Quantum mechanics and psychoanalysis entered the intellectual scene at roughly the same time. Several quantum physicists, shocked by the apparent consequences of their work and the strange irrationality at the heart of reality, sought the aid of psychoanalysts such as Freud and Jung to help them cope with their disturbing insights. The connection between quantum mechanics and psychoanalysis may not end there. There may be a deep link between the human mind, the unconscious and quantum reality we perceive. Writes Max Rogers, Jim Baggott and the late John Heilborn. 

Historian and philosopher of science John Heilbron has died aged 89 in November 2023. An author of over 20 books, ranging from geometry electromagnetism to Galileo and quantum physics, was a renowned expert in the history of science. In the 1960s, he became the first graduate student of the philosopher Thomas Kuhn. As his student, John helped Kuhn prepare his seminal work ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’, which influentially placed historical circumstance and idiosyncratic human characteristics as central to scientific development.