Quantum Stream Theory and the Overview Effect

What happens to our consciousness when we leave Earth could have a profound impact for the future of space travel.

Observing Earth from space can alter an astronaut’s cosmic perspective, a mental shift known as the “Overview Effect.” First coined by space writer Frank White in 1987, the Overview Effect is described as a feeling of awe for our home planet and a sense of responsibility for taking care of it.

"The Overview Effect is a profound experience that changes your perspective on the world. From space, you see how interconnected we all are and how important it is to work together."

- David Saint-Jacques, CSA astronaut

Although White and many others attribute this transcendental mental impact similar to practising Zen Buddhism it is not widely felt, and that later Jordan Bimm, a science historian, argued that it was simply a product of 18th-century colonialism and that burning need for manifest destiny. But this triggered a thought that led me down a different train track entirely. Rather than being an emotional reaction that’s attributed to a strong sense of unity and interconnectedness, one that seems to go beyond merely a subjective experience, what if it’s something more?

What if it’s connected to our ever-evolving Quantum Stream Theory of Consciousness? (to save me from typing this mouthful over and over again I’m just going to abbreviate it to QST from now on)