Does the Global Consciousness Project Provide 7-sigma Proof of Quantum Retrocausality?

Abstract

A meta-analysis of Princeton's Global Consciousness Project (GCP) of 500 pre-registered experiments from 1998-2015 found that, during periods of strong coherence in people's thoughts (e.g. after a terrorist attack), random number generators (RNGs) based on quantum tunneling are more likely to produce correlated results (Z=7.31, p < 1E-12). This was not observed for duration-matched control periods, for which the results closely matched the null hypothesis. The RNGs used supply a raw bitstream generated by quantum tunneling through a bias correction that deterministically flips 50% of the bits to create the final bitstream (e.g. 11110000 may be flipped to 10100101). The final bitstreams are thus by design uncorrelated with the output of the quantum tunneling, implying that the observed correlations, which were in the final bitstreams, cannot readily be explained by a causal factor biasing the result of the quantum tunneling, as any such bias would not propagate to the final bitstreams. Instead, coherence in thought appears to bias the final (consciously observed) bitstreams, which then "retrocausally" influence the history of quantum tunneling events as needed to reflect this bias after bit flipping. If we posit that hidden variables governing quantum randomness exist, are impacted by coherence in consciousness, and act by adjusting the probabilities associated with the final observations so as to deviate subtly from Born's rule, we find a mechanism that does not contradict established physics. Here I assess the GCP's reported experimental procedures and find that, although at times poorly described, they are consistent with established statistics. I also perform a spectral analysis on public GCP timeseries data that supports a model in which the consciousness-linked effect acts in waves. These findings are not cause for alarm; such phenomena, if real, have always been real--but by choosing to study rather than ignore them, we can use them for our benefit.