Standing on the Whale, Fishing for Minnows

Explorations in the theory which is known as quantum mechanics
has yielded spectacular successes and insights into the nature of the universe ,
among which is describing properties of atomic structures.


Where relativity deals with the largest objects in the universe,
quantum mechanics deals with understanding the very smallest particles
of which all objects are composed.
Quantum physics has shattered the traditional ideas of the physical universe.
Yet it's elegant equations present us not simply with scientific knowledge,
but also with philosophical challenges regarding its interpretation.
It's implications are
vast, mysterious, revolutionary, and wondrous.
After all,
What is a quantum particle?
The dreams that stuff is made of!

Quantum Mechanics has been described
as the crowning achievement of the 20th Century,
a theory that has been validated with great precision.
The quanta - the idea that at the smallest of scales,
everything is discrete; has devastated classical physics and forced us
to perceive reality in a most unreasonable fashion by conventional standards.
Yet at it's very core, the stuff upon which the physical universe is hung,
is more real than the physical universe itself.
How did we arrive here?

THE ULTRAVIOLET CATASTROPHE
Hop aboard the old "wayback machine"
with Mr.Peabody and Sherman!
(which incidentally, exists courtesy of relativity ...
and/or Jay Ward!
Of course this begs the question,
in a quantum universe,
is Bullwinkle still a moose?)

In the 19th century much of the scientific community was absorbed in the study of heat properties of various objects. An abstract model that was considered was the Black Body, which was an object which absorbs all incidents of radiation and then re-emited the energy again. We can think of the radiating energy as standing waves inside our blackbody cavity. The energy of these radiating waves at a given frequency ½, should be proportional to the number of modes at this frequency. Classical physics states that all these modes have the same energy k T (a result derived from classical thermodynamics) and as the number of modes is proportional to ½ ² :

We would expect most of the energy at higher frequency, and this energy to diverge with frequency. When we sum the energies at each frequency we find that there is an infinite energy in this system!

This paradox was called the ULTRAVIOLET CATASTROPHE.

Physicist Max Planck resolved this untidy paradox.
He postulated that the energy of the modes
could only come in discrete packets - quanta - of energy:

Using statistical mechanics Planck found that the modes at higher frequency were less likely excited so the average energy of these modes would decrease with the frequency. The exact expression for the average energy of each mode is given by the Planck distribution:

You can see that if the frequency is low then the average energy tends towards the classical result, and as frequency goes to infinity we get that the average energy goes to zero as expected.

We might say this was the birth of quantum mechanical thinking.

The Clot Thickens...

Atomic Line Spectra
There was a further breakdown in classical physics regarding the observed discrete line spectra specific to each atom.
It was widely accepted that this must be due to transitions between atomic energy levels.
But this presented a considerable problem to classical physics as it predicted that accelerating charges emitted radiation.
It would thus seem that the energy orbital would be unstable as the electron slowly spiraled towards the nuclei as it emitted radiation.
There was absolutely no classical model which could explain a stable electron orbital.
In other words:
How could the electrons orbit the nucleus and not lose energy?
Why was this configuration stable?

Niels Bohr

Bohr was able to crack this puzzle by invoking the idea developed by Planck.
This quantization could not be proven on classical grounds or even justified,
but Bohr showed that when he made these assumptions,
he could predict the spectrum of hydrogen
with unprecedented accuracy.
This magical conjuring act
was able to accurately describe the energy levels
giving the exact energies of the lines actually observed in the atomic spectra.
This is the resultant equation.

Look here for a brief presentation of the derivation of his theory.

Bohr's success was indisputable.

Unfortunately it only worked on Hydrogen.

HeisenbergThe Uncertainty Principle

"The more precisely
the POSITION is determined,
the less precisely the MOMENTUM is known"
This seemingly harmless sounding statement
of the "uncertainty relation" between the position
and the momentum (mass times velocity) of a subatomic particle,
such as an electron sent reverberations
through the hallowed halls of science and philosophy.
The implications are unfathomably infinite.
This relationship has profound effects
on such fundamental notions as causality
and the determination of the future behavior of an atomic particle.
But as we discussed in Anarchs Of The New Paradigm,
the implications in Art, Music, Philosophy,
and essentially all man's endeavors are fundamentally of equal significance.

Consider a particle,
say an electron, moving through space.
We describe the electron's motion in terms
of its position and momentum.
Classically speaking,
we can measure both quantities to infinite precision.
However in Quantum Mechanics,
we can never know both quantities absolutely precisely.
This is because by taking a measurement
we inadvertently have disturbed the system.

"I believe that the existence of the classical 'path'
can be pregnantly formulated as follows:
The "path" comes into existence only when we observe it."
--Heisenberg, in the uncertainty principle paper

If every concept has a meaning only in terms of the experiments used to measure it, we must agree that things that cannot be measured really have no meaning in physics. So for instance, the path of a particle has no meaning beyond the precision with which it is observed. But a basic assumption of physics since Newton has been that a "real world" exists independently of us, regardless of whether or not we observe it. (This assumption did not go unchallenged, however, by some alchemists and philosophers.)
Heisenberg now argued that such concepts as orbits of electrons do not exist in nature unless and until we observe them.
Does this perhaps suggest that all knowledge is unknowable?
There simply are no certainties.
Only probabilities.
Tumblin' Dice...
Quantum theory...
"If we know the present exactly, we can calculate the future"
-it is not the conclusion that is wrong but the premise."
--Heisenberg, in the uncertainty principle paper

Heisenburg

So we can not be certain Bullwinkle is a moose,
in fact, merely making the inquiry
affects whether Bullwinkle is a moose or not.

Light can be both wave and particle
Some experiments show that light is a particle:
Einstein's Nobel Prize was actually for the photoelectric effect, where he showed that light carries energy in discrete amounts, a certain amount per particle. Yet other experiments also show that light is definitely a wave:
It exhibits interference patterns, which is something that only waves do.
There is however, no experiment which can show both results.
Whether light is a wave or a particle depends on how you're looking with it.
This may seem odd, but there are many examples of this sort of duality, even outside of physics. The same person could be perceived as a father, son, brother, nephew, or uncle, depending on who's perception we are dealing with.

Bullwinkle is a moose and squirrel.


Matter (us and everything else) is of a dual nature.
As discussed in the explanation of the nature of light.
The idea of duality is rooted in the debates over the nature of light and matter dating back to the 1600s, when competing theories of light were proposed by Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton. Through the work of Albert Einstein, Louis de Broglie, and many others, current scientific theory holds that all particles also have a wave nature. This phenomenon has been verified not only for elementary particles, but also for compound particles like atoms and even molecules. In fact, wave–particle duality applies to all objects, even macroscopic ones.

We exist as both particles and wave functions.
The wave function of an object represents the probability of finding it in a particular location or with a particular physical property (ie. it's reality) - when the probability of finding an object in a particular location or with a particular property goes to 100%, the wave function collapses and the object assumes physical properties. At this point it becomes "real".



Objects do not have any physical properties until they are observed.
Quantum physics contradicts the belief in an objective world existing independent of observation.
Our observations influence reality by collapsing the wave function of an object.
The point at which the wave collapses is consciousness itself.
An astounding yet mathematically supported reality.
Renee Descartes walks into a bar,
the bartender says 'sir can I get you a martini
'Descartes says
'I don't think...'
and he disappears.

The Tragic End Of Schrödinger's Cat
After a stint in the physics limelight, Schrödinger's cat fell on hard times.
The constant stress of never knowing from one moment to the next whether he was alive or dead took its toll on the cat's psyche. Schrödinger's cat began to drink, and drink heavily!
Often drinking himself into a catatonic stupor. Alcohol abuse began to affect his work.
This was especially evident in his last paper published shortly before his death, "Der Maus Eigenfunctionen im Unendlich-dimensional Hilbertraum", in which he published the following rather cryptic equation for analyzing the momentum of electrically-charged particles:

p[[p[p[p = <~~fafafaf | 35eeeeeeeeee >

It has been speculated that if properly understood, this strange-looking equation may have profound implications for our understanding of the interactions of particles in an electromagnetic field. Unfortunately, the original manuscript was covered with coughed up fur balls and a green-colored stain that resembled cat vomit.
One by one, Due to his drinking, his sources of funding dried up.
Soon, he found that he was no longer being invited to give seminars.
His scientific colleagues and students expressed uncertainty about whether or not he would even show up at his lectures. Some people even debated whether he was even still alive!
His last work was in telecommunications.
His invention of Cat-5 cable at Bell Laboratories laid the foundations for the Internet.
In his last days he also spent more and more of his time playing with string theory.

R.I.P. Schrödinger's cat

Physical reality is not "real"
It is the minnow we seek to catch
while standing on the whale

The title of this article is a Polynesian saying.
I first encountered it while reading a book by Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campell suggested that man's mythology was a powerful tool.
That perhaps we need a modern mythology to help us make sense of the universe
as we experience it in this time.
He postulated that the story of "Star Wars"
could actually be used to this effect in his celebrated interviews with Bill Moyers.
Though he could not not literally subscribe to any particular brand of mythology,
he recognized the importance and indeed the beauty of the stories.
And in his book, "the Hero With A Thousand Faces";
he observed that man's various mythologies were essentially all the same story.


Duct tape is metaphysical.
Duct tape is a metaphor for "the Force".
It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.


But what is it ultimately that one seeks?
Campbell suggested "People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That's what it's all finally about, and that's what these clues help us to find within ourselves."

. Evidence from man's research into subatomic physics
informs us that there is actually no such thing as physical matter.
That literally everything is energy.
Our greatest physicists
have told us that energy is controlled by consciousness.
What consciousness is, where it is,
and how it functions is the question.
(Please see Anarchs Of The New Paradigm for details.)

Universal consciousness
(the source of everything? God? Zappa's "crux of the biscuit?)
is the holy grail of the human quest for meaning.
Now of course we sentient human beings
each have consciousness,
of one sort or another ,
but how does human consciousness relate to cosmic consciousness?
Obviously,
this is a matter of speculation, conjecture, and controversy.
There is certainly a degree of scientific physical evidence
and indeed plenty of religio-philisophic writing that reflects on just this.
That perhaps what we allude to as "God" is not some hairy thunderer
but rather the sum of consciousness.
That each of us is a piece of God
or the cosmic consciousness.
The Hindu truth
that "I am the mystery of the Universe " comes to mind.
In the New Testament the author known as "John"
says that Jesus claimed " I am in the God, and God is in me"
paraphrased numerous times.
How about in Psalms "the kingdom of God is within you"?
Or the phrase "What you do onto the least of your brothers, you do onto me."
Lao Tzu said "at the center of your being you have the answer"
(what is at the center of your being other than consciousness itself?
The point of the wave collapse?)
Lao Tzu also said “Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.”
Might this all imply an attempt
at cosmic awareness of the nature of the universe
rather than some dogmatic mumbo jumbo
completely misinterpreted, mistranslated,
or misrepresented for centuries?
Man's quest for meaning did not begin in the 20th century.

Is it at least possible
that true seekers may have glimpsed the implications
of the quantum universe without actually doing the math?
Is there more than 1 path to ultimate knowledge?
And is man, with his hat on, taller than a taxi cab?

The physical universe is a function of "something"
in the non-physical part of reality.
(A something or a no-thing that we call consciousness.)
The source of creation
is in the non-physical consciousness.
The physical experience is the result.

No electrons were harmed in the creation of this article. In an alternate universe, Bullwinkle is the governor of Alaska and has the disembodied head of Sarah Palin hanging on his mantel.

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Anarchs Of The New Paradigm

The Theory Of Absolutely Everything

or
The Moon Is not There When No One Looks At It

There were six wise, blind elephants who were discussing what humans were like.
They could come to no agreement, so they decided to determine
what humans were like through direct experience.
The first wise, blind elephant felt the human, and declared, "Humans are flat."
The other wise, blind elephants, after similarly feeling the human, agreed.

It appears that man's march towards the right of the chart, from Neanderthal to Modern, has produced some interesting paradigms that are real, observable and even predictable.
As human consciousness itself, expands,
so too, do the institutions and devices of man, expand in unison.

Clearly the Ptolemaic universe mirrors the theocentric
& monarchic structures of it's heyday.
Just as the Cartesian mechanical universe of Newton
mirrors the "age of reason" and it's emanations;
capitalism, communism, nationalism, democracy etc.

Whether the social implications of rationality are the underlying foundation of an era's view of the universe, or the converse is true, is irrelevant.
They are aligned and adhered to each other in a great Celtic Knot.

Goya- The Sleep Of Reason

Would there be Goya without Voltaire?
Would there Be Voltaire without Newton?
Beethoven without his contemporary Franklin?
Jefferson without Locke?
Dali without Freud?
Einstein without Stravinsky?
John Lennon without Lewis Carroll?
Johnny Rotten without Wagner?
Would there have been a Hubble telescope without Ferlinghetti?

One thing leads to another in the manifestations of sentience.
If Issac Newton had written the joke,
it would have been:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Chickens at rest tend to stay at rest. Chickens in motion tend to cross the road.
or
It was pushed on the road.
or
It was pushed on the road by another chicken, which went away from the road.
or
It was attracted to a chicken on the other side of the road.

Ba da bing! Don't forget to tip your quarks and leptons folks.


Neural Network

--Neural nets--
webs spun of the fine fabric of the universe
whose threads reveal their composition
to be of webs of even finer fabrics of universes ad infinitum...
echoes and reflections,
gradients of reverberating colors;
blending seamlessly in a pallet of nothingness,
(Pitch black and white light! Which is all colors? Which is none?)
creating a painting of eternity for we casual observers to perceive,
at least peripherally;
hanging inverted and skewed,
on the walls of voodoo;
without shoes.



There was an old lady called Wright
who could travel much faster than light.
She departed one day
in a relative way
and returned on the previous night.

How Long Is A New York Minute?

If your minute in New York is spent with your hand in a deep fryer,
it's a very long time.
If your minute in New York is spent in a loving embrace in a pub
It's not long enough.

Einstein's universe. Relativity anyone?
It has only recently begun to reflect/be reflected by man's social permutations.
These relations are still somewhat inscrutable, esoterically entwined in multinational conspiracies, sundry emerging telecommunications-based technologies, the metaphysics of modern banking, & international terrorism .
Yet it's implications in the arts were swift and tangible.
The Beat Poets
Jackson Pollack
Bauhaus
Frank Loyd Wright
Charlie Parker
Milton Babbit
To scratch the surface.

A Table of Mankind's Major Paradigm Shifts

(With Spiritual, Political & Economic Parallels)

Paleolithic -- shamanic -- non-authoritarian -- hunter/gatherer

Neolithic -- polytheistic -- authoritarian -- agricultural

Earth-centered Cosmology -- theistic -- monarchial/hierarchical theocratic -- urban

Sun-centered Cosmos -- monotheistic -- divine right of kings -- colonialism & imperialism

Mechanistic universe -- deist or atheist -- democracy, capitalism, communism -- industrial/technological

Relativistic universe -- Modernism -- cybernocacy -- post-industrial

Quantum universe . . . ?

What is a quantum particle?
The dreams that stuff is made of!

Here is where it gets interesting. The advent of Quantum Mechanics and Chaos Theory open doors that could not be remotely fathomed in man's relative reality.
In fact, Quantum Physics places man's individual consciousness in a place overruled by physical science long ago...at the center of the universe!
The metaphors of Taoism, Tantra and alchemy suddenly seem to have a new purpose...as focusing devices and interpreters of the Quantum Universe.
Is this a step backwards? Hardly! We are at a distinctly different point in time and space, and the social necessities that gave rise to these disciplines no longer exist.
But there are new dynamics that our last paradigm simply can't encompass.
Call it Aquarian, if you like. But man's consciousness is changing.
The Mandelbrot Fractal known as the "Tail Curl" is a good way to visualize this.

The Tail Curl Fractal
I've often said you find what you seek and seek what you find.
That you can not escape what you design.
But in this fractal image, I see more than I care to acknowledge is actually possible.
Chaos and order are one.
Nature is formulaic.
Ultimate truth.
Beauty

A bit about fractals...

"Self-similar fractals (such as the Tail Curl)
are generated by recursively iterating formulas,
which are complex polynomials of the form z=f(z),
and plotting their graphs.
The Mandelbrot Set is the most commonly recognized fractal object, named after the father of fractal mathematics,
Benoit B. Mandelbrot.
It is the graph of the equation Z=Z2+C.

In the equation Z=Z2+C, 'Z' and 'C' are complex numbers.
The complex number 'C' remains a constant value,
while the complex number 'Z' varies each time the function is calculated, since the formula is set equal to Z.

Complex numbers
are numbers that contain the square root of -1,
which is called the imaginary number.
The imaginary number is written as the italics letter i
in mathematical formulas.

A complex number like Z or C isn't actually a single number value,
it represents a formula i*i+r.
That means any complex number contains two actual number values:
i, the coefficient of i, which is the "imaginary" component,
and r, the constant or "real" number that is added to the result."

For the Mandelbrot formula, you have the two complex numbers Z and C, and each of these has two components i and r, resulting in four distinct variables, Zi, Zr, Ci, and Cr.

Because of the nature of complex numbers, Z=Z2+C isn't the actual calculated formula, but an abbreviation for two more "usable" formulas: Zi=(2*Zr*Zi)+Ci;
and Zr=(Zr*Zr)-(Zi*Zi)+Cr; In order to render any mathematical formula as an image, we assign variables to coordinates, like X, Y and Z. Since the Mandelbrot set has four variables, These four variables can be thought of as four separate coordinates. With four coordinates, each complex polynomial containing two complex numbers defines a single fourth dimensional object!

If we could show the entire fourth dimensional object for each function, we would see all of the possible solutions to that function. But, there is no way to accurately depict a 4D object in 3D space, much less on a 2D computer screen, so fractal generators render the second dimensional cross-sections or "slices" of those fourth dimensional objects.

You can think of a fractal generator as working like a MRI scan; as the medical scanner crosses over a patient's body, the doctor sees a computer graphic representation of a 2D cross-section of a 3D object, in that case, a patient. The images from a fractal generator do not represent the appearance of the entire 4D fractal object any more than a single MRI scan image represents an entire human being, or a single slice of bread represents the entire loaf. "

source-www.utopiansky.com/labratory

Fractal Geometry shatters the confines of Euclidean Geometry.
Like quantum mechanics reduces relativity to shards.
It begs the question:
If there is a genetic code that is a formula for life,
Is there not also an equation that is the formula for a universe?

If it wasn't for Thomas Alva Edison,
we'd all be watching TV to the light of a candle.

Einstein rejected quantum physics. But, as iconoclastic a thinker as he was, he saw a
a cosmic traffic cop, placing a limit on the speed of light. A God of nature who refused to roll dice with the universe. This idea is incompatible with Quantum physics which is like a scientific manifestation of anarchist P. Goodman's "Stone Age Reaction" -- a turning-back so extreme as to constitute a revolution.

Theoretical physics neither suggests nor denies man's notions of God or Gods.
But if one could perceive a Mesopotamian or Judeo-Christian -Muslim type of God laying down the law in Einstein's universe..
in a quantum universe; God would look more like a dancing Shiva rolling dice and improvising jazz music.

Quantum Theory follows behind Quantum facts attempting to explain the reality "behind"them. Unlike Relativity, Quantum Mechanics offers no coherent ideas about "reality,"rather it gives us a set of tools for predicting, and statistical possibilities. The model of Quantum Mechanics "works" but Quantum facts remain inexplicable. The excitement lies in the way it has revived speculative philosophy as an integral component of science. Frankly, theories about Quantum "reality" rival any occultist or mystical excesses for sheer madness & breathtaking incredulity.

The Grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men,
He marched them up to the top of hill,
And he marched them down again.
When they were up they were up,
When they were down they were down.
When they were only half way up,
They were simultaneously up and down,
They were merely obeying the laws of quantum mechanics.

In his book Quantum Reality, physicist Nick Herbert outlines eight views,
"Quantum Realities," all based on Quantum fact but all different.
May Chaos be with you!

Quantum Reality #1

"There is no deep reality."

Often called the Copenhagen interpretation. Objects, everyday real things, "float on a world that is not as real." (Bohr, Heisenberg.) The emphasis on uncertainty reminds me of Buddhism, at least the anti-realism aspect of it.

Quantum Reality #2

"Reality is created by it's observer."

We reside in an observer-created reality in which the act of measurement gives rise to observed reality.
"The moon is demonstrably not there when no one looks" -- N.D. Mermin).

Quantum Reality #3

"Reality is an undivided wholeness."

The object and subject have become inseparable from each other.
According to David Bohm, "One is led to a new notion of unbroken wholeness which denies the classical analyzability of the world into separately and independently existing parts. . . . The inseparable quantum interconnectedness of the whole universe is the fundamental reality."

"In its phenomenal aspect, the cosmic One is thus intrinsically dynamic, and the apprehension of its dynamic nature is basic to all schools of Eastern mysticism. They all emphasize that the universe has to be grasped dynamically, as it moves, vibrates and dances." (Fritjof Capra)

The Eastern mystics see the universe as an inseparable web, whose interconnections are dynamic and not static. The cosmic web is alive; it moves and grows and changes continually. Modern physics, too, has come to conceive of the universe as such a web of relations and, like Eastern mysticism, has recognised that this web is intrinsically dynamic. The dynamic aspect of matter arises in quantum theory as a consequence of the wave-nature of subatomic particles, and is even more essential in relativity theory, where the unification of space and time implies that the being of matter cannot be separated from its activity. The properties of subatomic particles can therefore only be understood in a dynamic context; in terms of movement, interaction and transformation. (The Tao of Physics, Fritjof Capra)

Now sure, there are no shortages of crackpot theories and retail snakeoil philosophers publishing on the internet, but the physics discussed here are indeed sound and espoused by the most learned and lauded physicists
of our age. The connection of Quantum Physics with Eastern Mysticism
is nothing new, as Tao of Physics was published in 1975.
I simply believe that like the tail curl fractal illustrates,
similar if not identical patterns emerge in the details of the whole picture, and the closer we examine it; the more patterns and relationships we observe. The synchronicity is obvious. Though Tantric thought and Taoism are from another point in time, imagine our universe as the Tail Curl Fractal. In the part that spirals around itself, imagine two points at the start and one further down the curl. One could follow the curling path through numerous loops to draw a path between the two points or one could draw a straight line from one directly to the other through the curls and have a very short path to connect the 2 points.
The concept of folding space to travel great distances in space is similar.
The line between the Tao and advanced theoretical physics can be seen as similar also.
Take a moment to experiment with the fractal generator on this page.

What is the name of the physics dept.'s baseball team?
The Unified Fielders!

Back to Quantum Reality...

Quantum Reality #4

"The many worlds interpretation"

Put forth by H. Everett in 1957, it suggests that the wave function never collapses -- that every possible event actually occurs, either in "our" world or in some instantaneously created "alternative universe."

The Copenhagenists deny reality altogether; Everett offers infinite realities which is indeed an elegant solution.

Quantum Reality #5

"Quantum Logic"

What Einstein did to Euclidean geometry, some Quantum physicist/mathematicians hope to do to Boolean (Classical) Logic. Basically a doctrine of chance. It seems like a good idea.

Quantum Reality #6

"Neo-realism."

Einstein, Planck, Schrodinger, Bohm & de Broglie have all looked for ways to "save the phenomena," to discover & describe Quantum Reality intrinsically, rather than take the pesky step of agreeing with the Copenhagen school of anti-realisms ("Atoms are not things" said Heisenberg. "There is no quantum world" said Bohr.) Reconciling the neo-realist project with Quantum facts leads to some fantastic revelations, such as maintaining that the world is real but "non-local." It's very possible the quarrel between anti-realists & neo-realists arises from a semantic problem about the definition of "reality." Both sides claim that reality means Classical reality. In that sense, the Copenhagen group is forced to deny that ordinary objects exist. The neo-realists are reduced to merely looking for loopholes in Quantum Mechanics, & seem so far to have been foiled. But what if a Quantum Reality & an ordinary reality are both real? Simply modes of a single reality? Dichotomy vanishes. String Theorists appear...everyone runs away!

String Theory - Super Strings - is a panoptic unified theory. Since 1984 string theory has been accepted by the mainstream physics community as a viable candidate to unite quantum mechanics, particle physics and gravity. A bold theory of absolutely everything.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about string theory is that it works! it is possible to derive (an extension of) the Standard Model (which has been verified experimentally with incredible precision) from a theory of strings. But it should also be pointed out that there is no direct experimental evidence that string theory itself is the correct description of Nature, not yet.
This is mostly due to the fact that string theory is still being constructed. We know bits and pieces of it, to be sure. but the whole picture has not been seen, and we are therefore unable to make reliable predictions. In recent years myriads of exciting developments have taken place, radically improving our understanding of what the theory might be.

Quantum Reality #7

"Consciousness creates reality."

Von Neumann said that only one kind of stuff exists, quantumstuff, & that ordinary objects are "made" of it. At some point the wave function, the all-possible nature of quantumstuff, "collapses" into a single statistical probability, a quantum jump which somehow "creates the world." one must ask just where does this occur? Logic appears to implicate human consciousness as the setting of the wave function collapse. It is with great irony that Von Neumann, the wizard of cybernetics & strategic game theory, should have been forced to develop a math which suggests that human consciousness must be written into any rendering of Quantum Reality. Von Neumann's interpretation is not the same as an "observer-created reality,"as the observer could be seen as a measuring device. Reality exists in Von Neumann's view, but only in conjunction or "unity" with consciousness.

Quantum Reality #8

Heisenberg's "duplex world"

A universe of potentials and actualities, in which real objects appear almost as manifestations or hypostases of a Quantum Reality which is simulteaneously more abstract & "more real" than everyday things.

My groping attempt at a synthesis is suggested by Chaos Theory, which holds to the axiom that reality itself subsists in a state of ontological anarchy. "The one gave birth to the two, the two to the 10,000 things" -- but all this IS the tao & nothing but the tao. Yin & yang have no being in themselves, but act as interpenetrating modalities of the tao. The real/unreal dichotomy enslaves us in false consciousness. Looked at from one point of view, nothing is real; from another point of view, everything is real; from another, "nothing is real except the Real"; from yet another, "I am the Real" (ana'I Haqq, a sufi "koan"). These semantricks create a set of paradoxes -- and the resolution will give us an essentially metalinguistic certainty of being's oneness. Such oneness cannot be structured or defined in any way. It has no "ruler" and no "laws". It is ontological anarchy. I think Chaos theory in a sense "proofs" or at least mirrors eastern philosophies. (Which are not necessarily theistic).

On a mathematical or statistical level, the chaotic nature of reality may manifest itself as randomness; I suspect it manifests in the Uncertainty Principle as well.

Whatever the truth of these speculations, I feel that Chaos Theory & Quantum Theory are moving closer & closer together and in some way reflect my personal beliefs about the nature of the universe, the nature of man's societies, as well as being observable in nature itself in both macro and micro forms.

Neutrinos, Gravitons, Alchemy, and Enlightenment

Is this evidence that the alchemist's "as above, so below" is an even deeper epiphany than it appears to be on the surface? If this is so, then we may be able to predict some social implications of Quantum Theory as a "paradigm".
We may in fact answer the questions posed by every seeker and philosopher through the ages. The answers, perhaps to everything, including man's quest for meaning (religion for some) is in Chaos Theory and ontological anarchy!
That's my view and I'm standing by it!
I suppose it begs the question... is Chaos God?.
(Or is God Chaos?)
I will leave that for you decide.

No electrons were harmed in the creation of this article.

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