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The Quantum Reality Map
— A look at the philosophy
of quantum theoryAndrew Paterson—12/2004
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With the recent release of
the film "What The Bleep Do We Know?",
quantum mechanics is once again in the public imagination,
as it was 80 years ago when it was first formulated.
The film presents quantum mechanics as scientific
justification for our minds literally creating
our reality, but this position has been criticized
for not being scientifically accurate. Here is
a short rundown of the philosophy of quantum theory. |
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 UANTUM
MECHANICS is an oxymoron: in microscopic world of quanta
or packets of energy for which it was originally formulated,
reality is anything but mechanistic. It is more appropriate
to called it quantum theory or, more usefully,
the quantum reality map. The only reason it
was called quantum mechanics is because it
superseded Newtonian mechanics. |
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| Quantum theory was first formulated to predict events
in the atomic and subatomic world. Prediction is, after
all, what physical laws and theories are for — if
a map doesn't predict the territory, one soon gets
lost. In the classical model of reality it was thought
that, with the right map, predictions of atomic events
would be perfectly accurate. However, much to everyone's
surprise, the quantum map that was developed was fuzzy,
statistical and quirky. |
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| The quantum reality map was pieced together in the
1920s by the most brilliant minds in physics after
inaccuracies were found in the existing classical reality
maps. Because theories of physics have to be mathematically
consistent, one tiny inconsistency in experimental
observation can unravel a whole new mathematical reality
map, and this is exactly what happened with quantum
theory, which was formulated to solve the discrepancy
between how a "hot" object should radiate
energy according to classical theory and how it actually
does in experiment. |
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| It is only after the mathematical skeleton of any
new physical theory has been derived that physicists
and philosophers can start thinking about the philosophical
implications, which, if they are profound enough, lead
to an entire paradigm shift within the scientific community.
This paradigm shift eventually infects the public perception
of the world, but this can take centuries (the public
still largely uses the Newtonian paradigm formulated
in the 17th Century). |
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| In the case of quantum theory, the philosophical
implications of the theory are so striking that one
of its founders, Niels Bohr, famously commented, "Anyone
who is not shocked by quantum mechanics has not fully
understood it." And because quantum philosophy
is so counterintuitive, the public perception of the
world has remained Newtonian — only the professional
reality maps of physicists and chemists (and now a
few biologists) have been affected; almost all of these
same quantum physicists or chemists will, in everyday
life away from solving academic problems, operate using
a Newtonian reality map. |
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| In the Newtonian world view, everything is one vast
machine or mechanism made up of matter and energy.
This machine is entirely deterministic which means
that if you knew the speed and position of every piece
of matter in the universe you would know its entire
future — just as if you knew the speed and position
of the balls on a billiard table, you could calculate
where they will all end up. Everything happens (time
moves forward) in a three dimensional space. Consciousness
and mind have absolutely no place in this model, they
are not on the map, which is why those who make the
mistake of taking the Newtonian map too seriously (forgetting
that it is a map) tend to either be atheist or dualist
(God is entirely separate from the world). |
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| In the quantum world view, the universe is a vast
unified sea of possibility, with matter and energy
as two facets of the same universal process. In this
paradigm, we cannot know the future because nature
is fundamentally uncertain. Not only that, but using
the billiard analogy above, the billiard balls are
frozen energy and they are acting out their dance in
counterintuitive non-local ways because they are moving
about in many more dimensions (including parallel universes)
than just the three allocated in the Newtonian model.
Time is just another dimension from the quantum perspective,
and there is nothing at this atomic scale to stop particles
traveling backwards in time (on a macroscopic level,
time appears to move forward because of the laws of
entropy). |
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| The interesting point of the quantum reality map
is its probabilistic. So, for example, the theory describes
a "particle" like an electron as a spread-out
fuzzy wave, but as soon as we measure it, the wave
collapses and we see a little dot. Even though we see
a dot, it doesn't mean that the uncertain nature of
the electron has disappeared because, although we have
pinned down its position, the speed and direction of
this dot suddenly become more uncertain. So the fuzziness
of position has been just turned into another type
of fuzziness — that of momentum. From this map's
perspective, nature seems fuzzy and fuzziness seems
to be conserved! (The Conservation of Fuzziness is
a fundamental principle of quantum theory.) |
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| Quantum theory works very well indeed. In fact,
it would be fair to say that, outside the nucleus of
the atom, the map seems pretty complete. Inside the
nucleus, strange things still go on, which is why physicists
spend so much time building massive particle accelerators
to smash atoms to bit and see what happens as the pieces
of the nuclei fly out in all directions. |
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| If the world is quantum, how come the Newtonian "billiard
ball" map is still so useful in everyday life?
(It was good enough to land men on the moon.) The reason
for this is that quantum theory approximates to classical
theory at large scales: all those strange quantum shenanigans
going on at the atomic level tend to cancel each other
out on a macroscopic scale, which is why real billiard
balls don't act in a strange manner (unless you are
a very bad player). There are exceptions to this, however,
where the quantum wave nature of atoms can synchronize
(and not cancel each other out) and we get some weird
and wonderful forms of matter that acts counter-intuitively
(laser light, Bose-Einstein condensations and superconductivity
are some examples). |
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| Whilst the difference between using a classical
map and a quantum map is almost always undetectable
in everyday living — both giving almost the same
predictions at this macroscopic scale — philosophically
they are entirely different. So if the quantum map
is our most accurate, then we must change our philosophy
of the world to embrace it because, whilst the Newtonian
paradigm still has its uses as an easy-to-grasp approximation
to quantum theory at a large scale, philosophically the
Newtonian paradigm is dead. We have to move on. But
what are the philosophical implications of
the quantum reality map? |
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| To answer that question requires the understanding
of what the philosophical implications of any reality
map actually are. The map describes the territory,
and allows us to make predictions. If the map is entirely
independent of reality, then it cannot really have
philosophical implications. This is because any extrapolation
of the map to the realm of the fundamental nature of
reality and our place in it — i.e. philosophy — is
meaningless. (A case can be made for the philosophy
of the mapping process itself though.) |
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| Entertaining philosophical implications of reality
maps implies that those maps say something meaningful
about reality itself, rather than just allowing us
to make predictions of events. For example, if we use
the Newtonian reality map we can predict simple macro-scale
physical events pretty accurately, but to then say
that the success of this map implies a soulless clockwork
universe is an invalid induction unless one believes
that the map is more than just predictive… that
it actually says something directly about the nature
of the territory it is trying to describe. |
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| The fact is that as science progresses, the reality
maps it constructs get more and more accurate and so
some believe that the maps we use will eventual approaching
the nature of reality itself. In this way, the map
indeed becomes the territory when we finally formulate
the holy grail of physics: "The Law Of Everything".
However, whilst the maps themselves seem to be diverging
towards greater agreement with experiment, there is
no such divergence with the philosophical implications
of these maps. In fact, the philosophical implications
of succeeding maps can be wildly different, in which
case the slight increase in accuracy attained mathematically
is accompanied by a paradigm shift and a whole new
context. |
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| It is entirely possible, even probable, that quantum
mechanics itself will eventually be superseded by a
reality map that has entirely different philosophical
implications. Only hubris, like that exhibited at the
end of the 19 th Century when leading physicists believed
that all that was left for physics was to "dot
the i's and cross the t's", would insist that
the quantum reality map will stand forever. (It is
ironic how many New Agers jump onto quantum mechanics
as the be all and end all just because it opens the
door to the possibility that mind affects matter.) |
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| There is little point, therefore, pondering the
philosophical implications of particular reality maps
when those maps themselves are likely to be superseded
by more advanced reality maps. At least, that would
be the case if maps really were completely separate
from the territory they describe. But there is an important
exception. |
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| Our reality maps are made with our minds… with
our consciousness. Suppose reality itself — whatever "it" is — is
made of the same "stuff". If this is the
case, reality could well react to how we view it. Our
maps would then be defining reality itself: reality
may be just an amorphous energy-grid of possibility
upon which our maps and beliefs condense out, giving
the illusion that there is a territory "out there" for
us to map in the first place. If this applies, we literally
create our reality. |
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| The argument actually works both ways: if consciousness
can directly affect reality, there will never be a "law
of everything" because reality is a "moving
target" due to the involvement of consciousness
in the process which is itself always in a state of
flux. With consciousness in the equation, therefore,
there can only ever be tendencies or statistical possibilities
in conjunction with our states of mind or expectations.
Uncertainty becomes hardwired into the system because
of the inherent uncertainty in consciousness itself,
and creativity becomes a basic principle of experience. |
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| Back to the quantum reality map: this map was developed
specifically to explain anomalies in physics experiments.
It is a statistical theory that deals in probabilities
and not certainties, and one that generally applies
to microscopic scale of things, although there are
now macroscopic technological applications of quantum
theory that include lasers, magnetic memories, transistors,
superconductors, nuclear magnetic resonance technology
(NMR) and SQUID measuring devices. Quantum theory certainly
does, therefore, "work". |
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| Central to the quantum theory is the wave-particle
duality and non-local effects. The wave-particle duality
means that all "things" can paradoxically
be described both as a wave and a particle, but not
at the same time. When an electron orbits an atom,
for example, the theory implies that it is a three
dimensional fuzzy wave of a whole range of possible
positions and momentums that surrounds the nucleus
of the atom; but as soon as we try to measure it, this
wave or superposition is said to "collapse" to
a particle set of values… to a particular place
with a particular momentum (although the uncertainty
principle kicks in here so there is still a little
residual uncertainty or fuzziness). The act of measurement
itself, therefore, changes the nature of the system
from a wave of possibility to an "actual" particle.
But as soon as the measurement process is done, the
particle goes back, from the perspective of this
theory, to being this wave of possible positions
and momentums. |
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| It is important to understand that the act of measurement
is not necessarily synonymous with consciousness: there
are many physicists who will tell you that it is entirely
possible to formulate the philosophical implications
of quantum theory without any reference to mind or
consciousness. Measurement itself can be mechanical;
the wave function still collapses, although nobody
is aware that it has collapsed unless they look at
the measurement that has been mechanically recorded. |
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| An example might be Schrödinger's cat. To illustrate
the strange paradox of the quantum world, Schrödinger,
one of the original developers of the quantum reality
map, described a thought experiment to illustrate the
strange nature of the quantum world. A cat is put in
a box with a vial of cyanide which can randomly break
at any moment by a special device measuring radioactive
decay (which is believed to be truly random, which
is why he chose it). Schrödinger argued that when
the cat is in the box, it's "wave function" is
both dead and alive because we simply don't know its
fate. But as soon as you open the box, the "wave
function" collapses and the fate of the cat is
pinned down. However, this only demonstrates an epistemological
limitation. Suppose when we open the box we find the
cat dead and suppose a pathologist estimates that the
time of death was two days ago, then one could say
that the cat's wave function actually collapsed two
days ago because after that time we are certain of
its state. In this way, it is not consciousness itself
that collapses the wave function but the witness of
that collapse by the decay of the cat's corpse. Consciousness
was not directly involved. |
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| Another example might be whether the moon really
is there when nobody is looking at it. If it wasn't
there, the tidal system would stop. So the physical
properties of the ocean bear witness to the presence
of the moon. Again, consciousness need not be involved
in collapsing the wave function of possibility. |
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| These fundamental limits in knowing the state of
a system when it is not being measured, therefore,
does not necessarily mean that "reality" reacts
to consciousness, or indeed to the measurement process
itself. This wave uncertainty could just be a limitation
in the quantum reality map itself, and nothing to do
with any uncertainty in the territory that this map
is trying to describe. Some physicists believe, therefore,
that quantum theory will be superseded by one that
shows more of the workings of reality, uncovering the
so called "hidden variables" that the current
map misses out. |
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| However, although there is nothing in quantum theory
itself that demands a central role of consciousness
in the collapse of the wave function, research undertaken
at various institutions around the world (such as Princeton's
PEAR program and experiments at Stanford) conclusively
show (if you are open-minded enough to actually look
at the evidence) that mind does indeed affect matter.
Therefore, on the strength of this sort of evidence,
one is justified in introducing consciousness into
the philosophical implications of the quantum map (or
indeed whatever map is currently regarded as the most
accurate). |
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| The other interesting feature of quantum theory
is non-locality. Once two particles are quantumly linked
together, no matter how far apart they are pulled,
they are still are one system. Change one and the other
changes instantaneously, no matter if they are at opposite
ends of the universe. Again, this could just be an
epistemological quirks of the quantum reality map rather
than saying anything fundamental about the nature of
reality. But it could also be used philosophically
to illustrate the interconnectedness and oneness of
reality itself. |
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| Enter consciousness. If reality or the territory
is conscious or made up of the same "stuff" as
our minds, then there is a blurring between the map
and the territory, and then the conscious act
of perception becomes fundamental to the collapse of
the wave function. Indeed, the conscious act of perception
becomes fundamental to every aspect of every map! From
this perspective, quantum theory presents an attractive
justification and metaphor for the act of reality creation.
This position, however, hinges on the choice of
whether reality is made of consciousness or not. |
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| If the map is completely separate from the territory,
then any philosophical implications of quantum theory
are meaningless (so-called logical positivism). However,
when there is a blurring between the map and the territory,
then the philosophical implications of quantum theory
become important. This blurring between the map and
the territory can be due either due to assumption that
the map is the territory because of its accuracy, or
that the two are linked because reality itself is made
of "mind stuff". The former leads to a more
conventional philosophical interpretation of quantum
theory whereas the latter leads us straight into mysticism.
What is important to realize is how we view our map,
whether it is independent of the territory or whether
it is linked in some way, is a matter of choice. |
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| Whilst there is now many well-documented scientific
studies that conclusively show that the mind can effect
matter — see Dean Radin's book The Conscious
Universe — this creative principle of maps can
actually work against itself. Uri Geller, for example,
might well have been unable to bend a metal spoon in
front of physicist Richard Feynman because of the latter's
belief that such a task was impossible, a belief that
was stronger than Geller's belief that he could do
it. In this way, the philosophical implications of
maps become self-fulfilling prophecies. |
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| The philosophical implications of quantum theory
that involve reality creation are becoming more popular
in mass society today because of the effect of books
and films like What The Bleep Do We Know? This
mystical interpretation of quantum theory is shot down
by many physicists and philosophers because, as Tom
Huston writes in his article Taking the Quantum
Leap… Too Far? in the magazine What
is Enlightenment?, "Ken Wilber pointed out
twenty years ago [that] even the founding fathers of
quantum physics/mechanics — Max Plank, Niels
Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Shrodinger, Sir Arthur
Eddington, et al. — who were all self-proclaimed
mystics, strongly rejected the notion that mysticism
and physics were describing the same realm." |
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| However, the reason these pioneers may not have
equated the two worlds is because, for them as physicists
at the beginning of the twentieth century, quantum
theory was formulated to iron out discrepancies between
experiment and the old classical physics theories.
Their focus, therefore, was very much on the physics… they
are primarily physicists after all! They were simply
not aware that quantum theory would eventually have,
for example, biological applications as well, and that
the very thinking process in our brains could well
be quantum mechanical. (Quantum biology is a new field
of study; it studies the applications of quantum theory
on biological systems, and it has already thrown up
some tantalizing possibilities.) This could place consciousness
itself at the heart of physics and most definitely
bring mysticism and scientific theory together, at
least in principle. If quantum mechanics has nothing
to do with our consciousness, then the two could well
be irreconcilable. |
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| At the very least, therefore, quantum reality maps
present a very useful metaphor for the act of reality
creation that many leading-edge thinkers now believe
in. Nobody is saying that the mathematical equations
that describe quantum theory are directly applicable
to the fulfillment of our mind's expectations (although
it may be involved somewhere in the mind's processes).
But philosophically, the implications of those equations
do give meaning to our lives and can help us to reformulate
our world view. The quantum reality map can help us
realize four aspects of mysticism: the collapse of
the wave function alludes to the creation of reality
by mind; the non-local interconnection of quantumly
linked particles hints at a basic oneness of all things;
the multi-dimensions needed for quantum theory hint
that there is much more than just this three dimensional
world we experience; and the uncertainty principle
helps us understand that nothing is definite. |
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In everyday living, most people are still stuck
in either the Newtonian paradigm or religious paradigms,
so the quantum paradigm gives us a useful bridge to
a new relationship with reality. Focus on its implications
will certainly change the reality that we experience,
and in the process change who we think we are and what
we think we are capable of. The quantum paradigm is
perhaps the first, in modern scientific times, to potentially
include consciousness in a previously objective universe.
That is why films like What The Bleep Do We Know? should
not be mocked for their lack of strict scientific rigour.
They help to catalyze the current awakening of humankind
to new and potent possibilities. |
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| "As fantastic as it
may sound, the 'new physics' called quantum mechanics
posits that there exists, side by side with this
world, another world, a parallel universe, a duplicate
copy that is somehow slightly different and yet the
same. And not just two parallel worlds, but three,
four, and even more. No less than an infinite number
of them. In each of these universes, you, I, and
all the others who live, have lived, will live, will
have ever lived, are alive." |
Fred Alan Wolf,
Ph.D.,
Starwave: Mind, Consciousness, and Quantum Physics |
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| "This isn't right.
This isn't even wrong." |
| Wolfgang Pauli
on a paper submitted by a physicist colleague. |
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| Andrew Paterson is an independent writer currently living in London. He has no affiliation to any religious or political organisation. To contact him, please email . |
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