Because it is central to interpretations of quantum
mechanics, the physics literature abounds with philosophical and theoretical discussions about the QMP,
including speculations about the role of consciousness.
One might expect to find a correspondingly robust
experimental literature testing these ideas, but it is not
so, and the reason is not surprising: The notion that
consciousness may be related to the formation of physical
reality has come to be associated more with medieval
magic and so-called New Age ideas than it is with sober
science. As a result, it is safer for one’s scientific career to
avoid associating with such dubious topics and subse-
quently rare to find experiments examining these ideas in
the physics literature. Indeed, the taboo is so robust that
until recently it had extended to any test of the
foundations of quantum theory. For more than 50 years
such studies were considered unsuitable for serious
investigators.
As a scientist, I think it is important for science to study these matters seriously, and not to dismiss out of hand any hypothesis that deviates from atheistic materialism.
As I am rusty on exactly how these experiments work (if I ever understood), I can't critique their methods. Taking them at their words, their results prove their hypothesis.
In sum, the results of the present experiments appear
to be consistent with a consciousness-related interpreta-
tion of the QMP. Given the ontological and epistemo-
logical challenges presented by such an interpretation,
more research will be required to confirm, systematically
replicate, and extend these findings.
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