With all the talk about observing in the last section, I think it is a good idea to dig a bit deeper. Here we will explore two ideas, both interesting in their own unique ways, that try to explain how the world works.
Imagine a world where things aren’t quite as solid and predictable as they seem. In a world where a single ray of light can be both a particle and a wave, depending on whether you’re peeking or not, this isn’t science fiction but the fascinating world of quantum mechanics.
Think back to playing hide-and-seek as a kid. You’d meticulously hide behind a curtain, feeling confident, safe, and unseen. But the moment your friend peeked around the corner, your secret hiding spot was exposed. Everything changes in an instant—your feelings, the game, and the next steps. Everything !
The double-slit experiment and quantum mechanics
Imagine shining a laser pointer at a wall with two tiny slits in it, like a doorway for light. Normally, you’d expect two bright spots where the light hits the wall behind, right? But hold on, this isn’t a normal wall—it’s a quantum wall, and things get a little crazy.
If you don’t peek to see which slit the light goes through, something bizarre happens. The light acts like a mischievous wave, spreading out and bending around the edges, just like water ripples around a rock.
And if you do peek at which slit the light ray goes through, the light acts “normal” again, with each ray making its own separate bright spot, just like you’d expect. It’s almost like the act of watching the light somehow makes it conscious, collapsing its wave nature into a single, expected, and predictable particle.
This “observer effect” in the double-slit experiment is an interesting understanding of reality. It suggests that tiny particles of light can behave differently depending on whether we observe them or not. It’s like the light is playing hide-and-seek with reality itself, and the act of observing changes how the game proceeds. Is the light observing the observing? Does the sunset know you are watching?
With all the talk about the observer in the last section and this quick journey into quantum mechanics, could the act of observing our own thoughts and feelings within the “workspace” of consciousness somehow influence those very thoughts and feelings? Is the observer in our consciousness analogous to the observer in the double-slit experiment, potentially influencing the reality we experience? Possibly.
Local realism
The puppeteer skilfully manipulates the strings, controlling every movement of the puppets on stage. Behind the scenes, every action is carefully planned and orchestrated, from the puppets’ movements to the storyline and music. Everything unfolds according to a predetermined script. Local realism suggests that our reality might be similar.
This viewpoint proposes that the universe has a definite reality, independent of our observation. According to local realism, everything—from the behaviour of light in the double-slit experiment to our own thoughts and actions—could be predetermined by a chain of events set in motion long before we came into the picture.
Think about a time you felt frustrated or angry. Local realism suggests these emotions might be the result of a complex web of events—your genetic makeup, past experiences, and even your current environment—all working together to pull your emotional strings behind the scenes, much like the puppeteer controls the puppets.
When people use phrases like “it is what it is,” “be practical,” or “that’s reality,” this is often what they refer to.
The problem with local realism is that it implies everything is predictable, yet we know life often surprises us. Local realism addresses this by including “hidden variables”—factors we haven’t yet identified that could explain these unpredictable outcomes. Hidden variables are like the unseen threads in the puppet show, influencing the performance in ways we don’t fully understand, suggesting that there are still many aspects of reality we have yet to figure out.
In the context of consciousness, hidden variables could be anything from our genes to the initial conditions of the universe. These hidden factors might influence our choices and experiences without us even realizing it. It’s like the puppets are acting out a pre-written script, unaware of the unseen strings pulling them along.
Entanglement
But the universe has another ace up its sleeve: entanglement. Imagine two coins flipped on opposite sides of the planet. Local realism would say they each have a definite heads-or-tails state, independent of each other. But quantum mechanics throws a wild card—entanglement. In this bizarre phenomenon, two particles become linked, sharing a single fate. Measure one particle, and instantly you know the state of the other, no matter the distance. It’s as if the coins are connected by an invisible thread, flipping together no matter how far apart they are. This entanglement challenges local realism’s idea of a predetermined, local universe. It suggests a deeper interconnectedness, where things might be linked in ways we don’t yet understand.
So, here we stand at the crossroads of these fascinating ideas. Quantum mechanics, with its observer effect, hints at a universe filled with possibility, where observation itself might influence reality. Local realism, with its hidden variables, tugs at us like puppets on a string.
Is the universe a playful dance of possibilities, or a meticulously choreographed performance? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between, where the observer and the observed co-create our experience. This exploration of the fundamental nature of reality is a journey without a map, but one that promises to redefine our understanding of ourselves and the universe we inhabit.