#29 - Synchronicity: your mind is entangled with the world

In episode 29 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the phenomenon of synchronicity and possible mechanisms through quantum mechanics that could give way to its rigorous scientific study. Synchronicity was coined by the psychologist Carl Jung and is defined as an apparently meaningful coincidence between your thought and some event in the world around you. Examples of synchronicity include simple moments of non-locality such as thinking about a friend and then they call you, learning a new word and then hearing it everywhere immediately afterwards, or dreaming about something and then it happens. These experiences are often brushed off as coincidental (and likely many are!), however, there are people who have experienced synchronicity to such a degree as to call into question whether these coincidences are statistically possible. Furthermore, there are more complex forms of synchronicity such as a famous example by Carl Jung wherein a patient has a breakthrough in her psychotherapy when a symbol from her dream finds its way into the room at the moment that she describes it. This experience was a critical moment in her psychotherapy and made a strong impact on Carl Jung as well. If we accept the metaphysical framework that the human mind is a quantum computer, then it is at the very least theoretically possible that the operations of the mind could be meaningfully related non-locally to the external world via entanglement. Entanglement was referred to as “spooky action at a distance” when it was first postulated; and Albert Einstein resisted accepting that quantum entanglement was real because he feared that it opened the door to magical thinking and non-scientific discourse. However, in an effort to be radically empirical, we must look at all the evidence and, unfortunately for Einstein, we do not get to choose to live in a locally-determined physicalist universe. Roger Penrose spelled out the limitations of digital / first-order-logical explanations for reality and suggested that there must be non-computable forces in the universe that defy the physicalist dogma. Could it be that synchronicity is a driving force of change in the universe and that physical events are guided by Platonic forms and meaningful constructs? My own experience with synchronicity has led me to believe there must be additional forces at play than locally determined causality. I believe synchronicity can be a profound source of spirituality for the scientifically minded; however, we must protect ourselves against the risk of psychosis and stay grounded in the scientific method! Enjoy!