Observer Influence on Quantum Interference: Testing the von Neumann-Wigner Consciousness-Collapse Theory
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Plain English Summary
Does watching something at the quantum level change how it behaves? This experiment tested whether consciousness collapses quantum possibilities into reality. Forty-seven people selected worldwide for attentional skill each used a device splitting light into an interference pattern (quantum behavior's fingerprint), alternating between observation and looking away. The preregistered predictions did not pan out. But the jaw-dropper: exploratory analysis found interference progressively weakened during observation with astronomical significance (p = 0.000000000000059), while nothing happened during non-observation or 212 control sessions. The clash between failed primary tests and stunning exploratory findings captures the debate over consciousness in quantum mechanics.
Research Notes
The most methodologically elaborate consciousness-collapse experiment to date, extending ~30 prior studies across five labs. Its failure of primary preregistered hypotheses alongside striking exploratory results epitomizes the contentious Controversy #4 over whether consciousness can influence quantum interference.
Forty-seven participants selected through a worldwide three-phase recruitment for attentional expertise each received a custom optical diffraction grating apparatus and completed 10 formal half-hour sessions with alternating 30-second observe/unobserve periods. Illumination at one first-order maximum was provided as real-time feedback while a second was recorded simultaneously but never observed. Three preregistered hypotheses were not supported overall, though differential skew was significant after FDR correction. An exploratory trend analysis found progressive interference decline during observation versus the simultaneous unobserved control (p = 5.9 x 10^-14), with no such pattern during non-observation periods (p = 0.77) or in 212 control sessions run without observers.
Links
Related Papers
Extends
Same Research Program
- Consciousness and the Double-Slit Interference Pattern: Six Experiments — Radin, Dean (2012)
- Psychophysical Modulation of Fringe Visibility in a Distant Double-Slit Optical System — Radin, Dean (2016)
- Psychophysical Effects on an Interference Pattern in a Double-Slit Optical System: An Exploratory Analysis of Variance — Radin, Dean (2022)
- Commentary: False-Positive Effect in the Radin Double-Slit Experiment on Observer Consciousness as Determined With the Advanced Meta-Experimental Protocol — Radin, Dean (2020)
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📋 Cite this paper
Radin, Dean (2025). Observer Influence on Quantum Interference: Testing the von Neumann-Wigner Consciousness-Collapse Theory. Physics Essays. https://doi.org/10.4006/0836-1398-38.1.64
@article{radin_2025_observer,
title = {Observer Influence on Quantum Interference: Testing the von Neumann-Wigner Consciousness-Collapse Theory},
author = {Radin, Dean},
year = {2025},
journal = {Physics Essays},
doi = {10.4006/0836-1398-38.1.64},
}