Quantum Reality - worlds within worlds. Solipsism.

It is still amazing that quantum theory still presents such problems in terms of classical (real world) interpretation. Nobody really understands what it is all about yet it works!

The mathematical formalisms (which only exist in 'things' like Hilbert Space or phase space - all multidimensional and defined over complex numbers) are our best ways of describing the quantum world. Unfortunately there is no ready translation of this esoteric language into everyday vernacular. The two worlds exist in splendid isolation.

To enter the quantum world you have to become conversant in high level mathematics. There is no easy way in other than the hard slog. The curious thing is that as more becomes revealed the less you are able to communicate the revelation to ordinary souls. That is the quantum conundrum! You can only converse with the initiated and even then you and they have limited and even solipsistic understanding of it all.

After a trip into the quantum world re-entry to the classical world entails a reorganization of the modes of thought. Quantum ways are not just jettisoned but must be unlearned. This is because the two worlds are complementary in Bohr's Copenhagen Interpretation sense. When you look at the quantum world you force your thought processes into quantum thinking. You have to use a microscope to see the very small - no point in using a telescope. Our eyes unaided can only see the classical world. Our brains, unaided, are likewise restricted to the everyday world. It has taken thousands of years for our brains to gather up enough insight to finally see beyond the everyday. The mechanism unfortunately is the mathematical formalism. Each brain must grapple with acquiring this skill and in so doing each brain develops its own interpretation of a resulting ontology.

Quantum worlds within worlds.....

Nested Porcelain by www.claregreene.com

Silhouetted in shadow by the tall Florentine window
The moments slip idly by.
Rest awhile from the world.
The silence can be louder still
than the tumult of busy streets;
and the great sights of yore
will still be there later,
to peruse and walk past
with only brief memories extant.

Questions for Quantum Theorists to answer:

• what is the nature of the probability amplitude - real or formal?

• is the measurement process circular? Question determines answer.

• is wave/particle duality all there is?

• is non-locality real

• is time a quantum phenomenon? 

Site of Myndos City Ionia

Thousands of years ago Greek philosophers pondered similar questions on the beautiful rugged shores of Ionia.

End of year thoughts!

Another unit of life comes to an end - but is it an end? We think in terms of years that are eeked out by the movement of our lonely cosmic planet about our equally lonely sun.

These revolutions of our homely orb are marked by seasonal changes in weather that remind us of time passing.

After a cold December, the thaw has set in and the wet winds of winter return. Life, at its nadir, struggles to survive. The birds, of all kinds, seek out food to keep alive. All, who can, hibernate.

I often think that the word 'hibernate' and 'Hibernia', the latin name for our isle, are two of a kind. In Hibernia, in winter, we struggle to survive, and given a chance, we would all seek a place to sleep away the odious winter.

The wind howls and the rain beats against the windows. The days are darkly short and cold. The colour grey persists.

The return

The follow up philosophical work of fiction to 'The Island' (www.desgreene.com) is called 'The Return' and is partially complete.

In it I have developed further my ideas on the role and influence of modern science on the state of philosophy as it is today and its importance to our everyday lives.

I hope to have it available for download in the new year.

We are not alone - death of solopsism?

The recent discoveries of other earth-like planets in our galaxy have made the likelihood of finding other life more than probable.

The paradigm has truly shifted.

What does this mean for humanity?

How will this shape the course of human history?

These are questions I hope to treat in the sequel to 'The Island' called 'The Return'.

There is an exciting philosophical landscape waiting to be explored with the aid of this new paradigm.

Virtual Particles

The curious concept of particle physics and quantum field theory, virtual entities, are the briefest temporal existences in the cosmos. Other aspects of existence trump them in being briefer but alas are not separate existences in themselves. The frequency of a virtual photon is of necessity such as to provide a period inferior to that of the photon itself but is only an aspect of that virtual photon.

This raises the concept of a negative infinity or the idea of an absolute zero. Heisenberg rules out such absolutes in terms of the Uncertainty Principle. The absolute vacuum of quantum theory far from being empty is awash with virtual entities with vanishingly small temporal existences. The negative infinity reveals an infinite world of the infinitesimal.

What does this new world view portend for the philosophical outlook of humanity. Should our innate fear of nothingness be replaced by the warmth of the never ending virtual sea of the vacuum?

These virtual worlds are realms only recently revealed to us via the great scientific endeavours culminating in the current Large Hadron Collider project at CERN. Philosophy has new doors being opened for it by science. Only a few intrepid explorers have ventured to enter this brave new world.