Quantum Tai Chi
The Quantum Tai Chi (Gauge Theory: The Dance of Mind Over Matter)
P. Stephen Petersen PhD. Science Popularization.
Paperback, 210 pages, ISBN = 1890711004.
Published Empyrean Quest Publishers 12-1-96.
Price: $14.95 US. To Purchase
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Tintern Abbey: River Wye, Southeast Wales
Book Description (Empyrean Quest Publishers):
The Quantum Tai Chi explores a new interpretation of Quantum Theory involving the brain and consciousness which asserts that we are free to choose our world. It begins with a thorough review of Nobel laureate Chen Nin Yang's Gauge Theory of Physics, comparing it to Chinese Tai Chi Philosophy. Non-linear time is discussed. It ends with a daring Gauge Theory of Consciousness, and gives explanations for Karl Jung's synchronicity, paranormal phenomena, Self-Realization, and spontaneous healing. Jung and Yang, yin and yang are themes of this revolutionary book.

Abbey Reviews (6-24-98)
"If there is a book that unlocks the secret of being, this is it! The Quantum Tai Chi gives us the scientific verification of the power of faith, and the necessity of responsibility. It begins with an exploration of the concept of symmetry in particle physics, and ends with a picture of how the individual 'magnetizes' the elements of their world.

"The 'gauge' in the Gauge Theory which is being used to unify the four forces of physics is rightly compared to the Tai Chi--the Ridgepole of the universe. In an extension of the quantum interpretation of physicist Philip Pearle impelled by the behavior of superconductors, gauge 'symmetry breaking' collapses the wave function and happens in consciousness. It then is also the reason we experience our finite individual worlds rather than the Field of Infinite Possibilities one might call God. This is the appearance of the Tai Chi. When we unite with this infinite Consciousness, we gain access to an infinite quantum Hilbert space, and if not constrained by our own sense of limitation, we may choose our world. In this sense, we are responsible for the world we experience.

"It is like the alignment of magnets. Rather than real magnets, they are alignments in the space of possibilities. The greater the alignment of the many 'magnets' of consciousness, the more conscious a being is. Random jostling is unconscious sleep and awareness of the infinite possibilities. Slight alignment occurs in the dream state, influence by random disturbances and underlying feelings. Nearly full alignment is the conscious state. The ability to consciously change alignment, is true superconsciousness.

"The Quantum Tai Chi takes us through Weyl's Gauge Theory of nonlinear time and space, to Yang's Gauge symmetry unification principle, to Carl Jung's 'synchronicity'. In the process we begin to see that as quantum theory has gauge symmetry (sameness to the possibilities), so do we at the very core of our consciousness.

"Though the Gauge Theory is somewhat difficult to understand without equations, Dr. Petersen carefully leads the layman to an understanding, as the basis for his theory of consciousness and cyclical time. Clearly written, with many parallels to Chinese philosophy, The Quantum Tai Chi breaks out of today's physics into the metaphysics of a century from now. This book is about 100 years ahead of its time. It belongs in the era where religion and science meet. I recommend this journey highly. It is not for the faint-hearted, but the rewards are astounding."
Abbey Reviews, copyright 1998, all rights reserved.

Narada Moy, Phd, physics:
"This book will stand as the next step toward understanding quantum theory. It could be considered the sequel to the 'Tao of Physics' and the 'Dancing Wu Li Masters'"

Manuel Montes, The Science Book Board:
"A fascinating theme developed in a clear and at the same time amazing way."

Table of Contents.

Preview:
Quantum Theory is a miracle among scientific theories. It has allowed us to understand the mysterious 'fingerprints' of the elements, the line spectra which provide the identity of elements in the most distant galaxies. It has given us the key to the standard theory of the most basic particles which physicists envision to make up all of matter: quarks and leptons. It has launched us into a program to mold the four forces of physics into one force which will describe everything in the physical world. It is without a doubt the most precise theory of science, giving us physical constants accurate to fifteen decimal places in the theory of the electron and its interactions.

For all its accomplishments, however, the interpretation of Quantum Theory is still a mystery. Perhaps the theory is incomplete. We do not know how it is, for example, that before an electron jumps to a lower orbit in an atom to give off a quantum or 'bundle' of light, it only has a probability of doing so in a given length of time. We are unable to predict the timing of this ‘quantum leap', as it is called. To Albert Einstein, this was unacceptable. When he said that "God does not play dice with the universe," he was implying that behind the rules of probability governing the behavior of the atom is some physical scheme which makes common sense.

Let us call this physical scheme "God's wheel of fortune" for the sake of argument. Perhaps at each moment a wheel is turned to decide whether the atom emits light or not. This wheel could have stops which say 'emit' or 'not emit' in proportions which relate to the probability involved. The omnipotence of God allows that he or she is able to readjust the balance of stops in an instant to match changing circumstances and probabilities.

Though such a setup obviously has no scientific basis, might there be one that does? Rather than relying on a very busy 'God', might the resolution of the mystery lie within the human brain, mind, or consciousness? And if it does, might such a scheme unravel the mystery of consciousness, human behavior, and the nature of the physical world?

The best clue we have to begin in answering these questions may be the mysterious behavior of a superconducting material. The essence of Quantum Theory in its most useful form was provided us in 1923, by the French prince, Louis de Broglie. He said that all of matter could be described as being composed of waves. A few years later, Erwin Schrodinger provided us with a mathematical object called a 'wave function' which would embody this idea and provide the mysterious probabilities operating in the microscopic atomic world.

However, could this theory apply to objects much larger than the atom? In a bold proposal, two Soviet scientists, Vitaly Ginzburg and Lev Landau shocked the physics world in the '50s by asserting that electrons in large groups (trillions or more) could exhibit a group behavior which mimicked Schrodinger's wave function. It was the first indication that a macroscopic 'object' might obey quantum theory. This was only a working hypothesis used to describe the nature of the lowering of electrical resistance to nothing in superconducting materials. However, indications are such from other recent experiments that quantum theory may directly apply to the macro world of people, tables, chairs, etc.


In a superconducting material, the waves describing pairs of electrons choose to dance together in phase like the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. The choice as to when to 'begin' the dance step obeys the laws of chance, just as did the choice of the electron in the atom to take the 'quantum leap'. Quantum theory has a ready-made quantity to describe the choice in phase. It is the quantum gauge, a free angle in the wave function. Amazingly, there is a physical analogy which describes the random, equal probability choice of phase in superconductivity. Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer finished the theory of superconductivity a few years after the breakthrough of Ginzburg and Landau. They said that pairs of electrons were like perfectly synchronized couples on the 'dance floor' of the material.

The choice of phase was perfectly analogous to the choice of non-locally interacting domains of a 2-D magnetic sheet to line up at a random angle when brought to a certain temperature. This lining up of billions of 'magnetic pairs' in a random direction is what physicists call a 'phase transition'. Lumped in this category is the freezing of randomly oriented liquid water into specifically-ordered ice.

Philip Pearle, a theorist at Hamilton College, New York, proposed in 1976 that all quantum choices were made in a fashion similar to a superconducting electron 'dance troupe's' choice of phase. Though this proposal adds to quantum theory, it is easy to apply Ginzburg and Landau's idea to the field of quantum possibilities in a way which does not. One need merely add a superconducting-like term to the quantum energy. This term could represent the way in which the brain, perception, and consciousness relate to the world.

Such an idea completes quantum theory in the way Einstein suggested, by providing a physical scheme as the basis for 'God's dice game'. It also suggests a new world view or paradigm, which echoes and expands the ancient Chinese wisdom.

The Yellow Emperor, the author of acupuncture philosophy, nearly 5,000 years ago echoed the more ancient philosopher, Fu Hsi, in proposing a theory of everything. It is now called the Tai Chi Philosophy. The Tai Chi, or 'ridgepole of the world' is the unit of the field of manifestation, much like the gauge angles representing dimensions of quantum choices, the possibilities which present themselves to human beings. These possibilities manifest as polarities which are behind appearance of the world. Dark and light, hot and cold, good and evil, wisdom and ignorance are examples of the dimensions of possibility which the ancient Tai Chi symbol represents. The phase of the wave function in the interpretation of Quantum Theory we have suggested is what one could call the 'Quantum Tai Chi'. It also represents the dimensions of possible worlds which somehow are latent in the functioning of the brain or consciousness.

If this is so, then it implies that each individual has ultimate power to choose the world they perceive. It impels us to a philosophy in which belief systems of humans make their world. This makes us responsible for what 'happens' to us. There are not any 'victims' in such a world picture. Choosing is like applying a magnet to an unmagnetized material. We have ultimate choice as to which direction to apply it. Though many of our important decisions are subconscious, these are patterned by our conscious choices and what we consciously accept of the collective unconscious.

One of the areas in which we have conscious choice is the area of health and healing. Spontaneous remissions of cancer and other ailments are often nearly instantaneous, and often involve a change in faith or belief systems. In the dance of the Quantum Tai Chi, this means a reorientation of the 'magnets' of the mind toward wholeness.

Does the brain have the computing power to model the complexity necessary for such a model? If its neurons were only memory bits, it would not be capable of the replicated possibilities for dimensions of the perceived world. Neurons number only in the 100 billions. However, with the discovery of the potential computing ability of microtubules, tubular pillars of the neural cells, we have the possibility that their information storage may make each neuron like a super home computer on the internet of the Brain. Stuart Hammeroff, in his pioneering book, Ultimate Computing: Biomolecular Consciousness and NanoTechnology, suggested this intriguing possibility in 1987. In 1988, Hans Moravec suggested that the brain could perform 1024 operations per second with this added capability. In 1996, supercomputers are below the figure of 1015 operations per second.

With such an intriguing possibility, who is the computer operator? Who makes the quantum choices? This is like the question of the Hindu sage, Ramana Maharshi, "who am I?" Is there a divine self to oversee the magnetization of worlds of possibility? Science itself may soon pose and answer this question.

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