We chose kinesin as a molecule to focus extensively on because of its striking ability to walk on two legs.  You can google organelle animation and watch countless computer generated videos of organelles performing their complex duties inside cells created by scientists with the intent of being completely accurate in what is being depicted.  The evidence of the massively complex and highly coordinated behavior of subcellular molecules is widespread and overwhelming, and simply cannot be explained by existing science.

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     FMT asserts that mind is fundamental and that mind and matter combine into more complex forms at each scale of matter.  This means that kinesin have molecular scale minds that control their molecular scale bodies, similar to a cellular scale mind controlling its cellular scale body, and your human scale mind controlling your human scale body.  This discussion will lay out the FMT hypothesis for how minds can influence the behavior of matter, starting at the quantum scale, but first we need to discuss a few aspects of the quantum world from the perspective of FMT.

 

Developing a Quantum Framework for FMT

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     The next three paragraphs are repeated from the Molecular Mind discussion, which explain why assumptions embedded within mainstream quantum theory prevent the theory from explaining how kinesin can walk. 

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     The properties and behaviors of atoms and molecules are described by quantum physics, the branch of science that models the behavior of the smallest known bits of matter and energy in the universe.  Quantum theory and quantum mechanics are a set of rules and analytical tools to predict the “range of possible properties” of a quantum system when it is measured or observed.  It cannot predict the outcome of any single measurement with any precision whatsoever as it is limited to predicting the statistical distribution of possible outcomes across a series of experiments. The 1st key takeaway is that quantum theory is fundamentally indeterminate.

     A foundational assumption in quantum theory is that the behavior of quantum scale matter is “random” in nature.  This assumption of randomness is just that, an assumption, one that has not been empirically proven to be valid.  What has been empirically deduced is that when performing a large number of experiments, such as sending a beam of electrons or photons through a double slit apparatus, the particles will over time produce a statistical distribution of impacts on a detector screen, resulting in an interference pattern that illustrates the wave-like nature of matter and energy.  Because a predictable distribution of photon impacts on the screen results over time, quantum physicists "assume" this means where each photon hits the screen is driven by a statistically random process.  While this does not "prove" the underlying causal influence guiding the photons is random, it is consistent with the "hypothesis" that the underlying driver of quantum behavior "may" be statistically random.  The 2nd key takeaway is that quantum indeterminacy is assumed to be driven by random processes in mainstream science.

     If the indeterminate behavior of quantum scale matter is truly driven by random processes as posited in mainstream quantum theory, then the theory can offer no explanation for the control of ATP and Kinesin that we are searching for.  It is simply unscientific to assume that random quantum processes can produce the precise timing and coordination of thousands of kinesin walking on microtubules within each cell, run at speeds of up to 100 steps per second, cause kinesin to pick up materials at point A, navigate the vast network of microtubules to deliver cargo to point B where it happens to be needed, and to detect the presence of other kinesin and change lanes to avoid a collision.  And kinesin are just one type of molecule inside cells, which contain billons of molecules executing millions of complex and highly coordinated chemical and electromagnetic reactions every second inside each of the 30 trillion cells in your body to keep each cell, and you, alive.

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​Mind as an Observer

 

     The central mystery in quantum physics is called the “observer problem”, which involves the difficulty in explaining why quantum scale matter behaves differently when being observed versus not being observed.  This mystery is also referred to as the “measurement problem” where quantum scale matter behaves differently when being measured versus not being measured.  It is the act of observation or measurement of a quantum system that physicists view as “collapsing the wave function” of the system, resulting in one of many possible outcomes to manifest into a single definite classical result.  At the moment of observation or measurement, the wave equations that describe the quantum system cease to represent the current state of the system, thus the relevance of the equations “collapse” into oblivion.  That matter behaves in this manner when being observed or measured is not mere speculation, it is a hard scientific fact backed up by a century of quantum physics experiments.  Quantum physics has proven that observing or measuring quantum scale matter influences the behavior of the matter being observed or measured. 

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     Many mysteries such as the famous double slit experiment, delayed choice experiment, and the collapse of the wave function all have the observer problem at their core.  Numerous quantum paradoxes such as Schrodinger’s Cat, Wigner’s Friend, and the Frauchiger-Renner paradox are all also deeply rooted in the observer problem.  The central theme that connects most if not all of the quantum mysteries and paradoxes is the fact that quantum theory does not explicitly incorporate observers or measurements into its formalisms.  In fact, quantum theory lacks definitions for what constitutes an observer, an observation, a measurement device, and even what counts as a measurement.  Quantum theory lacks definitions for the key terms in its central mystery which leads to its paradoxes.  

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     The observer problem is also the only place in the entirety of physics that even hints at a possible connection between mind and matter, where the simple act of observation influences the behavior of matter.  Interpreting this hint from the FMT perspective leads to the assertion that mind can function as an observer.  Since simply observing matter influences its behavior, defining mind as an observer means that mind can influence the behavior of matter.  This may seem similar to Eugene Wigner's view that consciousness collapses the wave function, which was highly criticized by his peers.  Most scientists believed that consciousness emerged from brain processes, thus it implied that the universe did not exist until a human brain evolved to observe it, which led to Wigner's views largely being ignored by the scientific community.  FMT asserts that mind can influence the behavior of its matter structure from quantum scale to human scale minds.  This brings us to the question of how minds, or observers, are able to influence matter within the boundaries of known scientific theory?  To answer this questions requires challenging other assumptions within quantum physics, essentially creating a unique quantum framework for FMT.

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Embracing the Wave Nature of Matter Makes the Quantum Realm Comprehensible

 

     Attempting to explain wave function collapse has led many philosophers and physicists to engage in wild speculation about the nature of reality, from believing the moon does not exist unless someone is looking at it, to infinite copies of each us living in infinite parallel universes, to denying that objective reality even exists.  These views treat wave functions as real phenomena that exist in our universe whereas FMT views wave functions as mathematical models of the behavior of things that exist in our universe.  FMT is a realist theory which asserts that matter, energy, mind, and the forces of nature are real phenomena that exist in our universe.  Wave functions and wave function collapse are not real in FMT, they are mathematical models of the behavior of things that exist in our universe, just like every equation in classical physics. 

 

     FMT takes the evidence from scientific experiments and combines it with evidence from human subjective experience, assuming that the overlap likely points the way towards better theories of mind and of reality more broadly.   Since wave functions are mathematical models and there is zero scientific evidence for a multiverse, FMT asserts that we live in a single universe, with matter that has a real existence independent of whether or not anyone is observing it.  FMT accepts our 1st person subjective experience as evidence that minds also exist in our universe.  Renee Descartes' famous quote "I think therefore I am" acknowledges the obvious fact that our mind is the only thing that each of us can be 100% sure truly exists.  Our minds exist, our minds observe, and our minds decide which actions to take based on events that occur in our lives.  That our minds are observers fits with human intuition, sits on a robust foundation of scientific evidence, and does not violate any known scientific laws.  In fact, the mere existence of mathematics, physics, and philosophy are predicated on the existence of a human mind to develop these disciplines as tools to investigate nature. 

 

     The mind as an observer intuitively fits with human experience, explaining the feeling that we have free will, something modern science rejects based on the widespread metaphysical belief that everything in the universe can be explained by deterministic physical laws.  Yet the quantum realm is completely indeterminate, providing the perfect substrate for mind to exert agency over matter, to exert its free will over matter.  In a future post we will go down the rabbit hole of entanglement in more detail, but the short story is in 2020 Nobel prizes were awarded to scientists who experimentally proved that entanglement is a real phenomenon that violates Einstein's general relativity theory.  Einstein's concept of a deterministic block universe has been invalidated; we do not live in a deterministic universe.  Specifically, entanglement shows that local causation is a myth, meaning that science cannot explain the cause and effect relationships between objects in a finite space using equations that describe the particles and forces interacting in that finite space.  A photon emitted by an exploding star billions of years ago in a distant galaxy can hit an alien's retina and instantly impact the properties of its entangled photon partner that is about to interact with your retina.  Given the fundamental indeterminacy and lack of causation inherent in the quantum substrate of our universe, combined with the fact that simply observing matter influences its behavior, FMT asserts that the default assumption should be that humans have free will until proven otherwise, not the other way around as most scientists and philosophers assert. 

 

     FMT asserts that your decision to read this discussion at this time was driven by the free will of your mind, not by the modern scientific view that massive numbers of deterministic particle interactions control everything you do as if you are a complex robot with a mind that has the illusion of free will because it literally cannot exert any control over any aspect of your body or your life.  Quantum physics has invalidated the concept of a deterministic universe, unless one wants to believe that every elementary particle interaction throughout the 13.8 billion year history of our universe "splits" our universe into an infinite number of parallel universes where everything that could possibly happen does indeed happen in another universe.  That there are an infinite number of you reading these words right now living slightly different lives, plus an infinitely number of universes where you are a doctor, lawyer, or construction worker, plus an infinite number where you have already died or were never born.  This is called the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and it shows just how far some scientists and philosophers will go to avoid giving up on their metaphysical belief in a deterministic universe.

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    Let's take a closer look at what scientists have actually learned about elementary particles and wave function collapse.  Elementary particles are modeled using wave equations, implying that their intrinsic nature is wave-like versus particle-like.  Quantum scale phenomena appear to our scientific instruments as energy patterns that lack any physical dimensions whatsoever, have no defined position nor momentum, can become entangled with one another and interact instantly over vast distances, and may or may not have any mass.  The subset of elementary particles that form stable matter all have mass and will be referred to as matter waves in this discussion.  Matter waves are spread out over a region of space and their behaviors are described mathematically by the Schrodinger wave equation.  When our scientific instruments attempt to measure any properties of matter waves, they extract energy which appears as "particles" that suddenly have definite and measurable properties.  The fact that matter sometimes appears as a particle and sometimes as a wave is called wave-particle duality.  FMT asserts that the intrinsic nature of matter is as wave-like energy patterns that appear momentarily as classical particles when being measured or observed during energy transfer processes, after which they revert back to their intrinsic wave nature. 

 

     A human scale analogy is to consider a particle as similar to a lightning bolt.  A set of wave equations can be written to describe a storm cloud as matter waves that form an electromagnetic field relative to the earth below and spread out over the cloud's 3D structure and beyond.  The field strength at each point will change as the cloud absorbs water vapor, changes shape, and drifts over the uneven contours of the earth below (i.e. taller and metallic objects are more likely to attract lightning thus impact the relative field strength at each point in the cloud).  At some point the electromagnetic field strength exceeds the insulation strength of the atmosphere between specific points in the cloud and on earth, and a lightning bolt is generated to exchange electromagnetic energy between the cloud and the earth.  The lightning bolt appears briefly, carries a specific and measurable amount of energy, and follows a specific and measurable path to the earth.  The cloud is similar to a matter wave spread out over a region of space lacking specific and measurable properties, and the lightning bolt is similar to a particle that has specific and measurable properties but only appears briefly during an energy transfer event.

 

     The analogy is relevant because lightning bolts are actually made of a massive streams of electrons, which are matter waves that behave according to the principles and equations of quantum theory.  Lightning bolts are literally high energy macroscopic quantum energy transfer events. Electrons in a storm cloud behave the same as they do in quantum experiments.  They are spread out over a region of space existing in their intrinsic matter wave state, and appear only briefly as particles when a lightning bolt or measurement device extracts energy from the quantum system.  In the storm cloud analogy the earth acts as a giant measurement device extracting energy from a quantum system, causing particles to appear very briefly in the form of a lightning bolt.  Prior to the lightning strike, the lightning bolt could be viewed as existing in a superposition of many lightning bolts that could transfer energy to many different places on earth, analogous to an electron existing in a superposition of many electrons that could transfer energy to many different places in space. 

 

     The wave equations describing the lightning bolt will suddenly "collapse" and become useless because they no longer describe the current state of the cloud after the lightning bolt strike.  When a measurement occurs, matter waves "collapse" from their intrinsic spread out wave state in order to concentrate and transfer a portion of their energy to a measurement device, which always transfers in specific quanta of energy and at a specific point in space and time, causing our instruments to detect a particle in the classical sense. Particles and lightning bolts exist in the classical sense only momentarily during energy transfer events, rendering moot the wave equations that previously described the quantum system.  

     The idea that particles or lightning bolts literally exist in a "superposition of states" is an antiquated view leftover from the classical physics era when particles were considered to be tiny 3D objects that had permanent existence with measurable properties.  Neither particles nor lightning bolts have permanent existence nor do they have specific measurable properties when not transferring energy.  Neither particles nor lightning bolts literally exist in multiple places at the same time; it is their intrinsic energy waves that are literally spread out over a region of space.  Thinking that particles can exist in multiple places at once is a view that denies the intrinsic wave nature of matter.  Matter waves are what actually exists, particles are energy transfer between matter waves.​​

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Quantum Theory Models the Degrees of Freedom of the Mind of a Quantum System

 

    FMT views quantum wave equations as representing our knowledge of the state of a quantum system between measurements or observations.  Wave function collapse represents an update to our knowledge of the specific properties of the system when a measurement or observation occurs, whereby the equations that previously described the system are rendered moot.  Between measurements or observations the specific properties of a quantum system are unknowable because the energy of matter waves is spread out over a region of space.  If we apply this view to the famous Schrodinger's cat paradox, the cat is never alive "and" dead at the same time, it is always either alive "or" dead.  It is Schrodinger's knowledge of the state of his cat that exists in a superposition of possible states since he has not updated his knowledge of the state of his cat since he placed it in the box and put the lid on.  He then updates his knowledge by opening the box and looking inside, where hopefully he learns that his cat is still alive!​​

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​     Defining mind as an observer that can influence the behavior of matter waves is the FMT explanation for how kinesin can walk.  Kinesin have molecular scale minds that can control their molecular scale bodies by influencing the movement of the atoms and subatomic particles that make up its physical structure.  Their minds influence the wave functions of their matter wave bodies.  This frames quantum theory as a set of tools and rules to predict the “degrees of freedom of movement" that the mind of a quantum system may have pursued since it was last observed or measured, not a measure of the randomness inherent in the quantum system.  Mind influencing the behavior of its matter structure provides the missing ingredient to explain the complex behavior of molecules inside cells such as kinesin.  The physics that specifically describes how mind can influence matter remains unknown, but the basic fact that mind can influence matter is supported by an abundance of scientific evidence at the quantum scale, and at the scale of humans.

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Human Scale Evidence that Mind Can Influence the Behavior of Matter

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    The placebo effect demonstrates that fake drugs and fake treatments can positively impact the healing ability of the human body at the cellular scale.  Fake drugs (placebos) have been found to positively impact a patient's condition even though the patient received a sugar pill or other non-medical substance that should have no impact on the patient's condition. Placebos are the gold standard control group in all drug and medical treatment testing worldwide, a scientifically validated fact that sits at the core of the $1.7 trillion global pharmaceutical industry.  There is no scientific explanation for how or why placebos work, but that doesn't change the fact that what a human believes in their mind can affect the ability of their body to heal at the cellular level.  Let's dig into the placebo effect in a bit more detail.

 

     One patient group is given a fake pill but believe they are receiving a new drug developed to treat their condition.  Another patient group is given the new drug being tested.  Somehow both patient groups experience improvement in their conditions, a phenomena called the placebo effect.  This effect demonstrates that what our minds believes can influence the ability of our cells to heal our bodies.  Colored pills produce stronger placebo effects than white pills.  Red, yellow, and orange placebo pills produce a stimulant effect while blue and green placebo pills produce a tranquilizing effect.  Larger placebo pills produce a greater effect than smaller pills, two pills produce a greater effect than a single pill, placebo injections produce a greater effect than pills, and so on.

 

     Neither patient nor doctor knows which patients are getting the real drug versus the placebo.  This is called the "double blind protocol" which was developed because it was discovered that the strength of the placebo effect was less if the doctors administering the drug trials knew which patient received the drug versus placebo.  Think about that, if a doctor knowingly gives you a placebo but you think it's a new drug, you will have a lesser placebo effect than if the doctor had no knowledge of whether it was a placebo.  The double blind protocol prevents the minds of doctors and nurses running drug trials from inadvertently affecting the efficacy of the placebo effect on the patient's body.  This feels more like ESP than hard science, yet the double blind protocol has been found to be essential to all drug testing.  As a quick aside, there is an abundance of scientific evidence that ESP is a small but statistically significant effect, but it does not appear consistently enough across the population to be recognized by the scientific community as a real phenomena.

 

     The placebo effect is estimated to account for 30% to 60% of the benefit of the average drug, yet there is no scientific theory explaining how the placebo effect works.  Nor is there much research activity trying to understand the placebo effect nor the need for the double blind protocol.  It is striking that the central scientific fact that lies at the core of the testing protocol in one of the largest and most scientifically advanced industries on earth is that the mind can influence matter.​

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Conclusion​​

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     The observer effect is supported by a massive body of scientific evidence demonstrating that simply observing quantum scale matter influences the behavior of that matter.  Since “Mind equals Observer” in FMT, quantum scale mind can influence the behavior of quantum scale matter, molecular scale mind can influence the behavior of molecular scale matter, cellular scale mind can influence the behavior of cellular scale matter, and your human mind can influence the behavior of your human body.  Returning to our molecular mind example, watch the video above one more time and consider whether the kinesin appears to be controlling its body.  Now consider whether the kinesin's ability to control its body is more likely to be driven by trillions of random quantum processes that somehow result in its coordinated and seemingly intelligent behavior, or whether the kinesin may have a rudimentary form of intelligence and is taking actions in pursuit of a goal.  Kinesin control their own physical structures to enable walking, navigation, changing lanes to avoid a collision, and so forth.  The mind of a kinesin is the causal agent driving its behaviors as it performs its duties in support of the continued survival of its cellular ecosystem.  The amazing set of skills demonstrated by kinesin can best be explained by assuming that kinesin have minds that control their atomic scale bodies, similar to how our human minds control our massively more complex multicellular bodies. 

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     FMT asserts that our 30 trillion cells combine their cellular scale bodies and minds to form our human scale body and mind.  The placebo effect provides direct evidence that our collective cellular minds can influence the ability of our cells to heal individually and collectively.   Placebo testing provides a massive body of hard scientific evidence that proves our minds can influence our bodies at the cellular scale.  Our human minds can influence the behavior of matter at the scale of our bodies and our cells, as well as in quantum scale experiments performed in labs.  Mind can influence the behavior of matter at all scales.  The evidence from quantum physics demonstrates that humans are not biological robots driven by deterministic laws with minds that have no ability to control our bodies; instead it shows that we have the collective mind of the matter that forms our body with the free will to choose how to live our lives, who to marry, what career to pursue, and what to eat for dinner. 

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     The collective mind of any given matter structure can influence the behavior of its constituent atoms, molecules, and/or cells.   FMT views the electromagnetic field that surrounds and pervades every matter structure as a possible substrate to enable this influence, which would be consistent with the mind as an elementary property of matter solution to the Mind Combination Problem.  The other possibility is the mind as a massless boson solution which frames mind as an undiscovered force or nature, an undiscovered field that spans the universe.  Both solutions fit with scientific evidence and theory, but lay outside of current mainstream scientific paradigms that are rooted in the unproven metaphysical belief that the human mind is a function of brain processes.

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     The complex and seemingly intelligent behavior of the billions of molecules inside every cell is extremely difficult if not impossible to explain with existing science.  Unless and until a scientific theory is developed that explains how these complex behaviors are being controlled and orchestrated, the most logical hypothesis that explains the evidence is that molecules have cognition and agency indicative of a molecular scale mind.  The rapidly increasing evidence of highly complex and precisely coordinated molecular activity inside cells is evidence that molecules are intelligent, have awareness of their surroundings, communicate and coordinate their actions with other molecules to keep their shared cellular ecosystem functioning properly.  FMT concludes that molecules have minds.​​