A Double-Slit Diffraction Experiment to Investigate Claims of Consciousness-Related Anomalies
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Plain English Summary
Can your mind mess with quantum physics? That was the bold question behind this experiment, which used a classic double-slit setup — where light passes through two tiny openings and creates a striped interference pattern — to test whether human intention could physically alter the pattern. Two labs tried it: York University in Canada and Princeton's famous PEAR lab. The results were a mixed bag. York's 74 test runs came up empty on the main question, though they found some weird secondary quirks — the data was more spread out than expected and skewed in an odd direction. Princeton's 20 runs showed a borderline positive effect, roughly matching what they'd seen in other mind-over-machine experiments. But here's the twist that really matters: after the experiments were done, researchers discovered the random fluctuations in their detector were caused by ordinary heat noise, not quantum-level photon randomness. That basically pulled the rug out from under the whole "consciousness collapses quantum waves" idea the experiment was built on. The device was really just a fancy random number generator, not a true quantum test.
Research Notes
A rare two-site PK experiment grounded in quantum physics theory, bridging PEAR anomalies research and physics-of-consciousness literature. The post-experiment discovery that apparatus noise was classical (not quantum) retroactively invalidated the quantum observer framing, illustrating the difficulty of designing genuinely quantum-based psi tests. Cross-site inconsistency parallels the broader PEAR replication problem documented in PortREG and other follow-up work.
Two-laboratory experimental study testing whether human intentionality can reduce the fringe contrast of a Young's double-slit interference pattern, framed as a test of anomalous quantum wavefunction collapse. York University operators (74 series, means-directed) produced a null result (Z = −0.481) with anomalous secondary findings: variance inflation (σ = 1.185, χ² = 102.4, p = 0.013) and excess negative Z-scores (9 observed vs. 3.7 expected, p = 0.011). Princeton PEAR lab operators (20 series, goal-directed) achieved a marginal effect (Z = 1.654, p ≈ 0.049), consistent in scale with other PEAR REG experiments. Inconsistent cross-site results suggest instruction framing or laboratory culture as a moderator. Post-hoc analysis found the dominant noise was thermal detector dark noise rather than photon quantum granularity, making the device functionally equivalent to a random event generator and undermining the quantum observer framing of the experiment.
Related Papers
Same Research Program
- Correlations of Random Binary Sequences with Pre-Stated Operator Intention: A Review of a 12-Year Program — Jahn, Robert G (1997)
- Decision Augmentation Theory: Toward a Model of Anomalous Mental Phenomena — May, Edwin C (1995)
- Evidence for Consciousness-Related Anomalies in Random Physical Systems — Radin, Dean I (1989)
Cited By
Extended By
- Psychophysical Modulation of Fringe Visibility in a Distant Double-Slit Optical System — Radin, Dean (2016)
- Testing Nonlocal Observation as a Source of Intuitive Knowledge — Radin, Dean (2008)
- Observer Influence on Quantum Interference: Testing the von Neumann-Wigner Consciousness-Collapse Theory — Radin, Dean (2025)
- Does Consciousness Collapse the Wave-Packet? — Bierman, Dick J (2003)
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📋 Cite this paper
Ibison, Michael, Jeffers, Stanley (1998). A Double-Slit Diffraction Experiment to Investigate Claims of Consciousness-Related Anomalies. Journal of Scientific Exploration.
@article{ibison_jeffers_1998_double_slit,
title = {A Double-Slit Diffraction Experiment to Investigate Claims of Consciousness-Related Anomalies},
author = {Ibison, Michael and Jeffers, Stanley},
year = {1998},
journal = {Journal of Scientific Exploration},
}