Does Consciousness Influence Quantum Mechanics?
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE ↓ More info below ↓ Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements! https://tinyurl.com/yx9cusk5 Check out the Space Time Merch Store https://pbsspacetime.com/ It’s not surprising that the profound weirdness of the quantum world has inspired some outlandish explanations - nor that these have strayed into the realm of what we might call mysticism. One particularly pervasive notion is the idea that consciousness can directly influence quantum systems - and so influence reality. Today we’re going to see where this idea comes from, and whether quantum theory really supports it. Hosted by Matt O Dowd Written by Matt O Dowd Graphics by Leonardo Scholzer & Adriano Leal Post Production: Yago Ballarini, Max Willians, Pedro Osinski Directed by: Eric Brown and Andrew Kornhaber Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber End Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRl6-nb4iOnsij-vnpAjp0Q The behavior of the quantum world is beyond weird. Objects being in multiple places at once, communicating faster than light, or simultaneously experiencing multiple entire timelines ... that then talk to each other. The rules governing the tiny quantum world of atoms and photons seem alien. And yet we have a set of rules that give us incredible power in predicting the behavior of quantum system - rules encapsulated in the mathematics of quantum mechanics. Despite its stunning success, we’re now nearly a century past the foundation of quantum mechanics and physicists are still debating how to interpret its equations and the weirdness they represent. Thanks to our Patreon Supporters Big Bang Supporters Alexander Tamas David Barnholdt David Nicklas Fabrice Eap Juan Benet Justin Lloyd Morgan Hough Quasar Supporter Christina Oegren Mark Heising Vinnie Falco Hypernova Supporters Chuck Zegar Danton Spivey Donal Botkin Edmund Fokschaner Hank S John Hofmann John Pollock John R. Slavik Jordan Young Joseph Salomone Julian Tyacke Justin Ash Mathew Matthew O Connor Syed Ansar Timothy McCulloch Gamma Ray Burst Supporters A G Adrian Hatch Adrien Molyneux AlecZero Andreas Nautsch Angela Prigge Bradley Jenkins Brandon labonte Brian Blanchard Craig Stonaha Dan Warren Daniel Lyons David Bethala DFaulk Douglas Cantrell Eric Kiebler Frederic Simon Geoffrey Short Graydon Goss Greg Smith John Funai John Robinson Jonathan Nesfeder Josh Thomas Kevin Lee Kevin Warne Kyle Hofer Malte Ubl Michael Conroy Nick Virtue Nick Wright Nickolas Andrew Freeman Patrick Sutton Paul Rose Protius Protius Robert Ilardi Scott Gossett Sean Warniaha Shane Calimlim Sipke Schoorstra Steve Bradshaw Tatiana Vorovchenko Tim Stephani Tonyface Tybie Fitzhugh Yurii Konovaliuk Randall Sylvia