What the Bleep Do We Know

John Gorenfeld wrote in a September 2004 Salon article that David Albert, one of the interviewed experts in the film, feels he was duped and misrepresented as to the real purpose and agenda of the movie. "Albert, a professor at the Columbia University physics department, has accused the filmmakers of warping his ideas to fit a spiritual agenda. 'I don't think it's quite right to say I was "tricked" into appearing,' he said in a statement reposted by a critic on What the Bleep's Internet forum, 'but it is certainly the case that I was edited in such a way as to completely suppress my actual views about the matters the movie discusses. I am, indeed, profoundly unsympathetic to attempts at linking quantum mechanics with consciousness. Moreover, I explained all that, at great length, on camera, to the producers of the film ... Had I known that I would have been so radically misrepresented in the movie, I would certainly not have agreed to be filmed. I certainly do not subscribe to the 'Ramtha School on Enlightenment," whatever that is!' he finished. Albert provided Salon with an excerpt from a piece he's writing on the subject, in which he says, in part, 'I'm unwittingly made to sound as if (maybe) I endorse its thesis.' When told of Albert's complaints, [Meyer Gottlieb, president of the movie's distributor, Samuel Goldwyn Films] said, 'I certainly don't see it,' but acknowledged he's 'not into the science 100 percent.'"

Depiction of quantum mechanics in the movie bears no resemblance to the real theory of that name. In particular, the common misconception that the "observer effect" is dependent upon a sapient, human observer is incorrect. If any object interacts with any other, and either requires information regarding the current state and properties of the other, then that constitutes an observation.

The Scientists, Mystics and Scholars interviews herein were chosen based on the expertise in the subjects which they discussed. They do not necessarily agree with all viewpoints put forth in the film. Likewise the Filmmakers may not agree with all the viewpoints put forth by the Interviewees. Agreement is not necessary - thinking for one's self is.

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