Everything I Think I See -- Part 1: The Science of Observing
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"If quantum theory violates our common sense, it is only because nature does not seem to care much about our common sense."—Michio Kaku in Hyperspace
I remember when I was a child and first heard the question posed, "If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Well, common sense tells us that the answer is "Yes, of course it does." After all, what we perceive as "sound" is a series of waves traveling through the air or other material at varying frequencies. If this frequency is between 20 and 20,000 vibrations per second, then it can be heard by human ears. When a tree falls and hits the ground, the resulting vibration creates sound waves. The presence of an observer plays no role in the production of noise.
But quantum theory begs to differ. Though we don't directly notice the effects in the macroscopic world, it may well be that the very act of observing creates the reality in which we live. You've probably heard the old adage "A watched pot never boils." Quantum mechanics describes a universe in which the pot of water is both boiling and not boiling, all at the same time. It is the act of observing that determines which becomes reality. And you thought that your next-door neighbor was strange!
THE MOUSE AND THE MOON
When faced with this possibility, Albert
Einstein asked the question, "Does the moon exist just because a mouse
looks at it?" (endnote 1) This
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