Human Consciousness and the Cosmos
In this series we will examine the influence of the findings of quantum mechanics on our understanding of the physical world, in terms of its fascinating and complex implications about the very nature of human existence.
Part 1. The Role of the Observer in the Physical World
In physics, the Observer Effect is the theory that
simply observing a situation or phenomenon
necessarily changes that phenomenon.
So — what exactly is the role of the observer?
Really fascinating piece with superb graphics. One of your best!
Oh, check spelling at 7:59
Thanks! It’s complicated and I am trying to simplify it. (Can’t find the typo — at 7:59?)
“This is all very confusing, especially when we consider that even though we may consistently consider ourselves to be the outside observer when we look at the rest of the world, the rest of the world is at the same time observing us, and that often we agree on what we see in each other. Does this then mean that my observations become real only when I observe an observer observing something as it happens? This is a horrible viewpoint. Do you seriously entertain the idea that without the observer there is no reality? Which observer? Any observer? Is a fly an observer? Is a star an observer? Was there no reality in the universe before 10 billion B.C. when life began? Or are you the observer? Then there is no reality to the world after you are dead?”
–Feynman Lectures on Gravitation (2002)
You probably found it already, but the typo is at 8:05, in the scrolling text “ROLLE”
Thanks for the excellent quote Michael (and thanks — I never did find that typo).
I’m going to the Oneness conference at Villanova University tomorrow (https://www.omegacenter.info/event/the-inside-story-consciousness-nature-and-transcendence/); maybe that will help me make better sense of it.