Quest for life Book

Updated review in response to comments. See comments section for original discourse.

Original Review
This only gets 1 star because zero isn't allowed.

I can only assume that this has over 4 stars on average because the typical person who seeks this book out is already prone to believing the nonsense within.

I am a scientist, with a PhD in Materials Science and plenty of quantum mechanics in my background (though obviously, I don't know it anywhere near as well as a dedicated physicist in the area would) - Deepak Chopra does not have the faintest understanding of quantum mechanics.

This is arguably the worst thing I've ever read. It's simply a book of lies.

And those who believe it ought to learn some quantum theories and then reassess this quackery...

I am not part of some world-wide conspiratorial supergroup of scientists hell-bent on discrediting psuedoscience (those snake-oil merchants have already done that). It would be easier to herd cats than to get scientists to organise like that! And if any of this b*llshit actually worked beyond the effects of placebo and greater patient-doctor time, we'd happily accept it.

Rant over.

Update:
In response to accusation of lack of objectivity…

That seems to be a standard reply from people who believe in Chopra's nonsense, or in whatever spiritual/religious/conspiratorial fantasy that tickles their fancy.

Science shows something is so unlikely that it simply must be treated as impossible and those who beleive in said theory accuse scientists of bias.

Science is simply a system of applied logic to investigate anything. It's not some a club with biases towards atheism or anti-spirituality or whatever else.

Chopra is a bullshit merchant and nothing of his own theories stands up to any scientific investigation. That isn't bias it's simply objective analysis.

In response to a request for my specific problems with the information in Quantum Healing…

Beginning with the title; the use of the word "quantum" in this context makes no grammatical sense. "Quantised healing" might make some sense (redundant but at least logical) or perhaps "quantum mechanical physiology" (which is actually what I thought the book was going to be about, for example the influence of electron spins on the formation of synaptic connections. You know, neuroscience - not nonsense). But "quantum healing" just suggests Chopra hasn't a notion what the suffix "quantum-" nor the word "quantum" actually mean.

On to the central claims of the book: "Quantum healing is healing the bodymind from a quantum level. That means from a level which is not manifest at a sensory level. Our bodies ultimately are fields of information, intelligence and energy. Quantum healing involves a shift in the fields of energy information, so as to bring about a correction in an idea that has gone wrong. So quantum healing involves healing one mode of consciousness, mind, to bring about changes in another mode of consciousness, body" Unremitting nonsense. This is utilising terminology from physics to describe metaphysics in a cynical and/or idiotic attempt to cash in on traditional medicines. If Chopra really believes it works, administer controlled tests and demonstrate that the method or treatment is repeatable and reproducible, just like any other treatment (he was, astonishingly, once an endocrinologist, so this is within his powers). Put some quantification around it. Metrics. Measurements.

What are the energies of the body he's talking about? Everything is technically a form of energy - which I'm certain Chopra and his fans will immediately point out if they have even the most basic of scientific understanding. But what specific forms of energy is he talking about? How are they indicative of health? How are they being measured? One cannot claim any of the already measured outputs of the human body since these are the basis of normal, scientific medicine and so would remove all novelty of Chopra's claims. So, I assume he's referring to something else. Perhaps brainwaves (which are already measured rather well by neuroscience)? If so, how are they of any bearing on human health and how can his "quantum healing" affect them? Again, brainwaves are the result of quantum mechanical interactions just as everything in the universe is if one looks at a small enough scale. So just tacking the label "quantum" on to them means nothing. I could claim, in much the same way, to have a "quantum potato" grown through "quantum farming".

Let's pick a quote: "...mind over matter performed in the brain...is quite astonishing that with every thought, the mind manages to move atoms." This is indeed astonishing, in much the same way that anything that happens is astonishing. Emergent properties of complex systems are astonishing. The quantum mechanical underpinnings of everything are truly astonishing. But the mind's influence on atoms is in no way indicative of any unique ability to heal oneself through one's mind, any more than a ganglion's influence on atoms is. Without conscious thought your mind is moving atoms. Your subconscious neural processes control your breathing, which moves your lungs, diaphragm, various membranes, the air around you, candle flames, etc. These things are all made of atoms. They're all moving because of your mind without you even considering it. It's an interesting observation but has no bearing on medical efficacy.

Another quote: "How does a thought defeat a cancer cell?" Indeed Deepak, how does it? At no point in the book does he answer this question with anything more than a stream of pseudoscientific buzzwords. No tests, no measurements, no trials. Just the word "quantum" again and again and again...

Yet another, deeply stupid quote: "...all matter in our bodies...has been designed with intelligence as a built in feature." This sounds great to a certain type of person I'm sure, but what does this mean, really? Nothing... If intelligence is an emergent property of the localised sub-processing of the brain (which currently it is believed to be according to Michael Gazzaniga and Donald Pfaff...) then surely a single cell lacks the necessary complexity for such an emergent property to occur?

I wish I could enter into some debate on thermodynamics, quantim mechanics or even good old classical mechanics, but there's actually nothing in Chopra's book about these things in any technical way.