> Premise 2: No Quantum Shenanigans
> ...
> the mind arises out of ordinary physics. Some people like Roger Penrose would take issue with this argument, believing that there is extra stuff happening in the brain at a quantum level.
And some other people would take issue with the idea that you can talk about a simple physics that excludes quantum physics.
> But for most of us, this is an easy premise to accept.
I'm out.
You'll certainly need chemistry to model the brain; you'll very likely need solid state physics; everything points towards you needing some very low level molecular dynamics.
What you can't use is high temperature long term coherence. Mostly because quantum physics all but forbids it.
Since neurons are relatively large and dense, I expect a classical approximation wouldn't show any observable difference in behavior. Unless a deviation is shown, I don't think it is necessary to postulate things like Roger Penrose's quantum-gravity "explanation" of consciousness.
At some point we may find some phenomena for learning that involves some quantum event, but I doubt we have ever to simulate them at the quantum level.