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A fun speculation about similar things is found in the Neal Stephenson novel "Anathem," where consciousness is a manifestation of the many-worlds interpretation of QM.

The notion in the novel is that most "forks" are imperceptible, but forks in a brain result in outsized impacts on the physical world due to the tight interconnectivity of its neurons / circuitry (i.e. the normally minuscule difference in electron spin could cause an entirely different neural pathway to be followed, resulting in the conscious entity taking different actions and thus greatly impacting the world in tangible ways). It is the susceptibility to this cascading effect that somehow results in "consciousness."

It's probably baloney, but it's a fun read with some interesting things to consider :)




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