Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Reality and the Schroedinger's Cat


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In his criticism against the Copenhagen interpretation of the quatum nature of matter, Einstein said that, "Do you really think the moon isn't there if you aren't looking at it?"

The Schroedinger's Cat attempted to show the paradox that reality occupies multiple states, i.e parallel universes, until you decide to observe it like when one opens the cat box and finds out that the cat in a certain state, either dead or still alive. Reality is in more than one state but would collapse into a single observable arrangement when one decides to observe it. By then everything moves to a unified state and all uncertainties  collapses into one definitive setup which a person, the observer, is aware of. This, as Einstein imply, is ridiculous. That is why he famously said that God doesn't play dices.

The paradox of reality can be simply re-stated in numerous but lighter manners. Like when I am in a deep sleep and the singularity of reality is suspended until I wake up. Or when I am uncertain what happens at my back until I look at it. The act of observing overrides the probabilities, the superposition, and simultaneously reduce everything to a singular observable arrangement.

But one thing, which is so simple, is overlooked on the struggle to find what reality is. It is to be noted that all inquires are outwardly bound like when one tries to look for truth using telescopes to look for the boundaries of the universe; or when uses a microscope to try to decipher reality in infinitely small particles or whatever one calls them. One must veer back and seriously ask who or what is that which makes the asking?

Reality is not a separate thing from that which makes the inquiry of it. The mind. Mind, which is in its own mental box struggles to find what it imagines to be reality. But the curse is not avoided. Mind can only come-up for things available in the mental box including the stuff call reality. Mind can't go out from its own confine. Reality, as all other concepts, can only serve up to a point at trying to grasp the substance it talks about. As all other concepts, reality is up to nothing but a pointer to that which can not be put to words. The paradox of reality renders language not capable of bringing in the ultimate understanding of what reality really is.

Reality is a mind stuff. Mind creates stuffs and tries to figure these stuffs out. One just needs to figure out that which makes the stuffs. The mind.But not in dismissive manner, 'reality' can only be grasp the moment one stops struggling to figure it out. Reality is not an object.  Reality is no more than just the awareness where object appear or seem to appear. There will be no way to know what; to tell how is what; why is what without first being aware.