I have been fascinated by quantum theory for a long time. Albert Einstein never really accepted it during his lifetime, his well-proved theory on general relativity does not work in quantum ways. Quantum theory is eerie to the human mind because it describes the world around us in a way that we never experience it. Quantum mechanics only functions on the level of particles. As soon as objects get bigger, that is they get from micro to macro, this theory stops to make sense and turns into a nonsense. Well, judge for yourself – how can a “yes” be even a “no” at the same time? How can you be in multiple places at the same time? Or expressed in numbers – can you really take in that something can be simultaneously 1 and 0? If you are a believer of a quantum theory, these are the rules to accept and work with. You also must acknowledge that gravity has no influence over the quantum ways of working because in the quantum world a solid particle is also a wave – that is – always in a superposition. Superposition also means that in a quantum universe one object is always in multiple states at the same time. In other words, quantum mechanics make the existence of multiple universes in the same “place” and at the same “time” possible. Although in the quantum world “space” and “time” do not function according to the Einstein rules. You cannot make use of four dimensions and locate an object which is in several places at the same time, right. Space and time take a timeout in the quantum world.
However difficult to understand, a lot of money is spent to make the world spin in a quantum way. The most well-known practical use of quantum mechanics which may soon turn into a reality is quantum computing. International corporations such as Google and IBM (just to name a few) are spending a lot of money to figure out how to make quantum computers work. Why such an obsession about quantum computers? Well, based on the above rules, if something can be 0 and 1 at the same time, you can potentially create a superfast and superefficient quantum computer which can handle the amount of information and operations not possible with an ordinary computer. The ordinary computer can just handle “bits” for information processing and in “bits” a 0 is always 0 and 1 is always 1 (hence more energy and time spent on processing information). In addition, those “bits” do not interlink with each other like quantum qubits do. Again, we talk about mind-blowing phenomenon – quantum entanglement – which allows qubits that are separated by incredible distances to interact with each other immediately, in a communication that is not limited to the speed of light. In terms of quantum computers this means that just a few qubits can represent hundreds of numbers and carry out many operations at the same time.
This is hard to take in, I know. Imagine two particles on both ends of the universe still communicating and knowing exactly what the other is doing, assuming exactly the opposite spin direction. This phenomenon has been proved by the way, but nobody knows exactly how it works. Not yet. In any case, the work with developing quantum computers continues, although many challenges remain. But one day, perhaps not in a very distant future, these supercomputers may be on sale for an ordinary consumer like you and me.
And now, after all this introduction, I want to approach quantum theory from another angle. Scientists agree that this theory describes the world in a way we have difficulties to comprehend. But when I think of one place inside human body, quantum theory makes more sense than general relativity. In our minds and how our consciousness works. Do you agree that inside of us we have a multiverse – we carry in the present moment our past and future with us? Do you agree that in your thoughts you can be at different places and in different times in the same time? Do you agree that you are in a material and immaterial state at the same time? You are inside of your body and yet you are also inside your mind, right? And because our consciousness has different “layers”, we can have different states of mind at the same time. In addition, our brain is governed by how matter works but additionally our brainwaves interact with the matter. So, our brains are basically always in a superposition as we can even think of something and not to think of it at the same time.
As I see it described in quantum terms, our mind can be expressed in wave function without any mass. The body, on the other hand, can expressed as matter (a constellation of particles), measurable and subject to gravity. Our consciousness is like a parallel universe to the body. And amazingly and inexplicably, those two universes somehow interact. When I started to look at quantum theory from this perspective, it suddenly started to make sense to me. In my mind, I can be on the other end of the universe. In my thoughts I can travel faster than the speed of light. I have a quantum mind.
More reading about quantum theory:
- Physics of the Universe
- Forbes – six things you should know about quantum physics
- New Scientist – latest on quantum physics