LIFE
May 22, 2021
Prof. S. Ramkumar
The Physics of Experience
(This is in continuation to my short writing on “Theory of being you, with experiences”. What is written here will may have a meaning, only if that prologue is read first.
The stages or “quantum” of life usually can be understood only once we cross the stages; looking back is always to look forward! We are moved by waves of experiences, understandable as quanta when we look back, built always on relativity, predictable but uncertain. One of the many paradoxes of life!
Try picking up few quanta of experiences from your life! )
Picture 1:-
From birth onwards, we have lots of moments which precipitate to experience. They are not necessarily linear, as we may think at the time of the happening, but follow a wave pattern of particle physics, in which the moments of events/happenings sway us with influences (like the man in the pool – pic 2). Moreover, after years of experience, we can also realize that these wave-experiences, can be conceptualized as “sets of influences” called quanta. like Quanta1, Q2… In fact, if we think of our life there can be specific number of quanta experiences which should have ‘waved” us through life.
Picture 2:-
The man in the pool doesn’t swim. But the ripples of the waves decide on his movement and they take him to where he is now! It can be still, move him down or lift him up, or whichever spots the wave theories can calculate! This is like the particle movement explained in physics.
The stages of a person’s life viewed in the background of the canvas of the Universe, is something we may discover after the journey we travel for years. The simplest dimension of thinking an example is happenings in life on a timeline we remember; like 1st birthday of a child (remembered by parents), some events during school years, passing of +2 or pre degree, first day in a college, incidences in colleges, pass out from a college, marriage day, jobs, anniversaries, disasters, pandemic…
We usually think about our ‘experiences’ in a linear manner – attributing to the timeline based on many aspects as mentioned above; like experience – being in a family ( as a child, teenage, youth, with parents) school, college, through marriage, office, jobs we do…
It sometimes gives a fascination to realize these “stages” (as a child, with parents, teenage, youth, as parents) can be seen as collection of quantum experiences, that have made us what we are.
The series of momentary experiences we go through during a period of time is different, as we experience them at that time, and when we look back at these after years. In a simpler notion- what we experienced at ‘that’ time has a different feeling when revisited as our age advances. We have often a significant shaping of our personality as we grow.
After years we can find a pattern of ‘Set’ of experiences, rather than momentary experiences emerge. Looking back, we can see that momentary experiences consolidate to ‘quanta’ and any person can come with ‘quantum’ experiences which has moved a person forward. At the time of exposure to experience we would not have realized its relevance(or irrelevance), until we move forward in time, turn back and see them. ‘Moments add on to our age, not necessarily experience when we go through in real time.’
Assume a person in a lifebuoy in a pond or a swimming pool. If we create ripples in the pool, waves are formed; the waves move the person, up and down and forward (or backward) or in any swaying position. The “person” doesn’t swim to move – the wave moves him, but where he moves to and how swiftly, depends on the person’s position (or the lifebuoy), its speed (of up and down or straight) and position. The particles in wave function of physics has a similar pattern, ultimately the predictability of where the person is difficult with incessant wave motions swaying and crisscrossing and moving that. All are static, but moved by the ‘waves’.
A clarification on experience: (eg: in life or in work). Assume a person claiming to have, 30 years of experience in ‘X’ role. But simply existing as in that role of ‘X’ for 30 years doesn’t actually imply “experience”. The thoughts, actions, reflections and appropriate behaviour of continued modification is actually experience. These continued modifications usually can take the turns of quanta.
‘Experiencing Experience’ - the wave function of quantum physics
As mentioned earlier we generally think linear. However, we will be able to identify that appreciation of early experiences is as ‘quantum’, often in line with the wave function of particles explained in Physics. Interestingly the ‘wave theory’ of quantum mechanics discusses about ‘particles’ which don’t have well defined position and speed”. Instead they are represented by wave function. The contribution of great physicists like Laplace, Max Planck, Schrodinger, Heisenberg and Einstein (not described here, but worth interesting to read for a common man) and many more have critically contributed to various aspects of quantum physics and wave functions. One simple way of depicting this is that particles are having positions and speed and are in a wave motion. They move in a quantum manner throwing energy. (This oversimplified version is used for analogue to ‘experience’ of human beings). Assume a person similar to ‘particle’( in the pool of life), who has a ‘position’ and ‘speed’ (by mind), moved within waves, to realize later that our life has been a contribution of ‘quantum’ or a ‘ set of influences’, often unpredictable. The knowledge of particle theory doesn’t help us to predict future with certainty, which we can easily understand from our experiences. Unpredictability in life! Each quantum has ‘a set of influences’, rather than ‘specific moments’ – the specific moments reflect and build on itself evolving into set of influences (quantum). The happiness (and unhappiness) can be assessed within the quanta of experience a person can identify over years.
In ‘quantum experience’ we can note that experiences are reflected on its own and built upon the previous; experiences are a part of how, when and we were at that point of time and importantly they are ‘relative’ to many aspects (the context).
As ‘particles’, we (human beings) also have similar experience in the wave function. The “position and speed” of our movement (physically and mentally) are plotted “relative” to various factors like – in which stage of life are we, who are with us and without, what is the so called ‘ maturity’ we had or have, what did we had and we have now… the quality in many of these changes, decide the position of people in the waves, and hence the quantum that we perceive.
We experience ‘quantum’ not immediately when we go through momentary events of life (though it can also be debated), but after we pass these, and look at some of the events after time passes.
Then we tend to say that in life we were influenced by many; it’s a consolidation of experiences which has a discrete nature; like people saying that “I stayed in a remote village which did not have a school’, or ‘I had my parents who supported my future’ or the lie in the “college changed me” or ‘the pandemic puts me through a challenging situation” – all these are quanta.
Experiences thought, on time basis is linear and on quantum basis is dynamic (with influences overlapping) but identified as a set of influences (quanta) which makes us what we are.
Thinking of experience as a ‘Wave function’ may make us a better being, of accommodating universal views, and promote rational reasoning. This also teaches us that ‘instead of being able to predict the position and speed of particles, all we can predict is the wave function, which has quantum effects’.
Multi manifestations of pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappiness, good and not- so- good, joy and gloom, confidence and hesitance, inspiration and low-feel, achievement or failure – a person goes through multitude of feelings which enriches the experience. We can observe experiences out of these are built and continued as ‘wave function’ theory of quantum physics, where in the position and speed of particle helps in predicting future, though uncertainty prevails, since many of these experiences are “relative” to individual. “Relative” in at least two ways;
i) Relative to individual status of mind and body at any time of ‘wave’
ii) Relative to other people/context experienced at any point, in the wave.
Uncertainty of prediction is applicable to biological systems too.
To quote Stephen Hawking in his book “Brief Answers to the Big Questions”, (Chapter 4 on ‘Can we predict the future ?)
“The wave function contains all that one can know of the particle, both its position and its speed. If you know the wave function at one time, then its values at other times are determined by what is called the Schrodinger equation. To sum up, the classical view, put forward by Laplace, was that the future motion of particles was completely determined, if one knew their positions and speeds at one time. This view had to be modified when Heisenberg put forward his Uncertainty Principle, which said that one could not know both the position and the speed accurately. However, it was still possible to predict one combination of position and speed”.
Applying in an analogue of human experience it could mean the position and speed in the wave of life, if precisely found out, can help in predicting future. But then uncertainty principle also indicates we can’t know both the ‘position and speed accurately’ but combination of these could be understood as ‘quantum’, if looked back, over a period of time.
The stages or “quantum” of life usually can be understood only once we cross the stages; looking back is always to look forward!
We are moved by waves of experiences, understandable as quanta when we look back, built always on relativity, predictable but uncertain! One of the many paradoxes of life!