Quantum physics can't network us to the cosmos, physicist insists

In his recent book, Quantum Gods: Creation, Chaos and the Search for Meaning, physicist and philosopher Victor J. Stenger, proposes to set the lay public straight, that our minds are not connected to the cosmos via quantum mechanics.

Stenger, who is also the author of God: The Failed Hypothesis, proposes

... a new kind of deism, which proposes a God who creates a universe with many possible pathways determined by chance, but otherwise does not interfere with the physical world or the lives of humans. Although it is possible, says Stenger, to conceive of such a God who "plays dice with the universe" and leaves no trace of his role as prime mover, such a God is a far cry from traditional religious ideas of God and, in effect, may as well not exist. Like God: The Failed Hypothesis, this new work presents a rigorously argued challenge to many popular notions of God and spirituality.

Now, why oh why do I think that that was the point of the project?

From "New Book: Does Quantum Mechanics Show a Connection Between the Human Mind and The Cosmos?" in Medical News Today (27 June 2009).

One difficulty, of course, is that there are a number of interpretations of quantum mechanics, and some may suit the views he deplores better than others.

Here's a new journal that explores the issue, hopefully with an open mind.

Here are physicist Henry Stapp's reflections, which offer another view.