David Smolker

If, as Orch OR posits, consciousness is gravitational in nature, then cyclical changes in Earth's gravitational environment may influence conscious states such as mood and other objectively measurable behaviors. Life evolved within the Solar System's gravitational environment, a resonant system of periodic tidal forces, torques, and angular momentum exchanges synchronized with the orbital harmonics of the Sun and planets. This system is superimposed on a stochastic gravitational wave background generated by orbiting celestial bodies throughout the Universe. We propose that the stochastic gravitational wave background interacts with the brain as broadband white noise, whereas the Solar System's tidal gravitational dynamics provide a narrow-band periodic signal capable of driving quasi-coherent, non-equilibrium interactions within the brain. Evidence indicates that solar and lunar tidal forces influence plant, animal, and human behaviors. We found that the monthly stock index since 1800—a proxy for human social mood—is weakly but significantly correlated (r = -0.19, p less than .00001) with the larger gravitational "Pulse of the Solar System" as demonstrated by Fairbridge and Sanders (1987) which is measured by the monthly rate of change of the Sun's orbital angular momentum about the Solar System barycenter. Correlation does not establish causation; a mechanism is required. Orch OR identifies microtubules as the substrate of consciousness. These cytoskeletal structures function as biological vibro-electronic conductors. The tubulin protein comprising microtubules contains hydrophobic pockets with negatively charged π-electron clouds, while microtubule cores contain proton-rich ordered water. Regularly spaced tryptophan residues form interconnected pathways within microtubules. Because tryptophan is the precursor of serotonin—a neurotransmitter central to mood regulation, depression, anxiety, decision-making, and social behavior—changes affecting tryptophan metabolism could influence mood. Primary cilia may provide the missing biological transducer. These conserved, microtubule-based organelles function as cellular antennae that detect external environmental signals and initiate intracellular signaling cascades. Moorman and Shoor (2008) proposed that primary cilia are sensitive to subtle Sun-Moon gravitational cycles and may regulate stochastic gene expression in synchrony with these changes. Primary cilia have been implicated in schizophrenia, autism, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Wehr (2017) reported synchrony between lunar cycles and mood fluctuations in bipolar patients. Sanguinetti et al. (2020), Zhu et al. (2023), and Chou et al. (2024) have demonstrated that transcranial application of ultra-sound (i.e., megahertz mechanical vibrations) tends to improve a person’s mood, further suggesting a direct link between external application to the brain of phonons (i.e., vibrations), the vibro-electric resonances in the mood circuits of the brain, and the synthesis and transport of 5-HT in these circuits so as to effect mood. We speculate that the brain's nonlinear, chaotic, and noisy dynamics, its fractal organization, may enable sensitivity to weak cyclical changes in Earth's tidal gravitational environment by altering primary cilia Orch OR beat frequencies, modulating electron and proton tunneling, serotonin synthesis from tryptophan, and serotonin transport within mood-regulating neural circuits. These effects could emerge collectively in measures of social mood and suggest that Solar System gravitational cycles exert a measurable influence on mood, thereby providing indirect support for Orch OR.

David Smolker is a lawyer and independent researcher whos focus is on the biophysics of consciousness and specifically unearthing circumstantial evidence of the scientific validity of Penrose Hameroff's Orch OR theory which he believes is the only biophysical theory of consciousness that is holistically  grounded in the fundamental physical aspects of the Universe from which life on Earth evolved.. He has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from New College of Florida and a J.D. from the University of Florida. He is recognized as one of the leading land use, environmental and property rights lawyers in Florida.