ON THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING Bertrand Wong, Eurotech, S’pore Branch, Email: bwong8@singnet.com.sg Abstract A theory of everything , or, grand unified theory (which Einstein had been working on without success, with Superstring Theory now being a good candidate), is one which unites all the forces of nature, viz., gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. Important as this theory might be, it is lacking in one important fundamental aspect, viz., the role of consciousness, which could in fact be considered the most fundamental aspect of physics. This paper explains that a theory of consciousness is more important than a theory of everything or grand unified theory and should be the theory of everything instead, or, at least, a part of the theory of everything. An Alternative Theory Of Everything? It is apparent that consciousness is somehow connected with phenomena in the quantum realm. Consider Bell’s double-slit experiment. In this experiment, are the particles and waves just sensitive to screens and other equipment or are they picking up messages from the physicist’s brain? It could be said that particles of matter and particles of mind might come into being together, but in any case our self-awareness and what seems to be some kind of consciousness at the quantum level appear to be in deep communication. David Bohm had in his classic work, Wholeness And The Implicate Order, developed a theory of quantum physics which treats the totality of existence, including matter and consciousness, as an unbroken whole. There is the implication that at the sub-quantum level the observing device used to measure the quantum particles must have connections with all parts of the system, including the link with our consciousness, and through these a “signal” might be transmitted to the molecule that a certain observable was eventually going to be measured. Consciousness is non-local; in other words, no one could say where the mind is or how far the effects of thought could reach. As a matter of fact, within the brain, all the forces are active, including gravity, which is the force that holds the entire universe together. Though fundamentally the material brain and the other matters are comprised of the same thing, viz., atoms, reductionists might wonder why the material brain as compared to other matters is so special. Is this due to the special composition of the atoms in the brain? If we take a number of atoms and arrange their composition so that they would be similar to that of the material brain, could we produce a brain, and, consciousness? The universe might be in some sense a Great Mind and a theory of everything might have to include a theory of consciousness. Superstrings, which are a strong candidate for a theory of everything, might be thought particles with a life of their own. Many physicists are making attempts at deriving a Grand Unified Theory of the universe on the basis of particle physics. This effort might be incomplete as particles might be just a reflection of _________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © Bertrand Wong, March 2011