Fred Kuttner - Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness

Fred Kuttner discusses his book Quantum Enigma -- Physics Encounters Consciousness, co-authored with Bruce Rosenblum. In trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics, the most successful theory in science. But they found, to their embarrassment, that with their theory, physics encounters consciousness, a mysterious phenomenon that science cannot explain and cannot ignore. Attempts to interpret the meaning and implications of all this are often controversial. But every interpretation of quantum physics involves consciousness, and the connection of consciousness with the Universe suggested by some leading quantum cosmologists is mind-blowing. There exists a boundary beyond which the expertise of physicists is no longer the only sure guide.

In the few decades since experiments established the existence of quantum entanglement, interest in the foundations, and the mysteries, of quantum mechanics has accelerated. In recent years, physicists, philosophers, computer engineers, and even biologists have expanded our realization of the significance of quantum phenomena. Quantum theory tells us that an object can be in two places at the same time, that its existence becomes real only when observed, and that the observation of an object can instantaneously influence another distant object even if no physical force connects the two. Quantum theory thus denies the existence of a physically real world independent of its observation.

[e.l.]

As someone with barely any physics background, I must say I've been finding the book absolutely precious and just what I'd been looking for, so much that the authors themselves have grown dear to me throughout. For that, I appreciate you having mr. Kuttner on. God bless!

[christolhurst]

Everything must arise from consciousness. You may not need a conscious observer to demonstrate wave particle duality, but you need one to observe the results and also to comprehend the experiment in the first place

[graysonharrisful]

Good work!
P.s. Buddhism has indeed been saying all of this and more. Its truly incredible if one takes the time to thoroughly dive into it!

[sukadeva]

I am reading it right now . Really informative for beginners and non q physicist.

[sabotagesabotage]

Kind of how younger generations believe they change will change reality, retro causality

[pedrodelacalzada]

Well, the only enigma of this book is the book itself, i.e., how it is possible to write and sell another book about the meaning of the quantum mechanics with not even one new content. This is just an historical review, inlcuding the thounsand times repited same examples and paradoxes with no new explanations or ideas. Frustrating

[goliath]

The presenter speaks too much. Ask and listen then follow the money.

[dickhamilton]

flawed premise, not true. Consciousness is not necessary to demonstrate that neither of our concepts, wave or particle, are adequate to describe physical reality. You can set up a completely automatic measurement to show -and record- either wave or particle behavior, with nobody conscious present in the vicinity. All we know is that if the experiment is set up in such a way that it will show the wave nature of matter, then that's what it will do, and conversely, if it's set up to show particle behavior, then that's what it will show. Nobody present, no consciousness. Question is, how does the experiment ’know' what it was set up to measure?