tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post2610800844916868232..comments2023-06-19T04:35:06.263-07:00Comments on Skeptic's Play: The quantum mystic's paradoxmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05990852054891771988noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post-30020723024641856312009-12-03T15:34:56.969-08:002009-12-03T15:34:56.969-08:00"…that quantum mechanics is non-deterministic..."<i>…that quantum mechanics is non-deterministic, and that we affect outcomes by observing them. Therefore, as the argument goes, observers can choose their own reality. And that's why thinking positively causes good things to come your way, and thinking negatively causes bad things to happen to you. It's not because positive thoughts lead to positive actions. It's quantum mechanics.</i>"<br /><br />I still remember the first time I was faced with this argument. My reaction was something like "What kind of nonsense is this?? These guys don't even understand what the concept of <i>observation</i> means! Isn't it a bit lame trying to use the words <i>quantum mechanics</i> just to say that if you think positively it's more probable that nice things will happen to you?"<br /><br />Indeed, when a quantum system is observed this means it has had some kind of interaction with an external "something". Since to receive information from the system you need it to "perturbe" some kind of sensor, if the system is really small this has an appreciable effect. And people doesn't understand this and gets caught in this kind of things…<br /><br />We need another Carl Sagan.<br /><br />Regards!DarkSapienshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00985488862934796951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124539381685751273.post-61192579812586040242009-11-12T09:13:49.088-08:002009-11-12T09:13:49.088-08:00Perfect timing! I just finished reading Charles Se...Perfect timing! I just finished reading Charles Seife's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Decoding-Universe-Information-Explaining-Everything/dp/067003441X" rel="nofollow">Decoding the Universe</a>, which is about information theory. The last part of the book explains the no-information-is-sent-between-EPR-pairs point very well. Highly recommend Seife, Zero was also great.Norwegian Shooterhttp://norwegianshooter.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com