Quantum quackery

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Quantum quackery (appeal to quantum mechanics) are terms of the "Science wars", criticizing the fashion trend in postmodernism (post-structuralism), popular philosophy and various currents of pseudoscience to refer to quantum physics without any intellectual rigor or understanding of the field to provide an erudite-sounding explanation of pretty much anything without making any actual claim. This tendency has been notably ridiculed by the 1996 Sokal's Hoax.

Quantum quackery and New Age "mystical physics" begin in earnest in the 1970s Fritjof Capra. In The Tao of Physics Capra asserts that quantum physics confirms Eastern mystical teachings, a claim taken up in the 1980s by Hindutva pseudoscience.

A classical case of "application" of quantum physics to topics outside physics is the case of Deepak Chopra, who was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in physics for "his unique interpretation of quantum physics as it applies to life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic happiness." [1]

"Quantum healing is healing the bodymind from a quantum level. That means from a level which is not manifest at a sensory level. Our bodies ultimately are fields of information, intelligence and energy. Quantum healing involves a shift in the fields of energy information, so as to bring about a correction in an idea that has gone wrong. So quantum healing involves healing one mode of consciousness, mind, to bring about changes in another mode of consciousness, body." (Deepak Chopra[2])

Theories of Quantum mind, themselves viewed very sceptically by the scientific community, have given rise to concepts like Quantum meditation.[1]


No-one knows the reason for this, but it's probably quantum is a quote of the dog Gaspode of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (and recurs in the narrator's voice a few times). It is a humorous or sarcastic reference to quantum quackery. The sarcastic attitude towards the obscurantism of scientific jargon used to avoid genuine debate or hide ignorance has precedents in Orwell's Politics and the English Language, and in the quack of Moliere's Le Malade imaginaire who "answers" the question of "Why does opium cause sleep?" with "Because of its soporific power." [3], a response that is greeted with enthusiasm by the assembled experts.

[edit] References

  1. ^ S. V. Raman, "Advaita Bhagwad Gita: its relevance in quantum meditation", Dilip 28.4, 2002; Tushar K. Ray, Quantum Meditation: A Novel Scientific Method for Developing Inner Balance and Harmony

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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