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Homeopathy

‘Unconventional’ experiments in biology and medicine with optimized design based on quantum-like correlations

Francis Beauvais

Published Feb 1, 2017• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In previous articles, a description of 'unconventional' experiments (e.g. in vitro or clinical studies based on high dilutions, 'memory of water' or homeopathy) using quantum-like probability was proposed. Because the mathematical formulations of quantum logic are frequently an obstacle for physicians and biologists, a modified modeling that rests on classical probability is described in the present article. This modeling is inspired from a relational interpretation of quantum physics that applies not only to microscopic objects, but also to macroscopic structures, including experimental devices and observers. In this framework, any outcome of an experiment is not an absolute property of the observed system as usually considered but is expressed relatively to an observer. A team of interacting observers is thus described from an external view point based on two principles: the outcomes of experiments are expressed relatively to each observer and the observers agree on outcomes when they interact with each other. If probability fluctuations are also taken into account, correlations between 'expected' and observed outcomes emerge. Moreover, quantum-like correlations are predicted in experiments with local blind design but not with centralized blind design. No assumption on 'memory' or other physical modification of water is necessary in the present description although such hypotheses cannot be formally discarded. In conclusion, a simple modeling of 'unconventional' experiments based on classical probability is now available and its predictions can be tested. The underlying concepts are sufficiently intuitive to be spread into the homeopathy community and beyond. It is hoped that this modeling will encourage new studies with optimized designs for in vitro experiments and clinical trials.

DOI
10.1016/j.homp.2017.01.002

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Memory of water and blinding

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In previous articles, a description of 'unconventional' experiments (e.g. in vitro or clinical studies based on high dilutions, 'memory of water' or homeopathy) using quantum-like probability was proposed. Because the mathematical formulations of quantum logic are frequently an obstacle for physicians and biologists, a modified modeling that rests on classical probability is described in the present article. This modeling is inspired from a relational interpretation of quantum physics that applies not only to microscopic objects, but also to macroscopic structures, including experimental devices and observers. In this framework, any outcome of an experiment is not an absolute property of the observed system as usually considered but is expressed relatively to an observer. A team of interacting observers is thus described from an external view point based on two principles: the outcomes of experiments are expressed relatively to each observer and the observers agree on outcomes when they interact with each other. If probability fluctuations are also taken into account, correlations between 'expected' and observed outcomes emerge. Moreover, quantum-like correlations are predicted in experiments with local blind design but not with centralized blind design. No assumption on 'memory' or other physical modification of water is necessary in the present description although such hypotheses cannot be formally discarded.In conclusion, a simple modeling of 'unconventional' experiments based on classical probability is now available and its predictions can be tested. The underlying concepts are sufficiently intuitive to be spread into the homeopathy community and beyond. It is hoped that this modeling will encourage new studies with optimized designs for in vitro experiments and clinical trials.

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Francis Beauvais

Objectives: “Memory of water” experiments (also known as Benveniste’s experiments) were the source of a famous controversy in the contemporary history of sciences. We recently proposed a formal framework devoid of any reference to “memory of water” to describe these disputed experiments. In this framework, the results of Benveniste’s experiments are seen as the consequence of quantum-like interferences of cognitive states. Design: In the present article, we describe retrospectively a series of experiments in physiology (Langendorff preparation) performed in 1993 by Benveniste’s team for a public demonstration. These experiments aimed at demonstrating “electronic transmission of molecular information” from protein solution (ovalbumin) to naive water. The experiments were closely controlled and blinded by participants not belonging to Benveniste’s team. Results: The number of samples associated with signal (change of coronary flow of isolated rodent heart) was as expected; this was an essential result since, according to mainstream science, no effect at all was supposed to occur. However, besides coherent correlations, some results were paradoxical and remained incomprehensible in a classical framework. However, using a quantum-like model, the probabilities of the different outcomes could be calculated according to the different experimental contexts. Conclusion: In this reassessment of an historical series of “memory of water” experiments, quantum-like probabilities allowed modeling these controversial experiments that remained unexplained in a classical frame and no logical paradox persisted. All the features of Benveniste’s experiments were taken into account with this model, which did not involve the hypothesis of “memory of water” or any other “local” explanation. NeuroQuantology | June 2013 | Volume 11 | Issue 2 | Page 197-208

NeuroQuantology•Jun 1, 2013•6 citations
In previous articles, a description of 'unconventional' experiments (e.g. in vitro or clinical studies based on high dilutions, 'memory of water' or homeopathy) using quantum-like probability was proposed. Because the mathematical formulations of quantum logic are frequently an obstacle for physicians and biologists, a modified modeling that rests on classical probability is described in the present article. This modeling is inspired from a relational interpretation of quantum physics that applies not only to microscopic objects, but also to macroscopic structures, including experimental devices and observers. In this framework, any outcome of an experiment is not an absolute property of the observed system as usually considered but is expressed relatively to an observer. A team of interacting observers is thus described from an external view point based on two principles: the outcomes of experiments are expressed relatively to each observer and the observers agree on outcomes when they interact with each other. If probability fluctuations are also taken into account, correlations between 'expected' and observed outcomes emerge. Moreover, quantum-like correlations are predicted in experiments with local blind design but not with centralized blind design. No assumption on 'memory' or other physical modification of water is necessary in the present description although such hypotheses cannot be formally discarded. In conclusion, a simple modeling of 'unconventional' experiments based on classical probability is now available and its predictions can be tested. The underlying concepts are sufficiently intuitive to be spread into the homeopathy community and beyond. It is hoped that this modeling will encourage new studies with optimized designs for in vitro experiments and clinical trials.
In previous articles, a description of 'unconventional' experiments (e.g. in vitro or clinical studies based on high dilutions, 'memory of water' or homeopathy) using quantum-like probability was proposed. Because the mathematical formulations of quantum logic are frequently an obstacle for physicians and biologists, a modified modeling that rests on classical probability is described in the present article. This modeling is inspired from a relational interpretation of quantum physics that applies not only to microscopic objects, but also to macroscopic structures, including experimental devices and observers. In this framework, any outcome of an experiment is not an absolute property of the observed system as usually considered but is expressed relatively to an observer. A team of interacting observers is thus described from an external view point based on two principles: the outcomes of experiments are expressed relatively to each observer and the observers agree on outcomes when they interact with each other. If probability fluctuations are also taken into account, correlations between 'expected' and observed outcomes emerge. Moreover, quantum-like correlations are predicted in experiments with local blind design but not with centralized blind design. No assumption on 'memory' or other physical modification of water is necessary in the present description although such hypotheses cannot be formally discarded.In conclusion, a simple modeling of 'unconventional' experiments based on classical probability is now available and its predictions can be tested. The underlying concepts are sufficiently intuitive to be spread into the homeopathy community and beyond. It is hoped that this modeling will encourage new studies with optimized designs for in vitro experiments and clinical trials.
BACKGROUND: The randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the 'gold standard' of modern clinical pharmacology. However, for many practitioners of homeopathy, blind RCTs are an inadequate research tool for testing complex therapies such as homeopathy. METHODS: Classical probabilities used in biological sciences and in medicine are only a special case of the generalized theory of probability used in quantum physics. I describe homeopathy trials using a quantum-like statistical model, a model inspired by quantum physics and taking into consideration superposition of states, non-commuting observables, probability interferences, contextuality, etc. RESULTS: The negative effect of blinding on success of homeopathy trials and the 'smearing effect' ('specific' effects of homeopathy medicine occurring in the placebo group) are described by quantum-like probabilities without supplementary ad hoc hypotheses. The difference of positive outcome rates between placebo and homeopathy groups frequently vanish in centralized blind trials. The model proposed here suggests a way to circumvent such problems in masked homeopathy trials by incorporating in situ randomization/unblinding. CONCLUSION: In this quantum-like model of homeopathy clinical trials, success in open-label setting and failure with centralized blind RCTs emerge logically from the formalism. This model suggests that significant differences between placebo and homeopathy in blind RCTs would be found more frequently if in situ randomization/unblinding was used.
Benveniste’s experiments have been the subject of an international scientific controversy (known as the case of the “memory of water”). We recently proposed to describe these results in a modeling in which the outcome of an experiment is considered personal property (named cognitive state) of the observer and not an objective property of the observed system. As a consequence, the correlations between “expected” results and observed results in Benveniste’s experiments could be considered the consequence of quantum-like interferences of the possible cognitive states of the experimenters/observers. In the present paper, we evidence that small random fluctuations from the environment together with intersubjective agreement force the “expected” results and the observed results experienced by the observers into a noncommuting relationship. The modeling also suggests that experimental systems with enough compliance (e.g., biological systems) are more suitable to evidence quantum-like correlations. No hypothesis related to “memory of water” or other elusive modifications of water structure is necessary. In conclusion, a quantum-like interpretation of Benveniste’s experiments offers a logical framework for these experiments that have remained paradoxical to now. This quantum-like modeling could be adapted to other areas of research for which there are issues of reproducibility of results by other research teams and/or suspicion of nontrivial experimenter effect.
BACKGROUND: Factors that participate in the biological changes associated with a placebo are not completely understood. Natural evolution, mean regression, concomitant procedures and other non specific effects are well-known factors that contribute to the "placebo effect". In this article, we suggest that quantum-like correlations predicted by a probabilistic modeling could also play a role. RESULTS: An elementary experiment in biology or medicine comparing the biological changes associated with two placebos is modeled. The originality of this modeling is that experimenters, biological system and their interactions are described together from the standpoint of a participant who is uninvolved in the measurement process. Moreover, the small random probability fluctuations of a "real" experiment are also taken into account. If both placebos are inert (with only different labels), common sense suggests that the biological changes associated with the two placebos should be comparable. However, the consequence of this modeling is the possibility for two placebos to be associated with different outcomes due to the emergence of quantum-like correlations. CONCLUSION: The association of two placebos with different outcomes is counterintuitive and this modeling could give a framework for some unexplained observations where mere placebos are compared (in some alternative medicines for example). This hypothesis can be tested in blind trials by comparing local vs. remote assessment of correlations.
Benveniste’s experiments (also known as “memory of water” or “digital biology” experiments) remain unresolved. In some research areas, which have in common the description of cognition mechanisms and information processing, quantum-like statistical models have been proposed to address problems that were “paradoxical” in a classical frame. Therefore, the outcomes of the cognitive state of the experimenter were calculated for a series of Benveniste’s experiments using a quantum-like statistical model (i.e. a model inspired by quantum physics and taking into consideration superposition of quantum states, non-commutable observables, and contextuality). Not only were the probabilities of “success” and “failure” of the experiments modeled according to their context, but the emergence of a signal from background was also taken into account. For the first time, a formal framework devoid of any reference to “memory of water” or “digital biology” describes all the characteristics of these disputed results. In particular, the difficulties encountered by Benveniste (reproducibility of the experiments, disturbances after blinding) are simply explained in this model without additional ad hoc hypotheses. It is thus proposed that we see Benveniste’s experiments as the result of quantum-like probability interferences of cognitive states.Keywords: Memory of water—quantum cognition—quantum-like probabilities—entanglement—experimenter effect—contextuality —nonlocal interactions
Objectives: “Memory of water” experiments (also known as Benveniste’s experiments) were the source of a famous controversy in the contemporary history of sciences. We recently proposed a formal framework devoid of any reference to “memory of water” to describe these disputed experiments. In this framework, the results of Benveniste’s experiments are seen as the consequence of quantum-like interferences of cognitive states. Design: In the present article, we describe retrospectively a series of experiments in physiology (Langendorff preparation) performed in 1993 by Benveniste’s team for a public demonstration. These experiments aimed at demonstrating “electronic transmission of molecular information” from protein solution (ovalbumin) to naive water. The experiments were closely controlled and blinded by participants not belonging to Benveniste’s team. Results: The number of samples associated with signal (change of coronary flow of isolated rodent heart) was as expected; this was an essential result since, according to mainstream science, no effect at all was supposed to occur. However, besides coherent correlations, some results were paradoxical and remained incomprehensible in a classical framework. However, using a quantum-like model, the probabilities of the different outcomes could be calculated according to the different experimental contexts. Conclusion: In this reassessment of an historical series of “memory of water” experiments, quantum-like probabilities allowed modeling these controversial experiments that remained unexplained in a classical frame and no logical paradox persisted. All the features of Benveniste’s experiments were taken into account with this model, which did not involve the hypothesis of “memory of water” or any other “local” explanation. NeuroQuantology | June 2013 | Volume 11 | Issue 2 | Page 197-208