#23 - Quantum Interrogation: counterfactual measurement and its implications for human thought

In episode 23 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses quantum interrogation, the observation that in certain scenarios a quantum system can access the result of a measurement without actually making that measurement. This counterfactual measurement is best exemplified in the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb test, in which a bomb is determined to be real or a dud by sending a superposition at the bomb that shifts the probability distribution (or wave function) of a quantum system. The principle of counterfactual measurement applies to quantum computation: could you get the results of a quantum computation without actually running it? And to quantum cryptography: could you get someone’s password without actually changing the information stream? Finally, we wrap up the episode discussing the implications of counterfactual measurement to the human experience. If we accept the premise that each person is themselves a quantum computer, then could you simulate a possible future behavior and get the results of that simulation without actually performing the behavior? This episode definitely goes off the deep end, so hang in there until the end of the episode!