#quantum

The myth of quantum consciousness sits well with many whose egos have made it impossible for them to accept the insignificant place science perceives for humanity, as modern instruments probe the farthest reaches of space and time. ... quantum consciousness has about as much substance as the aether from which it is composed. Early in this century, quantum mechanics and Einstein’s relativity destroyed the notion of a holistic universe that had seemed within the realm of possibility in the century just past. First, Einstein did away with the aether, shattering the doctrine that we all move about inside a universal, cosmic fluid whose excitations connect us simultaneously to one another and to the rest of the universe. Second, Einstein and other physicists proved that matter and light were composed of particles, wiping away the notion of universal continuity. Atomic theory and quantum mechanics demonstrated that everything, even space and time, exists in discrete bits – quanta. To turn this around and say that twentieth century physics initiated some new holistic view of the universe is a complete misrepresentation of what actually took place. ... The myth of quantum consciousness should take its place along with gods, unicorns, and dragons as yet another product of the fantasies of people unwilling to accept what science, reason, and their own eyes tell them about the world. ↗

— Victor J. Stenger

#consciousness #holistic #myth #new-age #physics

If you start any large theory, such as quantum mechanics, plate tectonics, evolution, it takes about 40 years for mainstream science to come around. Gaia has been going for only 30 years or so. ↗

— James Lovelock

#any #around #been #come #evolution

If someone says that he can think or talk about quantum physics without becoming dizzy, that shows only that he has not understood anything whatever about it. ↗

— Murray Gell-Mann

#anything #becoming #dizzy #only #physics

But I don't actually adopt the point of view that our subjective impression of free will, which is a kind of indeterminacy behavior, comes from quantum mechanical indeterminacy. ↗

— Murray Gell-Mann

#adopt #behavior #comes #free #free will

Now, what that means is that there is fundamental indeterminacy from quantum mechanics, but besides that there are other sources of effective indeterminacy. ↗

— Murray Gell-Mann

#effective #fundamental #indeterminacy #means #mechanics

The chaos can act as a magnifier of quantum fluctuations so that they can produce sizable effects in the world around us. But we know that that can happen often. ↗

— Murray Gell-Mann

#around #chaos #effects #fluctuations #happen

Quantum physics thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe. ↗

— Erwin Schrodinger

#oneness #physics #quantum #quantum physics #reveals

The mathematical framework of quantum theory has passed countless successful tests and is now universally accepted as a consistent and accurate description of all atomic phenomena. ↗

— Erwin Schrodinger

#accurate #atomic #consistent #countless #description

The verbal interpretation, on the other hand, i.e. the metaphysics of quantum physics, is on far less solid ground. In fact, in more than forty years physicists have not been able to provide a clear metaphysical model. ↗

— Erwin Schrodinger

#been #clear #fact #far #far less

The possibilities that are suggested in quantum physics tell us that everything that we're looking at may not be in fact there, so the underlying nature of being is weird. ↗

— William Shatner

#everything #fact #in fact #looking #may