Hey everyone, so as many of you know, I am fascinated with the way the public perceives science. And in particular, the broad pseudoscientific trends that crop up in our culture, influencing the masses to varying degrees. I like to identify them, diagnose them, 

and disarm them. Today I want to talk about one such flavor of pseudoscience related to the field of physics that has been picking up steam since the 1990s, and that is quantum mysticism. What the heck is quantum mysticism, you ask? Excellent question. 

It’s challenging to encapsulate this phenomenon in a sentence, but I believe I can do it fairly well. The essence of quantum mysticism goes like this: Quantum physics is confusing, so it’s magic, therefore if magic can be framed using 

the terminology of quantum physics, that magic is real. You see, quantum theory, from the perspective of the public, is shrouded in mystery. It is typically spoken about in an almost mystical tone, as though it were akin to the occult. This is largely due 

to the fact that it is very hard to understand. True comprehension is reserved for physicists and mathematicians who can solve complex equations, as the power of this theory lies exclusively in the math itself. Everyone else must be 

satisfied with hollow, often misleading conceptual explanations, and that is indeed the way that this topic is typically explained to the masses, who demand explanations under the false assumption that this area of science must somehow be immediately and fully transparent to them. For whatever reason, people tend to be interested only in the frontier of scientific fields. 

So instead of wanting to learn about Newton's
laws, which they would have a solid chance of
understanding with some competence in basic high
school algebra, they want to talk about things
like quantum mechanics, which most of us have zero
chance of fundamentally comprehending, given the

lack of prerequisite knowledge faced by anyone
without at least a bachelor's degree in physics. When media outlets attempt to satiate this desire
to commune with the boundary between the known and
unknown, they take lots of liberties and
make lots of mistakes, and the public

brings a lot of baggage to the table. Even with
seemingly professional pseudo-documentaries like
“What the Bleep Do We Know?”, the concepts
are sorely misrepresented, and the viewer
walks away with a false sense of comprehension, or
worse still, a head full of lies. This confusion

can lead people to purchase whimsical books and
expensive seminars from ridiculous false prophets,
forego legitimate medical treatment in
favor of unsubstantiated healers and gurus,
and sometimes even get roped into a cult or two.
There are many flavors of this fad, and a bit

later we will get to the meat of the deception
which invariably involves misuse of the word
“quantum”, and deliberate misinterpretation of
something called the double-slit experiment.
But I would like to start somewhere more
fundamental. Let's begin with the core

confusion that enables the whole show.
Much like other scams and pseudoscience,
it all stems from a misunderstanding of basic
scientific concepts and terminology. In this case,
it is the word “energy”. What is energy? Even just
hearing that word out loud, dozens of connotations

probably come to mind. Here is the way quantum
mystics on the internet use the word incorrectly. So as you can see, to the quantum mystic,
energy is a synonym for magic. It means whatever they want it to mean in order to sell to
the suggestible viewer whatever it is that they’re

selling. But in science this word has a very
specific definition, which we must learn now. For maximum effect, please purge yourself of every
connotation you are aware of for the word energy,
as the term has been completely convoluted
by society, so we need to start from a blank

slate. Act as if you’ve never heard this word
before. Are you ready? Here it comes. Energy
is the capacity to do work. The end. Now to
further clarify, we should also define work.

Again, in society, this word means many things.
It can refer to a profession, an action,
or even a location, so let’s again purge ourselves
of these connotations so that we can learn what it

means in science. Work refers to an action
done on an object whereby an applied force
causes a displacement of that object. So work is
about motion. When you apply a force to an object

and it moves, like pushing a box across the floor,
you’re doing work. So energy is the capacity to do
work, which is what causes motion. And that’s all
there is to it. Energy is a property of a system,

and nothing more. To elucidate further still, we
could highlight different forms of energy. Kinetic
energy is the energy an object possesses by virtue
of its motion, which can be transferred to other

position in a field. Lifting an object into the air increases its gravitational potential energy, which is then converted into kinetic energy as it falls, just the way a compressed spring has a lot of potential energy, which is released as it expands. Thermal energy, or heat, is just a

transfer of kinetic energy, and temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a system. Hotter systems of particles are moving faster on average, colder systems of particles are moving slower on average. Chemical energy is a kind of potential energy

which describes the potential of some molecule to undergo a particular chemical reaction, which is simply a rearrangement of atoms. All of the above is explained in far greater detail over in my classical physics playlist, should you wish to learn about these concepts.

Finally, matter itself is a form of energy, according to the most famous equation of all time, Einstein’s E = mc^2. E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light, which is a big number, and when squared is an even bigger number, so matter times this big

big number equals lots of energy. But even this form of energy is not mystical in any way. When matter is converted to energy in a fusion reactor or a nuclear bomb, it is still the same phenomenon we have been describing. It can be defined rigorously and measured quantitatively,

so even in this abstract context it is never ill-defined or vague. So you see, when we say “everything is energy”, it’s actually a true statement, because matter is a form of energy. But this does not mean that there is a magical spiritual world. It does not mean you can heal

yourself with your mind, or any of the other bogus
claims we will investigate in a moment. Energy is
not an object. It is not a substance. It is not
an essence, or a life force, or a magical realm.

It is a property of an object or system that can
be transferred into another object or system,
typically in the form of work. That’s what energy
is, and that’s the only thing that energy is.
Unfortunately, colloquial usage of the word
energy has muddied and obscured this definition.

People say things like, “This room has such good
energy.” This is a metaphorical usage of the word,
which is acceptable if acknowledged as
strictly metaphorical. It means that one
gets a good impression from the room. It conveys
a feeling in a fun, poetic way. It does not mean

that there is a literal substance emanating
from the room that we call “good energy”,
which is magically perceived by your third
eye in some way that science can’t comprehend.
Further compounding the confusion is the fact that
in physics, quantitative measurements of energy,

in particular potential energy, can have positive
or negative values. Positive means greater than
zero, negative means less than zero. It’s
just math, and the way we define systems
in physics. By sheer linguistic coincidence,
we also use the word positive to mean good,

and negative to mean bad, as in having a positive
or negative experience. But these two connotations
are totally unrelated. So when people remove the
concept of positive or negative energy from the
arithmetic domain in which it has actual meaning,
and take these phrases to mean good or bad energy,

The result is totally meaningless. There is no
such thing as good energy, or bad energy. There
is no context in which this makes any sense except
the strictly metaphorical, so when these terms are
used improperly, it is simply an unfortunate
side effect of allowing words to have multiple

meanings in a language. The literalization
of this metaphorical usage confuses people,
and renders them susceptible to cranks and con
men who exploit this confusion for financial gain.
Speaking of cranks and con men, let’s get
to them now. I want to start with one of

the primary figures, if not THE primary
figure responsible for the popularization
of quantum mysticism in the 1990s. That is
the glammed-out guru himself, Deepak Chopra.
Deepak rose to prominence on the success of
his 1993 book, “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind:

The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old”.
This, along with his previous book called
“Quantum Healing”, piggybacked on the broader
New Age movement that was picking up steam,
and he rode the tidal wave of science-flavored
self-help-themed snake oil to significant fame

and fortune. As you can see, “quantum” is
a very important buzzword for this brand
of deception, and it only serves
to disguise mysticism as science.
Given that Chopra has published nearly a hundred
books, there is no time to go into every single

thing he’s written, nor would I ever subject
myself to that kind of torture, but a pervading
theme across his body of work is the power of the
mind. The mind, according to him, has limitless
power in healing oneself as well as shaping or
even manifesting aspects of physical reality.

He describes the phenomenon of “perfect health”,
the title of another one of his books, and a selling point for his ultra-expensive wellness
retreats. He advertises that those who read or attend and learn these techniques, which we could
call sorcery, can be totally free of disease, 

never feel pain, and even halt the aging process,
all simply with the mind. Of course, it seems that even Deepak himself was unable to put that last
technique into practice, as he is 74 years old, 

and he looks his age. His other favorite
thing to talk about is how physics tells us that consciousness creates reality, another
hallmark of the quantum mystic. Here’s a taste. So as we can see, even for those who aren’t
specifically looking to be healed, there is still 

plenty to bait you with. The selling points of
consciousness creating reality pretty much write themselves. Realizing your infinite potential,
manifesting your desires, these are all attractive notions which can ensnare suggestible people who
are dissatisfied with their lives, or otherwise 

overwhelmed by reality. It’s emptiness disguised
as transcendental self-improvement, something which has served as the basis for Scientology and
other successful criminal organizations. To be fair, not every quantum mystic has their own cult,
but some of them do. And even those that don’t, 

should we really look the other way when people
make a fortune from deliberately misleading the public? How is it that they are able to do this?
The success of Deepak stems from two things. First, he uses his Indian identity
and calm, calculated manner of speech 

to put out an air of ancient Eastern wisdom. 
To the untrained ear, he sounds like a wise sage, and he also was at one point a real 
doctor, so he appears to have credibility.   Second, he is a third-degree black belt in the 
art of pseudoscientific word salad. He may be  

the best there’s ever been at this impressive 
skill. He knows precisely which buzzwords to use and in precisely which combinations so as to 
present what sounds to many like profound truths,   when in reality, most of what he says is utterly 
meaningless. In fact, there is a Deepak Chopra  

quote generator online called “Wisdom of Chopra”, 
which is programmed with vocabulary from his twitter feed, and equipped with a randomizer, 
which will spit out randomly generated blocks   of text that are completely indistinguishable 
from what he actually says. Here, I’ll show  

you. These are all statements that were randomly 
generated for me by Wisdom of Chopra, except one,   which is something Deepak actually said. 
See if you can pick out the genuine quote. And here it is. Did you get it? Don’t worry 
if you didn’t, you’re not missing anything.  

So as you can see, it’s a simple formula. Dazzle 
people with spiritual-sounding nonsense until   their eyes glaze over and they open up their 
wallets nice and wide. And given Chopra’s net   worth of 150 million dollars, it would seem 
that it is quite an effective formula as well.  

You see, this particular flavor of gibberish 
resonates strongly with a certain type of person. This would be the secular individual 
who is filled with the longing for worship   but has no institutionalized god to put it upon. 
We all possess certain neural proclivities towards  

seeking and affirming divinity. And to this end, 
quantum mysticism offers the universe as God,  along with all the transcendence, permanence, 
interconnectedness, and self-empowerment,  without any of the burdens of organized religion. 
It’s a vapid stand-in for spirituality that avoids 

the outdated social practices and conservatism of 
the more popular faiths, but keeps the perceived  ties to the ancient world, wild unsubstantiated 
claims about reality, plus bonus chakras and chi.  Even for those who aren’t looking for god, there 
is plenty to work with, since all humans have 

certain desires that are easy to tap into. We see 
this with virtually all of Chopra’s book titles.  The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire. 
You are the Universe. Boundless Energy.  The Wisdom Within. It’s marketing. People 
want their anxieties to congeal into serenity 

which gives way to perfect control over their 
lives and minds. People want to feel relevant  in the universe and connected to everything in it. 
Quantum mystics are attuned to the deep longings  of their target demographic in order to most 
effectively exploit them, and to that end they 

are selling one thing only. Identity. You see, a 
brand of razor blade may be selling masculinity.  A brand of fragrance may be selling elegance. A 
brand of soft drink might even sell the feeling  of being EXTREME! But the quantum mystic, on the 
other hand, is selling artificial transcendence. 

It’s the convenient sale of an enlightened 
self-image for the spiritual warrior in a hurry.  Given that we live in the internet age, this fad 
is not limited to a handful of authors and gurus.  Many versions of this narrative can be found all 
over YouTube. There are hundreds of such channels, 

each with their own flavor, but the core message
tends to be pretty much the same, so I’ll just
pick on one of the bigger ones, which is called
Spirit Science. Here we find mystical ramblings
amidst a backdrop of delightful animations.
Let’s take a listen to one about crystals.

No, crystals are not alive. There are very
specific criteria that qualify something as being
alive, including metabolic activity, which means
lots of chemistry happening inside all the time,
response to stimuli, growth, and reproduction.
Crystals are inert. They are not alive, period.

The word life has a rigorous definition, and
it can’t just be applied to any random object. No, they are not. We are discovering some more key
buzzwords for the quantum mystic, vibration, and frequency. These are used just like
energy as being synonymous with magic. That atoms

and molecules vibrate doesn’t mean they can cast
magic spells, and frequency is just a word that
means number of cycles per unit time and has no
significance when not applied to a concretely
defined phenomenon. When the mystic says
higher frequencies, they mean good frequencies,

which doesn’t mean anything, just like good energy
doesn’t mean anything. When the quantum mystic
says that something is emitting frequencies,
or vibrating to frequencies, they mean that
it is magic, and they want to use a scientific
vocabulary word to pretend that magic is real.

Health is not “the natural state” of things.
Disease is natural. Death is natural. This is
the setup for a snake oil pitch. And it’s a
classic one. Then again with the buzzwords.
Frequencies of what? The word frequency
doesn’t mean anything if not directly

referencing a physical phenomenon that can
possess a frequency, like light or sound. This graphic is meaningless. We don’t have orbs of
colored light around us. Disease has a molecular
basis, it does not have a basis in invisible
personal rainbows that definitely do not exist.

Again, what is this? Frequency of what?
This has no correlation with anything
in physical reality. Headaches and cancer
are not caused by little quivering lines.
This is such unadulterated fantasy that
there isn’t even anything to debunk.

No, this does not happen. If it did,
it could be measured and substantiated.
It is a fabrication aimed at people who don’t
require evidence in order to believe something. The translation here is that crystal healing works
by placebo effect, so if you don’t think they will

work, they won’t work, because they only work when
you trick yourself into thinking that they work. No, they aren’t. That doesn’t mean
anything. Molecular geometries do
not exclusively resemble platonic solids. No, it doesn’t make sense. It sounds like magic.

Just saying “doesn’t that make
sense” is not an argument. They are called periods, not octaves.
The periodic table is not a piano. There are no sponges made of 100%
silicon. If something is made of 100%

silicon, it is silicon. This
is one of the dumbest sentences
I’ve ever heard. I can’t understand how any
human person doesn’t just laugh out loud when
they hear things like this. Ok that’s enough on
crystals, let’s hear some commentary on physics.

This doesn’t mean anything. It’s just
more vague nonsense intended to get people nodding their heads, pretending they
are learning about deep truths in physics. What is this? Subatomic particles are not
colored squares and circles and triangles.

What are we looking at? What do these symbols
represent? Not even a half-assed attempt to explain anything is offered, just random
images acting as a backdrop for word salad. People love cool shapes, so the quantum mystic
shows lots of cool shapes. Again, meaningless.

I’m sorry, how? This shape is the root of
light? What does that mean? Where are the platonic solids in here? How does this shape
produce musical systems? Please explain. My favorite part is how it’s the source of musical
systems that are unknown. So we don’t know them,

but they’re still based on this? That’s
about enough, but here’s one more tidbit. No, there are no scientists trying to explain
what a soul is because that is not a scientific concept. Science is the study of the physical
world. Anything supernatural by definition is not

science, and there is no evidence that anything
supernatural exists. This disconnect encapsulates the problem with quantum mystics. If someone
wants to believe in a soul, or speculate about the supernatural, they can go ahead and do so.
But to pretend that it is supported by science

is ludicrous. Videos like these are just rapid
fire lies over stock footage aimed at people who want to believe in magic, but also want
to feign compatibility with real science. They are willfully ignorant to the point where
they can’t be bothered to even google a word to

find out if it’s being used properly, because
the story they’ve chosen to believe takes precedence over fact. And these are the types
that will buy the 7-day transformation course, and attend the retreats, and otherwise fork over
the cash that makes these channels lucrative.

Getting back to a more general
discussion, as we can now see, from Deepak to YouTube, a central theme
of quantum mysticism has been identified: So that’s the story. Consciousness creates
reality. There is no such thing as a physical

world, consciousness is all that exists. Now
this little hypothesis is all well and good if uttered between stoned philosophy undergrads at
a party, but no, the quantum mystic insists that this notion is physics, that this deep truth
is derived directly from empirical science.

Well, it absolutely isn’t, but that then begs
the question, where did this lie come from? It’s obvious that it’s just a self-help
sales pitch. It’s quantum Tony Robbins. Manifest your desires! With only
four easy payments of $19.99.

So again, if the notion of consciousness creating
reality has nothing to do with quantum physics, how can these mystics claim as much? This
is very easy to answer. All of this woo stems from deliberate misinterpretations
of key experiments in 20th-century physics.

The most notable such misinterpretation is
related to the famous double-slit experiment. I have a tutorial on this topic as well as
many other key aspects of quantum physics in my modern physics playlist, so please head over
there after this video if you’re interested in

learning more about it. But to briefly summarize
the issue that is relevant here, the double slit experiment was pivotal in demonstrating
something called wave-particle duality. In short, everything is both particles and waves. Light is
waves, but it’s also particles called photons.

Electrons are particles, but they are also waves
of probability density. When you get down to the tiniest things, everything is particles and waves,
and it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t make sense
to us. It doesn’t matter that we can’t visualize
it, or rationalize it, that’s what the math

tells us, so that’s how reality works. The way the
double slit experiment works is that particles are
allowed to diffract through two slits to generate
an interference pattern on a detector beyond, as makes sense for a wave. We can do this with
light, but we can also do this with electrons,

and in fact we can even do it with an individual
electron. The diffraction of an individual
electron is a compelling demonstration of the wave
nature of matter. Now here’s the kicker. When we

are not interfering with the process, the particle
appears to pass through both slits, just like a
wave. But when we try to determine which slit it
passes through, it appears to only pass through
one, like a particle. It’s incredible! The act
of observing the particle changed its behavior. Observations influence external reality. At
least, that’s the pseudoscientific narrative

that charlatans spin. In fact, it is impossible
to observe a tiny particle, like an electron,
without affecting the system. Observation requires
physically interacting with such a particle. In the submicroscopic realm,
observation is not a passive process.

We can’t spy on an electron the way we can
peek at our neighbor through the window. Animating a little eyeball simply watching the
electron is misleading and inaccurate. Measuring
something about an electron involves interacting
with it. Detection requires the emission of

photons that interact with the electron, and
thereby affect certain properties of the electron. It is the physical act of taking a measurement
that affects the system, not our consciousness. There is no magic, there is no voodoo, and there
is no basis with which to conclude that particles

know they are being watched, or that we can
create alternate realities with our minds. Something similar can be said for the
quantum mystic’s interpretation of the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle, the concept of
superposition, and any other aspect of legitimate

physics they attempt to reference which means
absolutely nothing if you don’t do any math. There
is nothing in physics that lends any credibility
to the notion that the universe is immaterial,
or some kind of mental construct. One can engage
in such philosophical speculation if they choose,

and it’s not a totally meritless intellectual
exercise, but to say that such ideas have some kind of empirical basis in physics is objectively
false. Anyone who says anything of the sort either
doesn’t understand physics, or is lying, or both.
Then of course there is the word “quantum” itself.

It is a far more boring word than many
people presume. Quantum simply refers
to the minimum amount of any physical entity
involved in an interaction. So for example,
photons are quanta. A photon is the smallest
amount of light there can be. This idea of

Quantization tells us that physical properties
consist strictly of integer multiples of some
tiniest indivisible subunit. So there is a tiniest
quantity possible for energy, space, and time,
and all values are multiples of
that unbelievably tiny subunit.

Quantization is a core principle of quantum
mechanics, and that's what this word refers to.
It does not refer to lasers or interdimensional
travel or whatever other unadulterated fantasy
the mystic seeks to infuse it with.
So, apart from the self-help snake oil

courtesy of Deepak and pals, where else does this
narrative rear its ugly head? Who else lines their
pockets with this brand of pseudoscience? Let's
head over to the medical realm. Another facet
of quantum mysticism involves a total distrust
of Western medicine. According to the mystic,

the body can heal itself, so real medicine is
just big pharma trying to make a buck. This is
another example of how the alt-health industry
fosters and exploits anti-establishment bias.
There are some people who so desperately want to
believe that every perceived authority is wrong,

that they will blindly trust anyone who tells them
so. And in this realm, it means avoiding drugs and
doctors in favor of magic crystals and healers.
As the narrative goes, Western medicine treats
the symptoms, while alternative medicine treats
the cause. In fact, this is the precise opposite

of the truth, as these phony treatments
operate exclusively by placebo effect,
which is the slight mitigation of physical
symptoms brought on purely by expectation.
Essentially, if you believe your pain should be
alleviated by pretty rocks, or someone floating

their hands over your body, then a shallow,
fleeting period of pain relief can be experienced. But it is not causally related to the item or
practice in question. It can be achieved by waving a magic wand and shouting “Abracadabra!”, if the
subject is prone to believing that should work.

So all the “power of the mind” rhetoric is not
entirely without basis. But this palliative effect, apart from disappearing rapidly, does
nothing whatsoever to address the cause of the ailment. All disease has a molecular basis, and
real medicine addresses that molecular basis with

molecules, like drugs. These are compounds
that interact with proteins in your body, like enzymes and receptors, so as to
induce a physiological change in your body which reverses or otherwise addresses
some unintended biological activity.

Quantum Mysticism is Stupid (Deepak Chopra, Spirit Science, Actualized.org)

Welcome! I have a knack for explaining stuff and I want to share some knowledge with you.

I received a BA in chemistry from Carleton College, and performed graduate studies in both synthetic organic chemistry and science education at Cal State Northridge, receiving an MA in the latter. Prior to this I taught for about a decade in various high school and undergraduate settings, specializing in organic chemistry but also teaching general chemistry, physics, and biology.

This channel is for students at the high school and undergraduate level, but it is also for members of the general public who just want to know more about the world and how things work. My goal is to increase science literacy in our society, so please share these tutorials with anyone that you think might enjoy them. Happy learning!

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Quantum Mysticism is Stupid (Deepak Chopra, Spirit Science, Actualized.org)

Quantum Mysticism is Stupid (Deepak Chopra, Spirit Science, Actualized.org)

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