An Interview with Joseph Strout   Joseph Strout is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. He is also working with Greg Maguire, studying displaced retinal ganglion cells (a particular subpopulation of neurons in the retina). Computer programming has been his primary hobby and occasional occupation. In addition to the Applesoft programs (see homepages), he has written various utilities for VMS, DOS, and Macintosh. Spiritech UK: It seems that a bridge is required between classical and quantum contexts/levels. I am myself interested in David Bohm's "implicate order" theory as the basis for providing this bridge... have you any view on this? JS: Sorry, I am not familiar with Bohm's work. However, I don't see the need for a bridge between classical and quantum levels; there is no evidence whatsoever that quantum mechanics in any way influences the working of the brain. Indeed, there are many theoretical reasons to believe that it could not. Roger Penrose wishes to find God in the brain, and really should have stuck to mathematics.   Spiritech UK: Has your research in neuroscience told you anything about the holographic nature of reality? what is your own understanding of the nature of reality? JS: I am unable to find much meaning in this question. I believe that theoretical physicists are on the right track, and would be far better qualified to comment on fundamental laws of physics than I am.   Spiritech UK: Are you at all involved in issues of strong vs weak AI etc? what is your perspective on the eventuality of strong AI? JS: By "strong" AI, I presume you mean that an artificial computer could be conscious and aware in the same way that we are. I think this is certainly true. However, I also think that this is far more difficult than most people believe, as has been demonstrated again and again -- human-level intelligence has been "just around the corner" since computers were first invented. This is because many AI researchers (especially in the early days) lacked an appreciation of the extraordinary complexity and power of a biological brain.   Spiritech UK: As a scientist, what is your own spiritual orientation, ie sceptic, agnostic, believer etc? JS: Sceptic. But it's really more complicated than that: I divide religion into two parts, spirituality and mythology (or mysticism). I believe spirituality is important, but mythology and mysticism merely hide truth.   Spiritech UK: I have seen it said that we are on the verge of discovering that consciousnes resides not in the brain, but in a energetic field(s) surrounding the body...have you any view on such a claim? JS: Such claims are almost certainly total bunk. Consciousness clearly resides in the brain. If you damage the brain, you affect consciousness. If you damage your left foot, you do not affect consciousness. Effects of conscious thought can even be imaged directly in the brain, as for example when you imagine a picture, and the image is read from your visual cortex with an fMRI scanner. There is absolutely no reason to believe that consciousness does not equate with brain activity.