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In recent decades, empirical evidence favoring the psi hypothesis has grown considerably. As a consequence, scientific efforts have shifted from merely documenting evidence to gathering data that will be useful for understanding psi. However, because psi raises deep questions about consciousness, causality and the mind-matter relation, theoretical progress will need input from new experiments that address these various aspects.

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Of particular concern is the reckoning with physics. Quantum theory is the singularly successful bedrock of physical theory, yet it is uncertain whether the theory can encompass psi effects. There are intriguing parallels between certain quantum and psi phenomena, and quantum effects are known to emerge in brain processes related to consciousness. But before embarking on a risky attempt to incorporate psi into quantum theory, we need to question the assumption as to whether it is possible in the first place. In other words, is there an experiment that can tell us if psi obeys quantum theory, or if it 'breaks' it. 

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An experimental paradigm to address this question has been developed at the IMI, in collaboration with the California Institute of Noetic Sciences. Using the property of entanglement, the experiment probes the quantum correlations of paired photons and examines whether psi effects can push the correlations beyond the mathematical limit stipulated by quantum theory. This limit, called the Tsirelson Bound, separates quantum behavior from hypothetical super-quantum effects that have never been observed. So, does psi violate the Tsirelson Bound and push phenomena into a super-quantum regime? Or, does psi obey the Bound, suggesting that a quantum description of psi may be feasible? The experiments are in an early stage and will be refined in the coming years. For those with a technical inclination, a publication of the first results is available here.

 

A talk from August 2021, posted below, explores how psi research can benefit from recent advances in Quantum Foundations. The talk, Quantum Lessons for Psi, looks at 3 instances where work in Quantum theory provides guidance for problems faced by psi researchers. The talk is organized as :

 

00:00 - 10:00   Motivation and Overview.

10:00 - 20:00   What is Quantum theory?

20:00 - 27:00   How has Quantum theory changed these last years?

27:00 - 41:00   Lessons for Psi from Psi's own data.

41:00 - 49:00   How to Build a Theory.

49:00 - 57:00   Quantum Lessons for Psi #1: Causality.

57:00 - 1:08:0  Quantum Lessons for Psi #2: Quantum Frameworks and the Tsirelson Bound.

1:08:0 - 1:20:   Quantum Lessons for Psi #3: Hierarchies of Effects and Precognition.

1:20:0 - 1:21:   Summary

1:21:0 - 1:47:   Q&A