Nice to Meet you: The idea of duel realities

there’s the entertaining idea of the multiverse, then there’s this…

I’ve been reading a lot about the concepts of bio-quantum mechanics (is that a thing? it is now). I touched on it slightly in a previous post, presenting the question of what happens to environments when we leave them (like going to the grocery store). It’s a concept that sounds hard to grasp, considering the impact of what it would mean for our existence. If you think about it, it makes sense that our material existence is related to the quantum ether that is floating all around us. Because those are the particles and the like that give us everything we perceive. This expands into what we’ll now be unpacking: the idea of shared (or coexisting) realities.

In the beginning…

This article discusses an experiment conducted back in the sixties (the sixties!) by one Eugen Wigner. His experiment set up two quantum systems to be measured. No big deal. His friend conducted the experiment in the lab, while Wigner remained outside the lab, unobservant. Cool, awesome.

Here’s the rub: while his friend measured the results due to his perception, Wigner’s lack of observation maintained the original conditions of the experiment, and both perspectives are considered to be correct.

It sounds complicated, but let me try to simplify it: a now famous experiment has been conducted throughout the decades by many revered names (Heisenberg and Max Born to name a few) known as the “double-slit experiment”. This involves blasting photon particles in the direction of two ports in front of a wall. The test is to see what opening these particles will take to get from point A to point B. To everyone’s surprise, both ports of entry are used. If one is say blocked or is unobserved, it still reaches its destination! Sounds cool right?! But what does that mean exactly?

It all comes back to a few fundamental quantum ideas.

Breaking it Down

Reality is comprised of potential matter until it is observed. This then breaks down those photon waves into the conscious space we inhabit. But it also means that when it is not observed it still behaves of its own accord. Matter behaves differently when it is observed. So in context of Wigners experiment with his friend, both their experiences are valid and sound because they’re seeing two different versions of the same thing, coexisting at the same time.

And while all of that sounds amazing, like Jeff Goldblums ominous quote in Jurassic Park, the consequences of such things could be dire.