Customer Reviews

Quantum Evolution

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You've probably noticed that there is a growing flood of books that purport to explore the interface between the spooky scientific world of quantum physics and a range of other aspects of existence? You've probably also come to realize that these vary widely in emphasis (consciousness, healing, the paranormal... now evolution), and you've probably worried that they vary in quality as well - you're right.

Johnjoe McFadden's "Quantum Evolution" is, thus far, the best of the lot that I have discovered. It is engaging, extremely readable, consistently scientific and broadly important in its explorations.

If you are mostly interested in the healing or paranormal or so-called "new age" linkages to quantum phenomena, look elsewhere. The strength of this book is that it maintains a stance on the scientific side of the matter even as the science steps into the looking glass of quantum reality.

Many in the sciences don't seem to know what to do with the quantum world. The physicists seem to wobble in their ability to create rich models at any level above that of the quantum phenomena themselves - perhaps because theirs can be a sparse world... the vast emptiness beyond the quark. They are often only comfortable "wrapping" the ultimately incomprehensible realities of the quantum world in merely mathematical or semantic models.

McFadden, on the other hand, comes to this effort as a life scientist. As a molecular biologist he has moved from internationally recognized work on Tuberculosis to explorations at the bacterial level to studies of the molecular activities of the cell. Now, he has moved to the realization that the strange, spooky realm of quantum particle-waves, of wave-function collapse and multiple-world models is a logical next step. Singularly important life processes do not function merely at the molecular level of the chemists. Their core elements are actions and movements of individual particles, of single protons and electrons, and hence only understandable through quantum models - however strange the reality they demand.

This book is clearly intended for the thoughtful layperson. It succeeds admirably in its task of educating the reader in a broad base of realms of scientific knowledge. Chapters are divided into smaller 1-3 page "chunks" that isolate pieces of larger concepts in such a way as to allow you to skip or skim a section if you consider yourself comfortable with the science at hand. This approach will also help you build a really solid working knowledge of, for instance, the molecular biology of life, of cellular respiration, by digesting pieces at a time. If you take your time you can learn a lot and step into the strange quantum science with a much more confident grip on the scientific substrate of the argument.

By taking on evolution, which most scientists consider central to understanding life, McFadden manages to build a broader, but always scientific, exploration, that takes quantum realities as its launch point. Early in the book the author demonstrates his wonder at the role of life, itself, in the universe, and states his abiding respect for the role of natural selection and evolution in the development of life. He nevertheless candidly and even-handedly explores some of the more recent scientific critiques of the central Darwinian model - of so-called "punctuated evolution" for example.

Once he has established a strong, scientific tone for the discussion he opens the door to one typically less-scientific alternative to evolution by natural selection. This is the notion of directed adaptation. Species might not only change, over time, through the interaction of random mutation and changing environment - the Darwinian model. Instead, individual organisms might, somehow, adapt and change as individuals and pass on those changes to succeeding generations. This "Lamarckian" paradigm had been considered discredited by steady accumulation of scientific data. But the kinks in the data have also accumulated and range from the broadly geological (gaps and leaps in the fossil record) to the minutely molecular (multi-sequence molecular processes of life which cannot be decomposed into selectable smaller sequences).

Having educated you in a broad range of life science, guided you through the mirrored funhouse of quantum reality, and finally built scientific bridges to the bio-molecular from the quantum, here is where McFadden has led you: to answer the questions at the core of evolutionary theory, itself at the core of life. How he manages that final piece is fascinating, sometimes unsettling, and yours to discover. There is no way that quantum explanations of anything can be wholly grasped, no way to entirely resist the urge to simply reject them as meaningful underpinnings of reality. Nevertheless, I think McFadden accomplishes this latter synthesis extremely well, suggesting answers to a fascinating range of questions along the way.

This very well-written and entertaining account, by a microbiologist from Great Britain, deals with the phenomenon of evolution, and of consciousness, and postulates that they are both ultimately quantum phenomena. At the border areas, so to speak, of the world of hard classical reality, the "real" world experienced in everyday life, and that of the indeterminate multiverse of the quantum world, in the interchange of information between these two levels of reality, is to be found the driving force behind evolution, and of mind. But this is not a metaphysical treatise: the author is a hard-nosed scientist, and the theory did not originate with him. Other accredited members of the scientific community have arrived at similar conclusions concerning the role of the subatomic world in the macroscopic universe. This spell-binding work goes into great detail revealing how the manipulation of particles in the quantum world could, indeed, propel evolution forward, and could explain the mysteries of mind, consciousness, and free-will. Highly recommended!

Although I would not feel ready to fully accept the argument in this book, the appearance in the second half of the book of the issues of quantum mechanics was very astonishing indeed, raising issues whose time has come. One has the sudden feeling, "now maybe we are getting somewhere", as we examine new previously unknown pieces of the puzzle, those of the quantum realm having so far been left out of the running. Something is lacking in current thinking as mechanical processes are pressed into service where they inevitably fail to explain. Even the idea of 'self-organization',as the author points out, seems inadequate to the complexity of what is really happening. That leaves the unexplored and highly complex interaction of biochemistry with the realm of the atom as a possible source of new unexplained and unknown mechanisms. It was quite strange to be in the middle of a discussion of life genesis confronted by the perplexities of the Copenhagen interpretation and the maddening subtleties of Schrodinger's cat, now with the perspective of decoherence brought to bear on the issues of finding the 'quantum measurement' equivalent in the processes of life evolution. Although there is a way to go here, the new approach seems most promising indeed.There is also a discussion of this in relation to Cairns 'adaptive mutations', with its Lamarckian overtones. The books ends somewhat more speculatively applying all this to issues of consciousness. We are entering terra incognita. And it is useful, if nothing else, to relieve one thinking with this fresh perspectives of all the prior baloney and mantra chanting that is draped in front of the unsolved problems of evolution. Fascinating.

Finally a science writer who pokes beneath the surface of cells and neurons to explore how the quantum realm affects man's evolution and consciousness-a long time coming. McFadden wades right inside the cell, the DNA, RNA, proteins and enzymes. He put all this in the form of a story for the layman but kept all the jargon for his colleagues. While you read his story you can soak up a basic education in biology. For example he suggests that both the animal's mitochondrion and the plant's chloroplasts started as independent bacteria before symbiotically hitching up with the animal and plant .

McFadden explains that a unmeasured quantum state remains only a possibility and that to join the real world a quantum state must be measured. He dives right into Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and asserts that it is a fundamental property of matter. His most creative position is that the living cell can measure its own internal state. He clearly defines his notion of life as a cellular system that can perform internal quantum measurement to replicate, thus providing order as a means of avoiding decay or an increase in entropy. He demands that to stay alive a cell must accomplish the directed action of replication.

His cursory happy ending supporting man's free will was amusing. His stab at explaining consciousness as brain waves was impressive though incomplete. Where he got bogged down was with exaggerating the importance of spoken language. He seemed to say that one could never know whether a mute or a baby could be conscious or not. This notion contradicted his thesis that consciousness springs from the a cellular, quantum fountain of measurement and replication.

As a fan of the concept of Consilience (the blending of multiple academic disciplines), I loved Mr. McFadden's "Quantum Evolution." As a liberal arts graduate myself, I won't pretend to be able to evaluate all of Mr. McFadden's work; however I did find this book very accessible despite the technical nature of its subject matetr. There was something very appealing about his combining of Biology with the microscale of Quantum Mechanics. Too often when reading books about evolution and biology, it is easy to forget that it is actions at the molecular level that make everything work. And just as biologists have come to reject classical ideas about the special properties of life, it seems hard to believe that the laws of quantum mechanics cease working just because you are talking about living organisms. Are all of the ideas contained in Mr. McFadden's book correct? Unlikely. However, Mr. McFadden has succeeded in writing a provocative book that should merit considerable attention from both scholars and lay readers alike.

The book Quantum Evolution, How Physics' Weirdest Theory Explains Life's Biggest Mystery, considers Quantum Evolution as an important factor influencing biological evolution and the human consciousness. A professor of molecular genetics, author Johnjoe McFadden provides a comprehensive account of the origins of life to the evolution of human consciousness. McFadden details how evolution, with an emphasis on Darwinian evolution, could not have occurred without the influence of quantum mechanics instigating specific molecular and cellular actions. He dismisses naturalism as the single cause of evolution and through a meticulous, well-researched account, details how cells contain order.

Dr. McFadden explains that Neo-Darwinism only illustrates evolution of species; it does not explain the origin of the first self-replicating subatomic particle. Neo-Darwinism only tackles evolution from life originating at the first single-cell, not the origin of the first rudimentary form of life. Using Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle as a source, McFadden articulates that a living cell measures its own internal state. According to McFadden, life is a cellular system engaging in internal quantum measurement for the purpose of replication.

With comical anecdotes, interesting insights into historical scientific scholars, as well as current scientists, Dr. McFadden explains the origins of life, its limitations, and how life has evolved to what we see around us. With easy to understand illustrations, and often taking complicated concepts and applying them to every day situations, the book details how particle manipulation in the quantum world could have boosted evolution, and explain the complexities of the mind, consciousness, and free will.

As discussed in the book, the mind and consciousness is a very complicated subject. It would be interesting to see how quantum evolution affects our way of thinking. For example, how does quantum evolution fit in with innate behavior, learned behavior, how we distinguish between right and wrong, moral and immoral? That is, how does quantum evolution tie in with the study of psychology?

As the author points out, the theory did not originate with him. He acknowledges and explains how others within the scientific field arrived at similar conclusions concerning the function of the subatomic world and its role shaping the universe we see today. Although a few concepts and ideas put forth may be complicated to those with little or no scientific background, the writing and science is clear and logical with many compelling points discussed.

I highly recommend this book to high school students and college students with a passion for the sciences and a desire to understand how we got here and the role Quantum Evolution played.

Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services Reviewer

McFadden spends much of this book discussing the basics of evolutionary theory and quantum mechanics, which I suppose he is obligated to do if the book is targeted at people uninitiated in the basic tenets and developments in both those disciplines. However, to truly appreciate what the book is conveying, the reader needs to be quite well-versed in neoDarwinism and QM in order to really analyze the "new" messages in this book, and understand the implications. It is fairly involved reading, and I found it very interesting. However, to truly do justice to the important message the author is writing about, he needs to do a more rigorous job of explaining all the concepts that go into what is really a large edifice of assumptions that appears fragile to the touch. Of course, that would be too sophisticated for a general non-fiction book, and would be more appropriate in a journal publication. That being said, this book is no more fanciful and contrived than books on string theory, such as Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe", but is every bit as engaging in providing a new perspective on life, the universe, and everything!

In response to another customer's comments on this website, who states that McFadden makes an incorrect application of the uncertainty principle - I request him to clarify that point. While I feel that McFadden's arguments appear incomplete, they do not appear inaccurate. Certainly, nothing in his "primer" on QM is incorrect to my knowledge, and I am fairly well-versed in those issues. Furthermore, the reviewer also comments that McFadden was intellectually honest about the problems with evolutionary theory, but that is an inaccurate description. There are no "issues" with neoDarwinism that McFadden explores. NeoDarwinism only describes the evolution of species, it does not address the issue of the origin of the first self-replicator. NeoDarwinism simply assumes the existence of self-replicating molecules, if that - in actuality, it deals with evolution from the first single-cell life form, and leaves the job of explaining the origin of the first "lifeform" to physicists/chemists/geologists/whomever. One of the theories was the "chemical soup" theory, and this is NOT connected with neoDarwinism except by popular acceptance of a connection. It is here that McFadden honestly admits that there are unanswered questions.

The first 138 pages of this book are pretty darn good. McFadden shows how evolution, particularly Darwinian evolution can not have occurred as we hypothesize. He drops the ideology of naturalism and admits quite plainly that cells have order, DNA is information, and there was not enough time to even make a simple cell. I found myself cheering the author on; the intellectual honesty in the first half of the book is breathtaking. The writing and science is lucid, cogent and compelling to the points. But then the unthinkable happens in an otherwise fine book. McFadden leaves his trained discipline of molecular genetics and wanders into quantum mechanics. This is when the book takes a turn for the worse.

The major problems become evident, it states with the authors understanding of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. He seems to have defined HUP correctly but his application is incorrect. He than carries on this incorrect application forward and creates a hypothesis based upon a fallacy. The interesting and somewhat paradoxical point is that the author could shed his ideology of naturalism in his field of science but had to reinsert his presuppositions into a field that he is not trained for. Therefore nullifying what could have been a fantastic breakthrough in evolutionary thought.

I hope others follow in his footsteps but decide to make the bold connections that are seemingly present while throwing of the constraints of ideology.

Overall the first part of the book is great in understanding that a paradigm shift must be made if the evolutionary hypothesis is to remain salient. If these shifts are not adopted we may see the Darwinian evolutionist go down in history as ideological frauds much like the flat-earthers. The second part of the book is lacking due to a misunderstanding of Quantum Mechanics and trying to force science to fit a philosophical ideology.

The author has a pet theory (following roger penrose) to describe and convince you is important-quantum evolution. But to get to that point, he presents a very good, college level introduction to both the physics of quantum mechanics and biology as it is related to evolutionary theory. If you don't have a degree in biology and/or physics to understand his theory for the book fills in the details thus leading into his theorizing well. Quite an accomplishment in any field, to popularize leading edge science. All the more so impressive in a field, evolution and quantum mechanics, dominated by BIG controversy and extreme partisanship. This is one of the things that makes buying books like this one so difficult, they often suffer from a viewpoint so out of mainstream as to be useless, or worse yet so polemical to fill your head with the wrong information. I liked the style of the writing and the presentation as scientifically accurate but at an educated layman's level, certainly an asset to sell books. As an introduction to the field and as a brief explanation of his theories I can think of no better book. The only disappointment was that I expected the book to start with the material in chapter 10, his theory, and therefore would appreciate him writing another book that takes the reading of this one for granted(like quantum evolution volume II) and really gets into the idea that quantum events can effect macroscopic events like evolution at more than just crucial breakthrough type of points.

This book aims to provide directions toward an answer to the long-standing question of origin of life. Specifically, given that the bio-chemistry underlying a living cell is so extraordinarily complex, how did "life" happen on Earth? Although the author calls upon biochemistry, quantum mechanics and other fields to try and answer this question, the book is very easily read and understood.

To convince the reader that the chemical reactions needed to "build" life are not trivial, the author presents an impressive set of facts and forceful arguments. After formulating the question of life, he relates the topic to the branch of physics which deals with "the small", namely, quantum mechanics. He provides a beautiful introduction to this strange and startling field of Physics. For people who have had an introduction to just classical physics (Newton's laws etc), this part will be startling (and exciting too). All this without getting very technical at all! The fact that will leave the reader in awe of life, is the mastery over these nano-scale techniques that the living cell has achieved over the ages.

Having dealt with the structural details, the author then proposes how life could have happened some 3.85 billion years ago. He skillfully presents the drawbacks in other proposals and shows why his proposal should make appearance of life a far more probable event.

In the final stages of the book, the author tackles that aspect of life which is most commonly recognized - consciousness. He briefly describes how the nervous system functions in a human and puts forth some of the really perplexing questions as to how brain manages to do what it does! Some of these questions require both a scientific and philosophical treatment.

Overall, this book opens up a whole new world (quantum physics) to a lay-reader and relates it to some of the hardest questions facing man (those regarding the meaning of life). I am not competent to comment on the technical accuracy of the book. Another reviewer has mentioned some of these problems. But if you are not looking for a technical reference (you could get some textbook anyday!) and are just looking to get a glimpse into this exciting new field, this book is certainly the one.