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Plain English Summary
Can your mind cause quantum events to 'decide' what they are? This experiment tested one of physics' wildest ideas: that consciousness forces particles to settle into a definite state ('collapsing the wave-packet'). Thirty volunteer pairs either saw, or didn't see, a display triggered by radioactive decay. Then a second person heard a beep while their brain activity was recorded. In 3 of 10 comparisons, brain responses differed significantly depending on whether someone had already peeked -- and these differences appeared in early unconscious signals, before awareness kicked in. Not definitive proof, but a surprising nudge toward observation mattering at the quantum level.
Actual Paper Abstract
The "subjective reduction" interpretation of measurement in quantum physics proposes that the collapse of the wave-packet, associated with measurement, is due to the consciousness of human observers. A reο¬ned conceptual replication of an earlier experiment, designed and carried out to test this interpretation in the 1970s, is reported. Two improvements are introduced. First, the delay between pre-observation and ο¬nal observation of the same quantum event is increased from a few microseconds in the original experiment to one second in this replication. Second, rather than using the ο¬nal observers' verbal response as the dependent variable, his early brain responses as measured by EEG are used. These early responses cover a period during which an observer is not yet conscious of an observed event. Our results support the "subjective reduction" hypothesis insofar as signiο¬cant diο¬erences in the brain responses of the ο¬nal observer are found, depending on whether or not the pre-observer has been looking at the quantum event (exact binomial p < 0.02). Alternative "normal" explanations are discussed and rejected. It is concluded that the present results do justify further research along these lines.
Research Notes
One of few direct experimental tests of the von Neumann-Wigner consciousness-causes-collapse interpretation using objective EEG measures rather than verbal reports. Methodological precursor to Radin's double-slit observer experiments. Speaks to Controversy #4 (double-slit/quantum observer effects).
Refined conceptual replication of Hall et al.'s (1977) experiment testing whether conscious observation collapses the quantum wave-packet. Thirty volunteer pairs observed radioactive decay events detected by a Geiger-Mueller counter. A pre-observer randomly saw (or did not see) a visual representation of each quantum event; one second later, a final observer heard an audio beep while EEG was recorded from 14 electrodes. Three of 10 peak amplitude comparisons showed significant differences between pre-observed and non-pre-observed conditions (overall exact binomial p=0.0115). Significant effects appeared in early pre-conscious EEG components, consistent with the subjective reduction hypothesis, though the author acknowledges the evidence is not definitive.
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π Cite this paper
Bierman, Dick J (2003). Does Consciousness Collapse the Wave-Packet?. Mind and Matter.
@article{bierman_2003_does,
title = {Does Consciousness Collapse the Wave-Packet?},
author = {Bierman, Dick J},
year = {2003},
journal = {Mind and Matter},
}