Helgoland summary

There’s a classic thought experiment which illustrates the confounding world of quantum physics. It involves a cat in a box with a very curious device. When triggered, it releases a powerful sedative to lull the animal to sleep.

Now, let’s say the device is only triggered by a certain quantum phenomenon, like the decay of an atom. Moreover, let’s say Schrödinger’s equations give a one in two probability of this phenomenon occurring at any given point. So, until we open the box, we don’t know if the phenomenon has occurred. The cat is somehow both asleep and awake.

In the layman's view of quantum mechanics, quantum superpositions exist until an observer comes along and sees what’s actually happening. So, an electron whizzes around in an indeterminate cloud of probability until a scientist arrives with an electron detector and, through observation, identifies its real location.

But what makes the scientist so special? Is there something about her that gives her a privileged status of observer? Is it her lab coat, her advanced technical equipment, or her very existence as a sentient being capable of sight, thought, and consciousness?

Imagine two photons, both existing in a quantum superposition where they’re both red and blue. Like Schrödinger’s cat, we can’t determine the definitive state of either until we make an observation. But, as each photon has two options, each color has a 50 percent chance of manifesting when observed.

Let’s send one of these photons to Vienna and the other to Beijing. If we take a peek at the Vienna photon, it’ll manifest as either red or blue. For this example, let’s say it’s red. Now, when we observe the Beijing photon, it should match the Vienna photon about half the time.

Ernst Mach is probably the most influential thinker you’ve never heard of. Both a scientist and a philosopher, his knack for counterintuitive insight and provocative thinking earned him admirers and detractors across many fields.

The Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin wrote scathing critiques of Mach’s work. Another revolutionary, Alexander Bogdanov, fiercely defended them. The acclaimed novelist Robert Musil incorporated Mach’s thinking in his epic novel The Man without Qualities. And, Einstein and Heisenberg both credit Mach’s ideas as important influences on their own breakthroughs.

Spend a few moments clicking around on the internet and you’ll see quantum concepts applied or, more accurately, misapplied in innumerable inventive ways. Gurus speak of quantum spiritualism, scam doctors advertise quantum healing, and tech entrepreneurs extol all varieties of quantum nonsense.

It seems that the inherent strangeness of quantum physics has a way of sparking the imagination. But can quantum theory shed light on life’s big questions? Can it explain love, elucidate the origin of beauty and truth, or provide meaning to existence?

When you look at a cat, what do you actually see?

Well, in the traditional model of sight, perception is all about absorbing information. Photons bounce off the cat’s form, fur, and whiskers and enter your eyes. Your retinas process the light into a signal and send it on to your brain. Finally, your neurons interpret the signal into an image of a cute kitten.