Jack Sarfatti
Dr. Jack Sarfatti is a fascinating, boundary‑pushing physicist whose work spans quantum mechanics, consciousness, UFO phenomena, propulsion theories, and more. He is the originator of a novel concept for propulsion which proposes that gravitational metamaterials allow space-time metric engineering and a low-power warp drive.
Early Life & Education
Dr. Jack Sarfatti was born on September 14, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Midwood. After graduating from Midwood High School in 1956, he pursued physics at Cornell University, earning his B.A. in 1960. He later obtained an M.S. in 1967 from UC San Diego and a Ph.D. in 1969 from UC Riverside under Fred Cummings, with a thesis on “Gauge Invariance in the Theory of Superfluidity.”
During his time at Cornell in the early 1960s, he studied with luminaries like Hans Bethe, linking him to the legacy of the Manhattan Project.
Academic Career & Early Research
From 1967 to 1971, Sarfatti served as an assistant professor of physics at San Diego State University. He continued his scholarly work at prestigious institutions including Birkbeck College (with David Bohm) in London, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (working with Abdus Salam), as well as at the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment and the Max Planck Institute.
Fundamental Fysiks Group & Alternative Research
In the 1970s, Sarfatti became a leading member of the Fundamental Fysiks Group, a famously unconventional circle of physicists in California exploring quantum foundations and consciousness—an effort historian David Kaiser credits with nurturing ideas foundational to quantum information science.
Rejecting a traditional academic path, he pursued research across alternative domains—ranging from consciousness to parapsychology. He founded the Physics–Consciousness Research Group (affiliated with Esalen), and became a fixture at San Francisco’s Caffè Trieste, where he hosted long-running seminars on reality, physics, and consciousness.
Publications & Intellectual Ventures
Sarfatti has authored and co‑authored a diverse and prolific range of works:
-
Space‑Time and Beyond (1975) with Fred Alan Wolf and Bob Toben
-
Space‑Time and Beyond II (Dark Energy) (2002), Destiny Matrix (2002), and Super Cosmos (2005)
-
Numerous papers ranging from superfluidity theory, emergent gravity ideas, and “post‑quantum mechanics,” including Emergent Gravity: String Theory Without String Theory (2006) and collaborative works like The Emergence of Gravity as a Retro‑Causal… (2009)
His ResearchGate profile reflects over 40 publications, many exploring themes like artificial intelligence, post‑quantum Bohmian frameworks, consciousness, warp‑expansion, and more—highlighting his efforts to blend physics with sentient AI and metaphysical concepts.
Unconventional Endeavors & Cultural Impact
Sarfatti’s work deviates from the mainstream, drawing attention for speculative theories. His name appears in declassified CIA documents related to the STARGATE project, implicating him in investigations into remote viewing and consciousness.
He was invited to help shape the 100 Year Starship program, and MIT’s David Kaiser notably spotlighted him in How the Hippies Saved Physics.
Through his Internet Science Education Project (ISEP), founded in 1996, Sarfatti has administered scientific grants and driven public outreach, continuing to push innovative ideas at the intersection of physics, consciousness, and technology.
Speculative Ideas & Influence
Sarfatti has explored many provocative topics:
-
Speculation on retrocausality, UFOs as future or extraterrestrial phenomena, warp drives, faster-than-light communication, and integrating mind with matter.
-
Proposed a faster-than-light communication system in 1978.
-
Engaged with parapsychological claims—initially supporting then later retracting his endorsement of Uri Geller’s psychoenergetic abilities.
Controversy & Critical Viewpoints
Sarfatti remains a polarizing figure. Critics question the mathematical and empirical underpinnings of his theories. For instance, a Brazilian mathematics professor labeled one of his approaches “a potpourri of nonsense Mathematics.”
Discussions on Reddit also highlight skepticism—one user remarked on Sarfatti’s combination of being “PhD‑trained” yet producing “full‑blown nutjob” claims like solving warp speed and time travel.
In Summary
Dr. Jack Sarfatti is an American theoretical physicist whose journey defies convention. From solid academic roots—Cornell, UCSD, UC Riverside, San Diego State, and collaborations with Gödelian figures like David Bohm and Abdus Salam—his path diverged into realms both fictional and profound.
He helped shape quantum consciousness discourse through the Fundamental Fysiks Group, authored or co-authored several books and a hefty body of papers, and continued speculative research in warp engines, AI consciousness, dark energy, and emergent gravity. Though often controversial and dismissed by mainstream academia, Sarfatti’s imaginative reach and interdisciplinary forays place him as a unique, if unconventional, voice at the edges of 20th and 21st century physics.
From 1967 to 1971, Sarfatti served as an assistant professor of physics at San Diego State University. He continued his scholarly work at prestigious institutions including Birkbeck College (with David Bohm) in London, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (working with Abdus Salam), as well as at the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment and the Max Planck Institute.
Fundamental Fysiks Group & Alternative Research
In the 1970s, Sarfatti became a leading member of the Fundamental Fysiks Group, a famously unconventional circle of physicists in California exploring quantum foundations and consciousness—an effort historian David Kaiser credits with nurturing ideas foundational to quantum information science.
Rejecting a traditional academic path, he pursued research across alternative domains—ranging from consciousness to parapsychology. He founded the Physics–Consciousness Research Group (affiliated with Esalen), and became a fixture at San Francisco’s Caffè Trieste, where he hosted long-running seminars on reality, physics, and consciousness.
Publications & Intellectual Ventures
Sarfatti has authored and co‑authored a diverse and prolific range of works:
-
Space‑Time and Beyond (1975) with Fred Alan Wolf and Bob Toben
-
Space‑Time and Beyond II (Dark Energy) (2002), Destiny Matrix (2002), and Super Cosmos (2005)
-
Numerous papers ranging from superfluidity theory, emergent gravity ideas, and “post‑quantum mechanics,” including Emergent Gravity: String Theory Without String Theory (2006) and collaborative works like The Emergence of Gravity as a Retro‑Causal… (2009)
His ResearchGate profile reflects over 40 publications, many exploring themes like artificial intelligence, post‑quantum Bohmian frameworks, consciousness, warp‑expansion, and more—highlighting his efforts to blend physics with sentient AI and metaphysical concepts.
Unconventional Endeavors & Cultural Impact
Sarfatti’s work deviates from the mainstream, drawing attention for speculative theories. His name appears in declassified CIA documents related to the STARGATE project, implicating him in investigations into remote viewing and consciousness.
He was invited to help shape the 100 Year Starship program, and MIT’s David Kaiser notably spotlighted him in How the Hippies Saved Physics.
Through his Internet Science Education Project (ISEP), founded in 1996, Sarfatti has administered scientific grants and driven public outreach, continuing to push innovative ideas at the intersection of physics, consciousness, and technology.
Speculative Ideas & Influence
Sarfatti has explored many provocative topics:
-
Speculation on retrocausality, UFOs as future or extraterrestrial phenomena, warp drives, faster-than-light communication, and integrating mind with matter.
-
Proposed a faster-than-light communication system in 1978.
-
Engaged with parapsychological claims—initially supporting then later retracting his endorsement of Uri Geller’s psychoenergetic abilities.
Controversy & Critical Viewpoints
Sarfatti remains a polarizing figure. Critics question the mathematical and empirical underpinnings of his theories. For instance, a Brazilian mathematics professor labeled one of his approaches “a potpourri of nonsense Mathematics.”
Discussions on Reddit also highlight skepticism—one user remarked on Sarfatti’s combination of being “PhD‑trained” yet producing “full‑blown nutjob” claims like solving warp speed and time travel.
In Summary
Dr. Jack Sarfatti is an American theoretical physicist whose journey defies convention. From solid academic roots—Cornell, UCSD, UC Riverside, San Diego State, and collaborations with Gödelian figures like David Bohm and Abdus Salam—his path diverged into realms both fictional and profound.
He helped shape quantum consciousness discourse through the Fundamental Fysiks Group, authored or co-authored several books and a hefty body of papers, and continued speculative research in warp engines, AI consciousness, dark energy, and emergent gravity. Though often controversial and dismissed by mainstream academia, Sarfatti’s imaginative reach and interdisciplinary forays place him as a unique, if unconventional, voice at the edges of 20th and 21st century physics.
Sarfatti has authored and co‑authored a diverse and prolific range of works:
-
Space‑Time and Beyond (1975) with Fred Alan Wolf and Bob Toben
-
Space‑Time and Beyond II (Dark Energy) (2002), Destiny Matrix (2002), and Super Cosmos (2005)
-
Numerous papers ranging from superfluidity theory, emergent gravity ideas, and “post‑quantum mechanics,” including Emergent Gravity: String Theory Without String Theory (2006) and collaborative works like The Emergence of Gravity as a Retro‑Causal… (2009)
His ResearchGate profile reflects over 40 publications, many exploring themes like artificial intelligence, post‑quantum Bohmian frameworks, consciousness, warp‑expansion, and more—highlighting his efforts to blend physics with sentient AI and metaphysical concepts.
Unconventional Endeavors & Cultural Impact
Sarfatti’s work deviates from the mainstream, drawing attention for speculative theories. His name appears in declassified CIA documents related to the STARGATE project, implicating him in investigations into remote viewing and consciousness.
He was invited to help shape the 100 Year Starship program, and MIT’s David Kaiser notably spotlighted him in How the Hippies Saved Physics.
Through his Internet Science Education Project (ISEP), founded in 1996, Sarfatti has administered scientific grants and driven public outreach, continuing to push innovative ideas at the intersection of physics, consciousness, and technology.
Speculative Ideas & Influence
Sarfatti has explored many provocative topics:
-
Speculation on retrocausality, UFOs as future or extraterrestrial phenomena, warp drives, faster-than-light communication, and integrating mind with matter.
-
Proposed a faster-than-light communication system in 1978.
-
Engaged with parapsychological claims—initially supporting then later retracting his endorsement of Uri Geller’s psychoenergetic abilities.
Controversy & Critical Viewpoints
Sarfatti remains a polarizing figure. Critics question the mathematical and empirical underpinnings of his theories. For instance, a Brazilian mathematics professor labeled one of his approaches “a potpourri of nonsense Mathematics.”
Discussions on Reddit also highlight skepticism—one user remarked on Sarfatti’s combination of being “PhD‑trained” yet producing “full‑blown nutjob” claims like solving warp speed and time travel.
In Summary
Dr. Jack Sarfatti is an American theoretical physicist whose journey defies convention. From solid academic roots—Cornell, UCSD, UC Riverside, San Diego State, and collaborations with Gödelian figures like David Bohm and Abdus Salam—his path diverged into realms both fictional and profound.
He helped shape quantum consciousness discourse through the Fundamental Fysiks Group, authored or co-authored several books and a hefty body of papers, and continued speculative research in warp engines, AI consciousness, dark energy, and emergent gravity. Though often controversial and dismissed by mainstream academia, Sarfatti’s imaginative reach and interdisciplinary forays place him as a unique, if unconventional, voice at the edges of 20th and 21st century physics.
Sarfatti has explored many provocative topics:
-
Speculation on retrocausality, UFOs as future or extraterrestrial phenomena, warp drives, faster-than-light communication, and integrating mind with matter.
-
Proposed a faster-than-light communication system in 1978.
-
Engaged with parapsychological claims—initially supporting then later retracting his endorsement of Uri Geller’s psychoenergetic abilities.
Controversy & Critical Viewpoints
Sarfatti remains a polarizing figure. Critics question the mathematical and empirical underpinnings of his theories. For instance, a Brazilian mathematics professor labeled one of his approaches “a potpourri of nonsense Mathematics.”
Discussions on Reddit also highlight skepticism—one user remarked on Sarfatti’s combination of being “PhD‑trained” yet producing “full‑blown nutjob” claims like solving warp speed and time travel.
In Summary
Dr. Jack Sarfatti is an American theoretical physicist whose journey defies convention. From solid academic roots—Cornell, UCSD, UC Riverside, San Diego State, and collaborations with Gödelian figures like David Bohm and Abdus Salam—his path diverged into realms both fictional and profound.
He helped shape quantum consciousness discourse through the Fundamental Fysiks Group, authored or co-authored several books and a hefty body of papers, and continued speculative research in warp engines, AI consciousness, dark energy, and emergent gravity. Though often controversial and dismissed by mainstream academia, Sarfatti’s imaginative reach and interdisciplinary forays place him as a unique, if unconventional, voice at the edges of 20th and 21st century physics.
Dr. Jack Sarfatti is an American theoretical physicist whose journey defies convention. From solid academic roots—Cornell, UCSD, UC Riverside, San Diego State, and collaborations with Gödelian figures like David Bohm and Abdus Salam—his path diverged into realms both fictional and profound.
He helped shape quantum consciousness discourse through the Fundamental Fysiks Group, authored or co-authored several books and a hefty body of papers, and continued speculative research in warp engines, AI consciousness, dark energy, and emergent gravity. Though often controversial and dismissed by mainstream academia, Sarfatti’s imaginative reach and interdisciplinary forays place him as a unique, if unconventional, voice at the edges of 20th and 21st century physics.