Koanic’s Pussy: A Refutation of Quantum Indeterminacy There are three postmodern revolutions in man’s view of reality, one for each level: the macrocosm, the mesocosm, and the microcosm. Each is defined by an instrument.
For the macrocosm, the telescope, in its most modern form, gives us relativity. The subjective frame of reference has replaced the absolute, and the speed of light, rather than the spacetime fabric, is constant.
For the mesocosm, the computer gives us chaos theory. Order is merely a special case of chaos. Chance and unpredictability are the norm. This undoes the notion of a deterministic clockmaker’s universe – an impossible computational problem.
For the microcosm, the particle accelerator gives us quantum physics. Here, we learn that reality at its most fundamental level is indeterminate and chaotic. Schroedinger’s Cat may be alive or dead – we cannot know until we open the box.
What pretty, fluffy clouds: infused with all the gorgeous hues of false dawn. And all I have is this short, ugly knife. From pommel to hilt, its inscription reads “HEARTSEEKER” and “GUIDED BY FAITH”. Let’s stab something.
Begin with Schroedinger’s Cat. This analogy is unapt, for it fails to account for the act of the observer – an essential element of quantum indeterminacy. The act of the observer modifies the observed, so that we can know either the position or the velocity of a particle, but never both.
In our improved analogy, for disambiguative purposes titled “Koanic’s Pussy”, the box has two holes. Look in one hole, and the other closes forever. One hole tells the color of the cat’s fur. The other tells whether the cat is boy or girl. Thus one or the other is indeterminate.
But the cat, as it assiduously grooms its furry balls, is in no doubt about either.
In fact, it is logically incoherent to say that the cat is both dead and alive, both boy and girl, at the same time and in the same relationship. The statement computes to null. It is not that the statement is wrong; rather, the position has not been stated. It is void.
To make the error explicit: The quantum physicist, working within limits inherent to his observation point, imputes indeterminacy to a particle. This does not follow by logical necessity; the indeterminacy may inhere in his perspective, rather than in the particle itself. The particle may actually have two definite values, only one of which an up-evolved monkey physicist can measure.
And what of meso- and macro- cosm? Even more trivial. There is no logically necessary reason to think of chaos theory as anything other than a gloss for describing deterministic mechanisms that are either computationally or epistemologically prohibitive.
Likewise, relatavistic frames involve a violation of Cartesian assumptions, but no violation of reason or determinism. The paradoxical is by definition not a perfect contradiction.
Shall we, then, return to the 19th century clockmaker’s universe? Or shall we, like petty Deists, take this opportunity to once more retreat beneath Scientific Mystery’s starry cloak, and claim “God dwells here”?
No. Matter is deterministic, because it is incoherent to claim otherwise. LaPlace’s demon sees all, past and future – IF the universe is purely material.
I reject the latter hypothetical. There are indeed non-material things. For example, consciousness is not material. In fact, consciousness is the only thing which we can be sure 1. actually exists and 2. is not material. Thus, by some supernatural golden thread, free will and chance enter a deterministic universe.
And so it seems that my little blade, though ugly and graceless, has sufficed to reach the three inch depth necessary for a fatal wound. The heart of a child of Lucere, that once illumined these philosophical clouds, thrashes in its death throes on my point.
They are now unremarkable grey technician’s mists, which no one will mistake for the dawning of a new enlightenment. If you regret the loss of beauty, consider: in God’s wholesome sunlight, the viscera on my blade refract an oilslick rainbow sheen.
http://www.koanicsoul.com/blog/2013/11/25/koanics-pussy-a-refutation-of-quantum-indeterminacy/ 