ is employed by the author, making the book essentially self-contained. A pair of helpful appendices are provided to acquaint the reader with necessary fundamentals of topics in logic and mathematics. Quantum-like Networks: An Approach to Neural Behavior through their Mathematics and Logic will show you an entirely new approach to an ancient subject.

Original, well-written work of interest Presents for the first time (physical) field theories written in sheaf-theoretic language Contains a wealth of minutely detailed, rigorous computations, ususally absent from standard physical treatments Author's mastery of the subject and the rigorous treatment of this text make it invaluable