If the observer is inseparable from reality — and we already know that this is so — then what happens at the moment of observation? The answer came from quantum physics
We spoke about how the observer is mathematically inseparable from what he observes — his beliefs and inner state physically rewrite the incoming signal even before it is consciously perceived. But one big question remained: through what exactly does this connection occur? Quantum physics has already given the answer — through the zero field. The quantum vacuum that permeates all of space is not empty. It is a vibrating ocean of energy, the zero-point field, from whose fluctuations the very geometry of space is born. The physicist Joachim Keppler from the DIWISS Institute for Consciousness Research showed: the brain resonates with this field directly. Consciousness is not produced by neurons — it arises at the point where they meet the quantum vacuum. The brain is not the source of consciousness but its receiver.
The main argument against this idea has always been that the brain is too warm for quantum processes. It was believed that quantum states are inevitably destroyed in the warm and moist environment of neurons — too quickly to participate in the processes of thought. That is precisely why the theory of Nobel laureate Roger Penrose, one of the boldest in the history of physics, remained on the periphery of science for decades. Penrose asserted: consciousness arises from quantum processes in the microtubules of neurons — tiny protein structures inside every cell of the brain. His colleague, the anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, added that this is precisely why anesthetics deprive us of consciousness — they disrupt these quantum processes. A beautiful theory. But without experimental confirmation.
In September 2026, this changed. The neuroscientist Mike Wiest of Wellesley College published a detailed analysis of the latest experimental data: stable quantum states are observed in the microtubules of neurons at ordinary body temperature. The argument about the "too warm brain" — collapsed. Moreover: anesthetics really do disrupt precisely these quantum processes without affecting the other functions of the brain. To switch off consciousness means to switch off quantum activity in neurons. What Penrose predicted theoretically turned out to be an observable fact.
In parallel, a group of Chinese physicists — Li Zhanchun and Zhang Renwu — for the first time embedded Keppler's theory into a unified mathematical framework with the holographic AdS/CFT principle, one of the most powerful tools of modern quantum physics. The authors show: the quantum vacuum, through holographic mechanisms, generates macroscopic coherence — coordinated quantum behavior on large scales. If consciousness really does arise from resonance with the zero field, it obeys the same mathematical laws that govern the structure of space-time itself.
The circle closes here, and it closes beautifully. Quantum information builds geometry. Geometry builds matter. Matter, through the quantum vacuum, generates the observer. And the observer resonates with the very field from which everything began. The physicist John Wheeler said it half a century ago: "No phenomenon is a real phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon." Science is only now beginning to understand how literally he was right. We are not spectators but part of the field. And the universe looks at itself through your eyes.
Sources: Keppler, J. — Macroscopic quantum effects in the brain: new insights into the fundamental principle underlying conscious processes. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2025 · Wiest, M. — Penrose's theory of consciousness supported by new quantum evidence. IAI TV, 1 September 2026 · Li Zhanchun & Zhang Renwu — Quantum Vacuum-Induced Macroscopic Coherence in Quantum Materials. arXiv:2603.27053 · Hoorn, J.F. & Ho, J.K.W. — Observer effect modulates classification in a quantum epistemic framework. Scientific Reports, April 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-46604-9
