Consciousness and the Quantum Wave Function with Richard Lucido

Sep 30, 2025

Richard James Lucido, a PhD in psychology and author, delves into the fascinating ties between consciousness and quantum mechanics. He presents his theory of naturalistic idealism, arguing that consciousness is the foundation of reality while matter is just information. Lucido discusses experiments suggesting that consciousness may collapse the quantum wave function and how time affects our conscious experience. He also explores the implications of his findings, including the intriguing question of whether animals can influence quantum outcomes.

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INSIGHT

Von Neumann/Wigner Collapse Proposal

Von Neumann and Wigner propose consciousness, not instruments, causes wave-function collapse.
That viewpoint frames 'consciousness causes collapse' as a testable hypothesis.

ANECDOTE

Subliminal Priming As Experimental Wedge

Lucido adapted subliminal priming to separate measurement from conscious observation using reaction times.
He used primes that can influence responses without conscious recognition to probe collapse timing.

INSIGHT

Quantum-Driven Primes And Hypothesis

Lucido fed prime selection from a Geiger-based quantum random source and either observed or left primes unobserved.
He hypothesized observed primes would be definite and produce stronger priming than unobserved (superposed) primes.

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Consciousness and the Quantum Wave Function with Richard Lucido

Richard James Lucido earned a PhD. in psychology from Wayne State University in 2011. He is a practitioner of educational and behavioral psychology in the Detroit Area. He is the author of Existence & Consciousness: A Theory of Naturalistic Idealism. A peer reviewed author of papers spanning the disciplines of psychology, philosophy, and education, Dr. Lucido’s main interest is the subject of metaphysical idealism, the notion that consciousness is the primary constituent of reality.

Dr. Lucido speaks about the relationship between consciousness and quantum mechanics. Richard outlines his theory of naturalistic idealism, where consciousness is primary, and matter emerges as information. Lucido also describes his experimental work testing whether consciousness itself causes the collapse of the quantum wave function.

00:00:00 Introduction: consciousness and quantum reality
00:02:30 What is idealism?
00:06:30 Quantum physics meets consciousness
00:10:10 Existence vs. essence
00:16:00 How time shapes conscious experience
00:22:30 The quantum wave function explained
00:27:20 Can consciousness collapse reality?
00:40:00 Surprising results from experiments
00:52:50 Do cats collapse the wave function?
00:57:50 Why replication matters
01:03:07 Conclusion

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He currently serves as Co-Director of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science.

(Recorded on August 30, 2025)

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