Will the $ 1,000,000 Randi
Challenge Prize
[http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html] soon be
awarded? The prize, administered by the James Randi
Educational Foundation (JREF), is offered to anyone who can prove
in scientifically controlled tests some form of paranormal power.
So far, Randi's prize has not been claimed, but rumour has it that
under supervision of the JREF an elaborate telepathy test is being
conducted with shocking results.
A JREF staff member, who whishes to remain anonymous, commented on
the ongoing tests with the words “I
have never witnessed anything like this, this is deeply disturbing”.
I subsequently spoke with several investigators involved in the
tests, and there is no doubt that the claimants, Dr. Reid M. Bell and
his wife Dr. Cora Bell-Tsirelson have accomplished something highly
unlikely. Are we witnessing a statistical glitch, an unlikely strike
of luck, or are Mr. And Mrs. Bell cheating? Or is perhaps something
weird and unexplainable really happening?
The JREF remains tight-lipped. They have not anounced any press
releases, and also they have carefully refrained from mentioning the
ongoing tests at their internet forum pages [http://forums.randi.org/]. This so-far has prevented the news
reaching a wider public. Within a month, however, when the tests will
be finalized, hell may break loose. If the two quantum physics
postdocs from the UK indeed manage to win the one million dollar
prize, they will find themselves in the media spotlights to an extend
that may well be unprecedented.
Currently,
however, Cora and Reid continue to live a normal uneventful life in
their apartment in London. Two days ago, I managed to get in contact
with this charming couple. During the one-and-a-half hour interview,
I became aware that neither Reid nor Cora were in any way surprized
by the results obtained at the JREF tests. Yet, the two revealed some
truly spectacular feats.
Reid
explains the tests beng conducted: “We have agreed with the
JREF a very specific test protocol. This protocol stipulates us being
separated for the duration of the experiment, such that no
communication is possible. During this period of separation, we play
a repetitive coordination game. To be successful, we have to do so
with a 100% success rate. The JREF has stated that accomplishing this
without any communication, would require true magic and should be
considered proof of telepathic powers. We have succeeded in a
preliminary test, and when we repeat the same 100% success rate in a
subsequent formal test, we will earn the million dollar prize.”
Cora adds: “The coordination game is
fairly simple. In each round of the game we both have to color cells
of a 3x3 table with red and green colors. I have to color three cells
in a column such that they contain an odd number of red cells.
Meanwhile, Reid has to color a row of the same table such that an
even number of red cells results for that row. Which of the three
columns I have to color is determined by a die handled by an official
appointed by the JREF and standing right next to me. Similarly, a die
controlled by another JREF-appointed official next to Reid will determine which of the three rows he needs to be color.”
With Cora and Reid being separated,
Cora can not inform Reid which column she is asked to color, and
neither can Reid tell Cora which row he is been given. Yet, each time
the game is repeated, both have to specify the same color for the
cell at the intersection of the column and row specified. It should
be clear that this task can impossibly be achieved repetitively
without some form of communication between Cora and Reid.
Prior to the tests, Cora and Reid can
make arbitrarily complicated and elaborate agreements on how to color
the 3x3 table. Whatever their agreements, it will not help them
succeed: given a large enough number of rounds, they are bound
occasionally to disagree on the coloring of a cell. The reason being
that a 3x3 table with even number of red cells for each row and an
odd number of red cells for each column can not be constructed. If
such a table would exist, the total number of red cells would have to
be even based on the row sums, and odd when based on the column sums.
A logical impossibility. It follows that a coloring satisfying all
requirements is not possible. So Cora and Reid have to use two
distinct coloring schemes: one for Cora that ensures odd numbers of
red cells in each of the columns, and one for Reid that ensures even
numbers of red cells for each of the row. The best possible
dual-coloring scheme accomplishes for eight out of the nine cells
that Cora and Reid agree on the color. Such an optimal scheme would
yield an expected success rate of 8/9 or roughly 89%, for each round
of play.
Yet, Cora and Reid
seem capable of realising the impossible: a 100% success rate. In a preliminary test conducted end of October in London, the couple
managed to play 40 rounds of the game without a single flaw. To
accomplish 40 flawless rounds in the absence of any communication
(I.e. by chance alone) is estimated to be less than 1%. According to
the protocol agreed with the JREF, and following the successful
conclusion of the preliminary test, Cora and Reid will be subjected
to a much more thorough test end of this month. The JREF refers to
this test as the formal test. This test will be decisive on the award
of the one milion dollar prize. During the formal test, Reid will be
placed in a copper-cladded room at the JREF headquarters in California, whilst Cora will be placed in a bank vault in London.
Placing the couple far apart and surrounded by walls of metal is part
of the elaborate precautions to prevent Cora and Reid from establishing any communication via physical means. To ensure a
successful result gives proof beyond reasonable doubt that the couple
has telepathic powers, 100 rounds of the game need to be played.
“It is all
pointless, we will pass the test with flying colors” Reid laughs.
“It does't matter where we are or how far apart, or how many rounds
we need to play.” Cora smiles and remarks “it is no coincidence
that we are both physicists”. Reid grins but remains silent. “Why
is that?” I ask. Reid hesitates, and looks at Cora. A short silence
follows. “It all started as a kind of joke, and we've contacted the
JREF to explain them how it works” Cora confesses.
“It's
plain physics, straightforward quantum physics” Reid adds. He
continuous: “It is this infamous 'rule three' out of the sixteen
official rules governing the JREF challenge [http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge/challenge-application…]
that prevented us to warn the JREF”. “We did send them an e-mail,
and even included a link to the Wikipedia page that explains the
phenomenon.” “However, based on their 'rule three' the JREF had
to ignore our explanations, and deleted these e-mails”, Cora adds.
Another silence follows. Reid breaks this silence: “We thought long
about it, but decided that if they don't want to get warned, it is
not wrong and nor is it immoral to go for the one million dollar
prize. We don't cheat, and no tricks are involved. Neither do we
need telepathy or any other paranormal phenomena: quantum physics is
weird enough. What we do is no more than a demonstration of a
well-known phenomenon in quantum physicis. But if the JREF considers
our demonstration of quantum pseudo-telepathy a paranormal act, so be
it. It won't win us the Nobel Prize for Physics, but it seems we
can't fail the Nobel Prize for the Paranormal administered by the
JREF!”
Cora: “We have
only one thing remaining to sort out”. Cora looks at Reid, and
continuous: “what to do with a million dollars?” Both start
laughing.
----------------------
Postscript:
I have been wondering for some time how best to explain the profound
weirdness of quantum mechanics in layman's terms. I landed on the
scenario described above. And yes, that means Cora and Reid and their
dealings with the JREF are purely the product of my imagination. Quantum pseudo-telepathy
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_pseudo-telepathy], however, is
real. A physical reality as real as the existence of stable atoms,
and like the stability of atoms, fully depending on the laws of
quantum mechanics.
For
quantum pseudo-telepathy to occur, for each round of the game, Cora
and Reid each need to bring with them part of a physical system in an
entangled
quantum state. To decide how to color their cells, they have to
execute measurements
on this entangled state, and decide how to color their cells
based on the outcome of this measurement. The non-local quantum
connections (also referred to as [quantum entanglement]) between the
components of an entangled physical system creates correlated
measurement outcomes that are at the heart of the phenomenon of Quantum pseudo-telepathy. It should be stressed here that quantum
pseudo-telepathy does not allow for any 'hidden' transfer of
information, but rather eliminates the need to exchange information
between the players. A subtle but important distinction.
One might wonder:
why would anyone be bothered about telepathy, when living in a
quantum world with entanglement
[http://www.ipod.org.uk/reality/reality_entangled.asp] being freely available?
