Unblinded by Science

Science isn't the great mystery some would have you believe it is.  

It not only helps us understand the world around us, but can help us understand ourselves.

Many people have heard the story of Schrodinger's Cat, yet most have heard it explained wrong, or at least not completely. So here's the missing meaning of Erwin's hapless feline.

The physicist Erwin Schrodinger developed his infamous "thought experiment" (never intended to be performed in real life!) in 1935 as a criticism of a contemporary idea in physics.  In his "experiment" a cat is placed in a box with a small amount of radioactive material, a Geiger counter, and a vial of poisonous gas.  If the Geiger counter detects the radiation the vial will be broken and the cat shall perish. If not, the cat lives on.  In this experiment there is a 50/50 chance of each outcome.

Now the key questions are, what is the "state" of the cat until the box is opened, and what happens when the box is opened? 

According to quantum mechanics until the box is opened and a "measurement" is taken (meaning someone looks) there is a living cat and a deceased cat, both existing at the same time, both equally real.  Once the box is opened, and someone looks inside the box (takes a measurement), one state is chosen to become the only reality.

The interpretation of the day, and the one that troubled the already troubled Erwin, was that it was the conscious mind making a "measurement" that creates reality. This idea is still misused today to prove everything from the existence of ghosts, elves, hobbits, God, and the Chicago Cubs winning the pennant. 

Schrodinger thought the idea that the conscious mind created reality by taking a measurement was absurd, and meant to highlight that in his experiment. And it turns out, he was right.  The conscious mind is totally irrelevant to the outcome.

It turns out that it is not "taking a measurement" that creates reality, it is simply the interaction between the photons of light entering the box and the contents of the box.  When these "quantum" systems interact one reality becomes the only reality. 

So the conscious mind has no special role in creating reality, it is the interactions between quantum objects and systems that does that. A stray cosmic ray will do the job just fine.

What does this teach us about ourselves, about the reality of human existence? How do people create their "one true" reality?

Making measurements and decisions are all well and good, but they don't create the reality of our lives and our humanity.  You can make a decision to become a better person, you can decide you'll be more open and friendly, you can measure how much you donate to charitable causes.

But in the end all the matters are the interactions.  Did you smile at that stranger on the street?  Did you offer to help someone struggling with a heavy package?  Did you feed the hungry, not as a tax deduction but to simply help? 

Did one person feel better because of the way you interacted with them? That creates your reality.

Have a nice interaction!