Epigraph:

We will show them Our Signs in the universe and also among their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that the Quran is the truth. (Al Quran 41:53)

He is the Mighty, the Forgiving; Who created the seven heavens, one above the other. You will not see any flaw in what the Lord of Mercy creates. Look again! Can you see any flaw? Look again! And again! Your sight will turn back to you, weak and defeated. (Al Quran 67:2-4)

The Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose. J.B.S. Haldane

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

The 19th century physicists, most notably Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace, promoted determinism. Determinism, in philosophy and science, the thesis that all events in the universe, since the Big Bang are determined by the laws of nature and that including human decisions and actions, are causally inevitable. Determinism entails that, in a situation in which a person makes a certain decision or performs a certain action, it is impossible that he or she could have made any other decision or performed any other action. In other words, it is never true that people could have decided or acted otherwise than they actually did.

Has the twentieth century physics overthrown that world view?

Erwin Schrödinger’s 1935 thought experiment, commonly known as Schrödinger’s Cat, was designed to illustrate the paradoxes inherent in quantum mechanics when applied to macroscopic objects. In this scenario, a cat is placed in a sealed box with a mechanism that has a 50% chance of killing it, leading to the cat being simultaneously alive and dead until observed. This paradox challenges our classical understanding of reality and has profound implications for various interpretations of quantum mechanics.

Implications for Our Understanding of Reality

1. Quantum Superposition and Measurement: The thought experiment highlights the principle of superposition, where quantum systems can exist in multiple states simultaneously until measured. This raises questions about the role of observation in determining the state of a system and whether reality is definite or probabilistic at the quantum level.
2. Observer Effect: Schrödinger’s Cat underscores the significance of the observer in quantum mechanics. The act of measurement appears to ‘collapse’ the superposition into a single state, suggesting that reality may not be fully determined until it is observed.
3. Challenges to Classical Intuition: The experiment illustrates the conflict between quantum mechanics and classical intuition. In the macroscopic world, objects are expected to have definite states. However, quantum mechanics suggests that, at a fundamental level, systems can exist in indeterminate states, challenging our conventional understanding of reality.
4. Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics:
   • Copenhagen Interpretation: Suggests that quantum systems remain in superposition until measured, at which point the wave function collapses to a definite state.
   • Many-Worlds Interpretation: Proposes that all possible outcomes of a quantum event occur, each in a separate, branching universe, implying that the cat is both alive and dead in parallel realities.
   • Decoherence Theory: Posits that interaction with the environment causes quantum systems to appear classical, effectively ‘hiding’ superpositions and resolving the paradox without requiring wave function collapse.

Conclusion

Schrödinger’s Cat continues to be a central topic in discussions about the nature of reality, the role of the observer, and the interpretation of quantum mechanics. It serves as a bridge between abstract quantum phenomena and tangible thought experiments, prompting ongoing debates and research into the fundamental principles that govern our universe.

Schrödinger’s Cat gets entangled with the radioactive particle and enters a superposition of dead and alive.

When we open the box, our eyes, and the pathway up to the brain similarly become entangled with the state of the radioactive particle and enter a superposition of witnessing the cat as dead and alive.

Yet our consciousness perceives a single clear reality.

These are undeniable facts.

Our consciousness must then exist outside this probabilistic physical universe, otherwise it too would get entangled with the particle and exist in superposition, and be unable to perceive a single clear reality.

If determinism is not true then we can have genuine libertarian free will.

This reading of quantum physics proves that there are things that exist outside this universe. Why do atheists then insist that God cannot? Is it blasphemy, or just plain ignorance?

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