Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Entangled thoughts

A neat thing in today's science news: scientists have demonstrated quantum entanglement in the visible world, what is commonly considered the realm of classical physics. Two objects, each a quarter of an inch across, have shown that what happens to one, affects the behavior of the other, though they are not connected. Such events used to be called 'action at a distance' and considered evidence of the observers lack of scientific rigor. Now they are called quantum entanglement. Quantum mechanics has typically been microscopic and invisible to the naked eye: the relation between the microscopic and macroscopic realms fundamental and not clearly understood. So evidence of the quantum mechanical effect, called quantum entanglement, that is macroscopic, is a big deal. Here's a link to the article, describing the research published in Nature:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/47638/title/Entanglement_in_the_macroworld

Why I mention this in a blog about the purposes of Jan Cox, is that if you read the article you will note it says, the results were consistent and could only be explained by quantum entanglement. Let me quote article in Science News exactly: "So the two [objects] were linked in a way that only quantum mechanics could explain."

Okay, here is the mechanical mind full bore ahead. In fact----nobody understands quantum entanglement at all, even just on the microscopic level. They have just given up doubting it exists. That does not mean scientists understand what quantum entanglement is, so it is a sleight of thought for them to explain something by saying it is quantum entanglement. Giving something a name is not the same as understanding it. But notice this basic fact slips by without notice. Because the focus on the unknown might call into question the nature of the mechanical rational human mind. Because tangled thoughts prevent you from seeing the edge.