David Bohm

David Bohm
Born	(1917-12-20)20 December 1917 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, US
Died	27 October 1992(1992-10-27) (aged 74) London, England, UK
Nationality	American-Brazilian-British
Citizenship	American Brazilian British
Alma mater	Pennsylvania State College California Institute of Technology University of California, Berkeley
Known for	Aharonov–Bohm effect De Broglie–Bohm theory Bohm criterion Bohm-diffusion Bohm dialogue Bohm's EPR experiment Bohm interpretation Bohm quantum potential Hidden variable theory Pilot wave theory Holographic paradigm Holomovement Holonomic brain theory Nonradiation condition Pilot wave Plasmon Implicate and explicate order Random phase approximation Quantum decoherence Quantum mind
Awards	1991  Elliott Cresson Medal 1990  Royal Society fellowship
Scientific career
Fields	Theoretical physics
Institutions	Princeton University University of São Paulo Technion University of Bristol Birkbeck College, London
Doctoral advisor	Robert Oppenheimer
Doctoral students	Y. Aharonov D. Pines J. Bub H. Bortoft Eugene P. Gross

David Joseph Bohm FRS^[1] (/boʊm/; 20 December 1917 – 27 October 1992) was an American–Brazilian–British scientist who has been described as one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century^[2] and who contributed unorthodox ideas to quantum theory, neuropsychology and the philosophy of mind. Among his many contributions to physics is his causal and deterministic interpretation of quantum theory known as De Broglie–Bohm theory.

Bohm advanced the view that quantum physics meant that the old Cartesian model of reality—that there are two kinds of substance, the mental and the physical, that somehow interact—was too limited. To complement it, he developed a mathematical and physical theory of "implicate" and "explicate" order.^[3] He also believed that the brain, at the cellular level, works according to the mathematics of some quantum effects, and postulated that thought is distributed and non-localised just as quantum entities are.^{[4][failed verification]} Bohm's main concern was with understanding the nature of reality in general and of consciousness in particular as a coherent whole, which according to Bohm is never static or complete.^[5]

Bohm warned of the dangers of rampant reason and technology, advocating instead the need for genuine supportive dialogue, which he claimed could bridge and unify conflicting and troublesome divisions in the social world. In this, his epistemology mirrored his ontology.^[6]

Born in the United States, Bohm obtained his Ph.D. under J. Robert Oppenheimer at the University of California, Berkeley. Due to his Communist affiliations, he was the subject of a federal government investigation in 1949, prompting him to leave the U.S. He pursued his career in several countries, becoming first a Brazilian and then a British citizen. He abandoned Marxism in the wake of the Hungarian Uprising in 1956.^[7][8]