Psychophysical Modulation of Fringe Visibility in a Distant Double-Slit Optical System

This study took the "can your mind influence light?" question global -- literally. Building on two earlier experiments, researchers created an online version where anyone with internet access could try to mentally influence a double-slit optical system (a physics setup where laser light creates striped patterns). A whopping 1,479 people from 77 countries participated, generating nearly 3,000 test sessions. Meanwhile, nearly 6,000 automated robot sessions served as controls where no human was paying attention. The results were remarkable: when people concentrated on the system, the light pattern shifted in line with their intentions, with odds against chance of roughly one in a billion. The robot sessions? Dead flat, no effect at all. But here's the really juicy part. Between the 2013 and 2014 rounds, someone accidentally flipped the feedback coding -- so participants were unknowingly getting reversed signals about which direction they should push the light pattern. And the effect flipped direction too, following what participants intended rather than some passive "observation" effect. This happy accident turned out to be powerful evidence that something active and intentional was going on, not just a passive side effect of being watched. This was the largest study in the program and attracted significant scrutiny and debate from other scientists, making it a central piece in ongoing arguments about whether consciousness can genuinely reach out and nudge quantum systems.