“ Quantum Enigma - Physics Encounters Consciousness ”

When the book review Editor of [this journal] asked me to write a review on this book [1], I gladly accepted not because I'm a quantum physicist but I've been in the trenches of scientific studies of consciousness over the past nine years as a biophysicist and outsider unencumbered by academic conformity and orthodoxy. So, perhaps I have something useful to add to the existing reviews on this excellent book. When I say " scientific " , I mean building concrete and testable models of consciousness connected to hard sciences (e.g., physics, neuroscience, biochemistry and physiology) and doing the experimental testing. I'm of the view that the state of consciousness studies is rapidly changing and the future promising. In contrast to other books popularizing quantum mechanics, the importance and significance of this book lie with the facts that: (1) it explicitly discusses the connections between quantum mechanics and consciousness; and (2) it is used as course material for liberal arts students at Rosenblum and Kuttner's school (UC Santa Cruz) and perhaps elsewhere some of whom shall become consciousness researchers. Teaching with humor and sometimes in parables, the authors skillfully expose the enigmas of quantum mechanics including their connections to consciousness. The chief enigmas exposed are: (1) The measurement problem which involves observer created reality and the randomness of Nature; and (2) Quantum entanglement, experimentally verified through violations of Bell's inequality, which suggests inseparability or nonlocality at the microscopic levels. Rosenblum and Kuttner also succinctly summarize