Tag: Quantum Mechanics

Questioning Our Consciousness – Solipsism

Solipsism warns about the impossibility to know everything in absolute manner but if appreciated in a proper way it guides us to seek for continuous up-gradation from existing lesser absolute truths to newer and better absolute truths. A pure solipsist would be delusional, neurotic but a practical solipsist would bring about a revolution in his own world thereby in the worlds of the others and even in the whole world altogether!

The problem of other minds – do they exist in reality or the reality just exists in my mind?

Have you ever felt that words are failing to express the joy you have? Do you feel uncomfortable when you are unable to understand the vibe of your environment? Is it just you or is it the surrounding? Do you sometimes feel that everyone is treating you in a certain way and then you realize that actually it was you who was behaving differently? Do you get the feeling that someone is behaving in a way but thinking in a completely different way? Am I unable to get early in the bed because I don’t wish so or the weather is cozy?  As if they are hiding something and you would never know what and how they feel? Could you make others feel your exact experiences in the exactly the same way? If yes, then how? If not, then why is impossible? How come our senses have practical limitations? Are those the limitations of our mind? Is empathy a real thing or is it just the construct of my mind to mirror the people in front of me? Why my experiences are so private?

The questions posed through Solipsism may clarify the origin of these ideas.      

Where solus means “alone” and ipse means “self” in Latin

A philosophical idea that only one’s mind is sure to exist

Origin of Philosophy – Knowledge is power

Everyone of us is born with a tendency to have control over the surrounding. This is closely connected to our survival instincts. Though our survival instincts are mainly primitive what differentiates us from rest of the animals is our reasoning ability. Almost every animal is proven to have emotions, many of them can think logically at least from survival perspective, some of these animals have shown signs of intelligence closer to humans when trained properly. Our reasoning ability is some sort of highly evolved survival instinct. Reasoning introduces understanding, awareness of the surrounding in which we live, this understanding increases the predictability of the future thereby increasing the chances of the survival of the species. So, we can say that the better we understand the system which w are part of the better will be our chances of anticipating the risks of the environment; the better we anticipate the upcoming risks the better we can be prepared for to handle them to procreate further thereby ensuring the survival.

That is why we have many fields of knowledge to understand the establish different aspects of the reality we live in. When there were no boundaries between different fields of knowledge everything would start from simple question (even today single important and specific question can establish a completely independent field of knowledge) We are always one question away from a completely new perspective towards reality. (See Gödel’s Incompleteness theorem if you are interested in this idea)

Philosophy could be attributed to the most primitive, original, and the crudest field of knowledge. Although most part of philosophy is properly structured, it is crude due to the plethora of unanswered questions it has. Once the fundamental questions in any domain of understanding are answered, once the paradoxes lying at the end of an established field of knowledge are solved then a new field gets created and separates from the fundamental philosophy.

(The primitive man survived on whatever nature provided then the humans realized that one can sow the seeds to get certain crop from certain soil in certain season in this much quantity thus came farming – Botany, Geography, Mathematics and many more. When we were unable to understand the Newton’s theory of gravitation to some heavenly bodies (the perihelion of Mercury) then Einstein’s theory of relativity disrupted our existing understanding of the universe. It has literally affected every field of modern knowledge.)

Skepticism – Keep on questioning until you get consistency in understanding

So, in nutshell, the job of philosophy is to ask those questions which would challenge the complete domain of a certain field of knowledge, once you get the proof of this question then it becomes the part of that field of knowledge or a completely independent field of knowledge. They detach from the Philosophy. Philosophy was never meant to provide answers, if certain philosophy is providing proper answers, proper predictability then it is a field of knowledge.  

What happens to the questions which remain unanswered?

What if there are unresolved paradoxes at the end of the a fully established field of knowledge?

I would say the philosophy carries the unanswerable, paradoxical nature – the imperfections in our understanding until they are formally, satisfactorily, and most importantly – coherently answered. That is exactly why philosophy always seems crude, as if it is carrying all the imperfections in our understanding of the reality.       

Skepticism lies at the base of the philosophy. Once you get consistent answers to the questions posed, you keep on questioning that consistency. Everything (and I mean it) will end at a point of paradox or inconsistency. (If one finds exceptions then it is better to upgrade that theory otherwise soon it will get replaced with better theory.) There are ways to deal with such paradoxes/ inconsistencies (See Agrippa’s Trilemma if it interests you.)

Solipsism – Extreme skepticism – Questioning the existence of the question and the questioner!

So now we that we are familiar with the nature of questioning everything to establish consistent answers thereby to create knowledge, it is important to know how we do so. What make us answer these questions in a consistent manner. Our experiences, observations of the surrounding, our interaction with one another and the results of these interactions give us the fundamental model of reality. This model is developed by our minds – bunch of neuron connections physically per say – the collection of the sensorial feedback from the body.

Now the question is, as we go on questioning the reality, the final question is come like this –

If there are still some gaps in my absolute understanding of the reality which are creating this uncertainty somewhere, which is creating paradoxes, inconsistencies; what exactly is absolute? What exactly is the most certain thing in the world? What is the most real thing, real measuring scale with which I could measure and understand my surrounding?

Solipsism says that only the existence of your mind is certain, the existence of other minds will always be uncertain. As the presence of other minds is uncertain, you can be sure of only what you experience as “the reality”. As only you absolutely and fully realize the reality through your mind, the reality is just mere figment of your mind and imagination (when stretched too far!) When you try to transfer your minds realization of the reality to others you will always see that something got lost in translation. If reality is just the construct of my mind, then what exactly is existence?

Why Solipsism stands strong? – Why idea of living in the Matrix fascinates us?

Is the creator playing with my mind to show me a false reality for something different which is beyond my access?

The earliest evidence to ask such question is found in the writing of a Roman skeptic Sextus Empiricus quoting Gorgias (c. 483–375 BC) as follows:

  1. Nothing exists
  2. Even if something exists, nothing can be known about it
  3. Even if something could be known about it, knowledge about it cannot be communicated to others.

Then René Descartes (the one who established Cartesian coordinates) came up with one of the famous quotes/ ideas about the absoluteness of the reality.

Cogito, ergo sum.  

I think, therefore I am.

René Descartes

Simply put, Descartes argued that, the most certain knowledge one can have is through personal experiences because knowledge transferred from others are never perfect also there is no way to measure where the translation was perfect. The existence and experience will always be discrete – separate; it will vary mind to mind, so what is reality for you is the only absolute reality; that is why absolute knowledge is private property. As you can be only certain of your experiences only your mind is the reality, everyone else’s minds don’t exist. (OR should I say others are mindless! Jokes apart!)

George Berkeley – Bishop Berkeley is also one famous philosopher who developed the ideas of immaterial-ism. He is known for the famous analogy of “a falling tree” although his writings never explicitly mentioned such analogy but let us say in a crude way, he pointed towards it. (See, even here we can see the gap that is created during the communication of an idea, a simple analogy someone established before us!)

So, the idea is, if a tree falls in a forest and nobody saw it falling, nobody heard it falling, nobody felt the vibrations of fall how come we be sure that a tree fell down somewhere? Unless and until someone observes the fall through their senses one can never be sure that the really fell. So, if no one noticed it and in the end even you didn’t notice the fall, then the tree never fell down!

Your mind, you consciousness and you had to exist absolutely to observe, experience the fall of the tree. If you weren’t there to see and experience the fall, how could you be so absolutely sure that the tree fell?

Solipsism – Trust no one but yourself!

Now, you would have understood what may be going wrong with Solipsism!

Modern day answers would be like “I would have been presented with a video to prove the fall.” OR “I would have been presented with the person who cut down the tree”

But the counterargument would go like this “What if the video was faked? (by using deepfake!!!)” OR the witness found to be forged – I wouldn’t know if the person is lying with confidence (even polygraphs tests can be fooled, false alibis can be created!!!)

Jokes aside, these are mere representative examples to demonstrate the point. When you start formally questioning the nature of reality by using the most consistent tools that we have in modern science, then this question again peeks out in a bizarre way!!!

According to quantum mechanics, the moment we measure the state of a quantum object, its state changes. So, the measurement of that instance will never refer to the actual state of the quantum object. Meaning that you could never be sure of what actually happened before or at the instance of measurement. You can have a probability but you will never be sure.

Your observation had to exist to define the state of the quantum object, if you weren’t there were infinite state of the quantum object to exist. Your observation assigned it a definite, objective, absolute state. Your observation made it a real “reality” otherwise it was always possibility rather probability of many events. Please note that these are not just the flights of minds by the most compelling specimens of humanity, these are actually mathematically, experimentally proven ideas.

The one liner to understand solipsism is –

Your personal experience is more dependable than common sense!

I understand that how is it even possible to question common sense, common experiences. Solipsism is such a foolish idea rather the most foolish idea one can have! But, bare with me when we try to answer the paradoxes which lie in solipsism. Any person who is having existential crisis has been warned hereon!

Different ideologies in Solipsism

Metaphysical solipsism – the most extreme solipsism – the external world doesn’t exist. My mind creates the reality for me. (A rude adamant philosopher made it clear!)

Quick Joke – Unless I didn’t observe the tree falling, it is still there (and maybe giving fruits if it is a Mango tree!)

Epistemological solipsism – The reality around me is absolute and objective, but we cannot know it directly as it is through our sense and experiences. It is the limitation of my senses which inhibit my understanding of the reality. (This is a humble approach I would say!)

Sensory organs are not the experiences from the reality rather they are just the interpreters of the reality with practical limitations. There is no direct agency to experience what others are experiencing, to know other minds.

Quick Joke – A person drinking tea finds a fly in his tea asks the waiter to replace the tea. Waiter helplessly trying to convince his of not having any fly in that tea gives up and replaces the tea. After few same complaints from same person and replacing many cups, it is discovered that the fly was in the guest’s spectacles!

It’s like I cannot hear certain sound frequencies but certain animals can hear those frequencies. I can see only the light in visible spectrum, but other animals can see in another spectrum. It’s the limitation of my senses which dulls down the objectivity of the reality. You have to be ‘the God’ to understand all the spectrum of the reality! (excuse my introduction of some spiritual power here but we will come back to this again!)

This is the most practical, plausible and calming version of solipsism.

Methodological solipsism – Every logic is fallible, that is why you could never know what the absolute looks like. There is nothing like ‘the God’, if there is something supreme you won’t even understand how supreme it is and why it is so! (I know we are getting spiritual to go away from early religious epistemological solipsism but that is how it works)

It says that even our brain, our mind is the part of external reality. (I am feeling uncomfortable here.)

Quick Joke – A criminal was convicted for murder. He went scot-free because he didn’t do that murder, his had hand – rather the knife did the murder.

Jokes apart, but consider cognitive dissonance. Many things which we learned in our childhood as the absolute concept, as the ultimate truth gets replaced by something life changing and even more true and absolute. So, what is real truth is beyond our understanding.

Paradoxes at the end – Where Solipsism would break down!

The paradoxes of the solipsism are the most fun part which explain why solipsism deserves any explanation.

Here are some doubts,

1

If my mind is the absolute reality I live in, then why can’t I convince myself to survive by just imagining that I have eaten a lot today (while not eating even single crumb!)

I could just survive by thinking of eating the best food I could “think” of.

Everyone knows that this is not the real case. A person with that much will power and fasting will barely survive.

Now, the counterargument for this (and I love this part due to pop-culture reference!) –

What if your brain is kept in a container giving some electrical impulses exactly like in movie The Matrix. The matrix is programmed in such way that not eating will kill you definitely.

Solipsism ends in a matrix, a simulated reality beyond our experiences!

2

If there no such thing like matrix then how come all of us would die if we face the same degree of starvation? How come the experiences (even though not purely translatable to others but still the same based on the objective, consistent observations) we have in such cases match?

Many of the knowledge established as the most absolute, consistent and closer to the reality is developed because all of us had same experience (at least objective experience, ideally fully efficient translatable experience) in every one of our lives.

The answer is that we all share a common consciousness which enable us to experience the same scenario. We all are living a common and shared dream.

Our reality is a shared dream! Our consciousness is a shared dream! We all are connected by something so common and absolute thing. A spiritual person would call it the soul, a scientist would call it the energy.

This is technically known as the Solipsistic idealism – the best answer we have which will not blow our brains and will not give us the existential crisis!

3

The bizarre one comes here –

Even if the matrix is real, you would never be able to get the absolute understanding of it. Existence of external absolute reality is uncertain. You won’t even know if it is called matrix or a chewing gum or something else!   

Pro tip – don’t over-love solipsism

You must understand that the arguments in solipsism are quite good. (It is just my failure of communicating those to you if you are not convinced till this point. I apologize for that.)

If the reality is just created by my mind/ in my mind then there is no way to verify that from external agency.

But, our experiences, emotions (at least some of them) always feel common. René Descartes Descartes posed that the experiences, sensory feed-backs are purely created by our mind but modern science proves that babies are not born with absolute ideas of reality (it is possible that they are exposed to certain sensorial experiences from their mother right from the conception) The absolute experiences they get are from their interaction with the surrounding objects and people. Our personalities, identities are created from mutual interactions. We cannot be ourselves without the people around us and the environments we are exposed to.

Only a completely isolated person would have the polarized inclination towards solipsism.

But again, what if it is just a construct beyond our understanding? There is no way for us to know that.     

Even if there lies a construct beyond our understanding, there are some practical ways to purposefully ignore extreme ideas of solipsism rather leverage the ideas of solipsism.

If you are bound to the existing construct of reality which is practically within the reach of your experiences, your mind then you must abide by the laws of that reality. If you only stick to only the reality of your mind, then your so called “absolute truths” will immediately be challenged by the truth of others. It will be a blood bath but let your older absolute truths die to let the newer ones be born. They won’t be ideally absolute but at least they will be better than the previous one.

Even if the illusion of reality is shared among all of us as a common dream, we would never be able to escape that. Meaning, again play by the laws of the land. Ignore the existential crisis on the absoluteness of reality. At least try to get closer to the reality.

I think this is exactly why even though the pursuit of solipsism may feel worthless in the end but it’s understanding and appreciation gives us a hope to continuously keep on improving our version of the reality – private or shared whatever they may be.

Solipsism warns about the impossibility to know everything in absolute manner but if appreciated in a proper way it guides us to seek for continuous up-gradation from existing lesser absolute truths to newer and better absolute truths.

Learn the rules to break them in a better and glorious way!  

The acceptance of Solipsism (in a positive way) can also create an urge in person to seek for the real freedom. Solipsism in positive way urges the person to take that inner route in order to create the world of their desires through disciplined thinking (in a healthy way and not in a delusional way!) A pure solipsist would be delusional, neurotic but a practical solipsist would bring about a revolution in his own world thereby in the worlds of the others and even in the whole world altogether!

The Book of Five Rings – the Book of the Void

The final book from the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi may seem like a last page reading with very few paragraphs but it gives deep insight into the knowledge that is yet to be gained by the person and the knowledge which lies beyond the limits of the humanity. The Book of the Void is the most concise treaty on the extent of our knowing, our ignorance and that knowledge which we would never know due to the mortal limitations. Miyamoto Musashi’s idea of the absolute wisdom through the concept Void transcends the boundaries of human life and time.

Miyamoto Musashi’s philosophy for 21st century

After disseminating his lifelong wisdom in a very systematic way through four books named as the Ground Book, the Water Book, the Fire Book, and the Wind Book representing the philosophies to fight the battles, wars and survive through the challenges of the life, Miyamoto Musashi concludes his learnings in last book – the Book of the Void. On the scale of writing, it is not even a book. The readers will feel like they are reading the last page of the book. This shortness of the last book – the book of Void is very intentional by Miyamoto-san. Again, as his suggestions go – one has to really appreciate what he is trying to communicate – the wisdom that which cannot be expressed, conveyed through words.

 The main purpose of the Book of the Void is to make the readers aware of the things and the wisdom that they can never know. There is one danger in this process especially for those who learn only by themselves (-without a real teacher always in front of them) which Miyamoto-san was very well aware of. He tries to complete this cyclical process of gaining wisdom through self-learning in this Book of the Void.

“What is called the spirit of the void is where there is nothing. It is not included in man’s knowledge.”

First, he clarifies what this is all about. Miyamoto-san first brings out the elephant in the room that there will always be something that you could never know.

“By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the Void.”

The Void thus represents the wisdom that lies beyond all that can be known by every human being. Now there is one catch in this idea. A normal person who has just started his journey on the path of wisdom will not know everything initially. So, whatever he/she does not know right now is new for him/her. Does this new wisdom which that person was unaware, which discovered during the journey represent the Void? The answer is – No. The Void is not the gap between your current understanding, current knowledge, and the knowledge you are yet to gain or understand. The Void is that which can never be known even when ‘everything that is there to know’ is known completely. And that itself is really humbling. It is about the limits of how we learn, understand the world around us. Miyamoto-san as the great teacher makes every reader aware of what the limitations of our understandings are. He wants everyone to understand that even when you know ‘everything that is there to know’, there still will be something left out because of the limitations of the ways we perceive the reality.    

“People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be the void. This is not the true void. It is bewilderment.”

Here, Miyamoto-san very smartly makes the reader aware of what they call the Void may be and mostly will be the knowledge they are yet to gain. Again, as I explained earlier, the Void is not the gap between what you know and what all there is to be known by you. For every learner, whatever they haven’t experienced before will be new knowledge to them (which literally is the definition of ‘new’!) That will create the illusion of Void for them but the path is way long for the pursuit of true wisdom. We have this tendency of treating every new experience we come across as a very special experience and there is nothing wrong in it, but also creates an illusion of knowing the special wisdom in the person. This instigates the illusion of knowing something extraordinary, of knowing everything in the mind of that person.

Miyamoto-san thus advises the readers to recognize the confusion between the common knowledge and the real Void – the knowledge lying beyond everything that can be known.

In very simple and short words, Miyamoto-san is trying to show the expanse of the true ‘wisdom of life’ to the readers so that they will be humbled by what very small amount they know and they can know throughout their limited lifetime. Miyamoto-san idea of Void is intended to remain on the path of learning throughout the life with the awareness that there will always be something beyond our current understandings of the nature.    

Being aware of the infinite extents of that which can be never known, one creates the curiosity to know everything that is there to know; it also brings in the humility for what very little one knows.

The idea of Void by Miyamoto-san is about intellectual humility and the limitations of how we understand the world around us.

Let us keep the idea of the Void aside for now. The things that we can know, the wisdom that we can have themselves are so vast in their expanse that a single mortal life cannot be sufficient to learn and grasp each and everything that is there to know. This will easily overwhelm a new learner rather everyone on such journey. Miyamoto-san knew this hence he proceeds with the ways to clear this confusion and such overwhelming feelings. 

“To attain the Way of Strategy as a warrior you must study fully other martial arts and not deviate even a little from the Way of the warrior. With you spirit settled, accumulate practice day by day, and hour by hour. Polish the twofold spirit heart and mind, and sharpen the twofold gaze perception and sight. When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void.”

In simple words, the way to get everything big is to start small and build over it, follow the truest path step by step instead of getting overwhelmed by the length of the journey. Once the person becomes aware of the process, the things built over the time will help him/her to distinguish between the that which is known, that which is yet to be known and that which can never be known.

You will notice in every part of the Book of the Five Rings especially in the Wind book, Miyamoto-san suggests to learn the techniques of the other schools from a broader perspective. Even after being the greatest swordsman of his time, he was completely aware that there will always be something which can improve his existing techniques. There will always be some better ways to do the same thing. This newer, creative, and out of the box thinking is only possible for the person who understands the limitations of his mind, who is truly humble even after gaining all the wisdom in the world. Only the idea of the Void can show a complete scholar the extents of what he/she knows.

Miyamoto-san mentions the spirit of heart and mind which are emotional and intellectual aspects of personality. He further mentions the perception and sight which are the abilities to see beyond what is shown and to see the bigger picture. The journey for the true wisdom is about development of our emotions, intellect, perception, and vision. That is what life actually is! What a thought by Miyamoto-san!  

“Until you realize the true Way, whether in Buddhism or in common sense, you may think that things are correct and in order. However, if we look at the things objectively, from the viewpoint of the laws of the world, we see various doctrines departing from the true Way. Know well this spirit, and with forthrightness as the foundation and the true spirit as the Way. Enact strategy broadly, correctly, and openly.”

Miyamoto Musashi holds the last but the most important (and the secret trick) in the journey for the wisdom of the life. Actually, he already hinted this secret in the early part of the Book of the Five Rings. Miyamoto-san explains that when the person on the journey for the wisdom will reach the ultimate spot (and not the end of the journey- the journey has no end – it continues in the Void) then he/she will realize that the vast expanse of knowledge that they were getting overwhelmed in the early part of their journey are actually created from the main true path of the absolute wisdom. The vast expanse of the knowledge was created due to many deviations from the ultimate path. The absolute wisdom will have that clarity as Miyamoto-san explains. That is the exact reason why he already said

“If you know the way broadly, you will see it in everything”

Once you get the absolute clarity of what you know then you will never feel the need to know each and everything. You are zero and infinity at the same time, you are nothing and everything at the same time. You will try to understand everything based on the absolute wisdom you already have as all the remaining knowledge is just a deviation from that absolute wisdom.

“In the void is virtue and no evil.”

The acceptance of that which can be never known will actually make the person humble. Many will think that the idea of not knowing everything will actually create maniacs due to that unsettling urge to know everything but the exactly opposite will happen. When one accepts that the journey for the wisdom is a never-ending, then the smartest choice is to embark on this journey with minimum possible baggage. The true scholar will get rid off every deviated knowledge from the path of the true wisdom to reduce their load in this journey, they will use their limited but ultimate wisdom in every possible and new way to understand the new knowledge and the knowledge which cannot be known.

You must appreciate how great thought Miyamoto-san put forward many years ago with close to zero resources. That is what is great about the Book of the Five Rings and especially the Book of the Void.

The Book of Void actually speaks about everything through the idea of nothing. This can be put down into some words only by the scholars like Miyamoto Musashi. That also the reason why the Book of Five Rings is not just a guide for war strategy and the ways of the warriors. The Book of Five Rings is more than that, it is about the ways to live a life full of true wisdom. True wisdom holds everything in the idea of the awareness of nothing.  

The Spirit of the Void for the modern world

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance”

Confucius

The initial realizations of the idea of the Void are presented to make the readers aware of what small they actually know and what vast they are yet to know. When one accepts that there is still more to know and learn many things and even after knowing/learning everything, there will be something which can never be known due to the limitations of human life, at that exact moment the person becomes the container to the ultimate wisdom.

Void and the Incompleteness of the Mathematics

Modern mathematics and the development of completely new mathematical concepts are based on the world-famous Gödel’s incompleteness theorem. In simple worlds, certain truths in a system must be accepted true without a proof (and there are no contradictions to them till now) to prove all the remaining truths of the system. If in such system a new fact arises which cannot be proven by any existing truths and is never contradicted then such non-contradicted and unprovable truth will create bigger system of newer truths. (you can read in detail about this in my older post). The new uncontradicted, unprovable truth in the system lies out side the existing system of truths. It can be only understood by the person who is open to new possibilities outside the existing system.

 

The Void and The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Miyamoto-san even in his days was aware of this world-famous psychological effect now that we have a proper name for it. Miyamoto Musashi knew how half-knowledge – limited knowledge creates the illusion of knowing everything and can even blind the master of masters personality. He wanted the new learners to remain humble not get overconfident during the start of the long journey and he knew that the one who has traveled enough through this journey will have the humility for what great they have achieved. (see my older post to know more about the Dunning Kruger effect)

“The opposite of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge”

Stephen Hawking
The Void and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Modern Scholar

Miyamoto-san’s idea of the Void also highlights how we are only able to learn what we are able to grasp. This actually creates a biased learning process, which is dominant in those who learn things on their own. Even for people who are masters of their fields and have proper guidance available externally, it is impossible to learn something new and groundbreaking unless they are receptive towards it. Ralph Waldo Emerson in his world-famous speech The American Scholar explained how exactly this learning works. (read in detail about the American scholar in my older post1, post 2, post 3)

The Void and Einstein

Einstein’s idea of relativity was rejected by many scholar scientists in the early stages because they were unable to accept and understand the ideas of higher dimensions in the fabric of the space-time. (That is exactly why Einstein is known as a peerless genius!) So, you can only learn what you are able to perceive and grasp. Miyamoto-san’s philosophy of Void encourages to become open to that which cannot be known which lies beyond our grasp.

The Void and The Quantum Mechanics

While we are on the cusp on the quantum mechanical revolution in modern world, it was Max Planck in quantum mechanics’ early emergence when he quoted about the nature of the reality we live in and our inability to understand such quantum mechanical reality. Upon understanding the mind-boggling nature of the quantum mechanics Max Planck maybe got a peek into the Void – that which can never be known due to our physical limitations. For a swordsman as Miyamoto Musashi, the philosophy of the Void stood the test of the time.

It also shows how absolute wisdom remains consistent throughout the times, branches of knowledge and generations. (find more about how we have realized the existence of Void through one interesting concept in QM in my older post)

Conclusion

Thus, the Book of Void by Miyamoto Musashi is about remaining humble about the extents of the knowledge we have right now, the knowledge that is yet to be known and the knowledge that is beyond the limits of our understanding which is the real Void.

The concept of Void clarifies three main points:

– 1 –

What you know is very small compared to what all there is which can be known.

– 2 –

You can know everything that is there to know and when you will know everything that can be known you will understand that everything that can be known is just the result of the many deviations from the absolute knowledge.

Knowing everything is not about understanding everything individually like a memory bank, rather it is knowing a thing in its entirety and every perspective

This clears one fundamental doubt which everyone has in their own learning journey. We think that if we know many things then we will have knowledge of everything. For the same reason we think that a wise man has many tools in his bag to deal with every problem.

But it is exactly opposite when it comes to the concept of wisdom through Void.

A wise man knows single concept which touches all that is there to know, this single concept brings in the clarity. A true wise man never carries a bag full of different tools to solve different problems, he carries the distilled understanding of how to develop the tools according to the problem.

Thus, once you are able to know everything that is there to know you will find a single thread connecting to all such fields of knowledge. You will never get overwhelmed by the amount of information and expanse of the various fields of the knowledge. That single thread of your wisdom will bring clarity, will bring in virtue in your life, will calm down your mind

– 3 –

When you will succeed in knowing everything then you will truly understand the boundaries of how you understand the universe. This will be the moment when you will accept the existence of the true Void. This acceptance will make you humble and even after knowing everything that is there to know you will embark on the new journey of that which can never be known. That will be your transcendence.

One has to very deeply think and understand and appreciate how Miyamoto Musashi in his very short but important “Book of the Void” distilled the fundamental wisdom of humanity. No wonder this concept of Void is always peeking its head out in different events, different lives, different breakthroughs, and different eras of the humanity. The truest wisdom always remains consistent throughout and it never fears to upgrade itself based on the new learnings. The Book of Void is about what small amount we actually know, what vast ocean that is there to know and what massive expanse lies beyond that ocean as the Void – the world beyond our understandings.   

Links for further reading:

  1. The Book of Five Rings – The Ground Book
  2. The Book of Five Rings – The Water Book
  3. The Book of Five Rings – The Fire Book
  4. The Book of Five Rings – The Wind Book
  5. The Book of Five Rings – The Book of the Void
  6. Understanding the true nature of Mathematics- Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem
  7. Noticing Our Ignorance
  8. The American Scholar – The Scholar, the Nature, the Origins and the Legacy of Knowledge
  9. The American Scholar – The Books, The Actions, Intellectual Humility and The Dictionary of Life
  10. The American Scholar – Man as a University
  11. Chasing The Hidden Nature of Reality

Chasing The Hidden Nature of Reality

Bell’s Inequality and The Completeness of Quantum Mechanics

“The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2022 to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, Anton Zeilinger is important in the sense of how we understand the nature. The works of these three Nobel Laureates have confirmed that the fundamental things which make up the whole Universe follow the rules which are not consistent with the reality we experience”

“If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.”

Richard Feynman

Ever since that damn apple fell off frw3om the tree on Newton’s head the world of science has exploded and expanded faster than maybe the Universe in which we are continuously questioning the nature of our existence, the nature of reality. Although if one really tries to understand how Newton worked out his ideas on the laws of motion, law of gravity, the calculus, they will know that it surely wasn’t the apple that did all the trick. (Given that “apples” have already contributed to change the course of the humanity in different ways)

Classical Mechanics

Sir Isaac Newton
The discovery of Gravity was not a coincidence

What made Newton’s work great is the predictability, structured-ness of the theories he developed. Newton described gravity as the force of attraction between each and every object in the universe. Higher the masses, closer the objects stronger will be the gravity. These theories make predictions which can be tested and then checked to be right or wrong. And for a long time, they were true. Then there came a time – the time. The time of Albert Einstein, where some people say that he proved Newton wrong. I will say Einstein found more generalized form for Newton’s theory of gravity. The ideas of Newton’s theory of gravity are a chunk of the bigger picture of Einstein’s theory of relativity. The theory of relativity considers the gravity not a force but rather curvature of the fabric of space-time. The mass of the object causes the space-time to curve around it hence causing the nearby objects to fall towards it. It’s like a trampoline where a heavy object is curving the elastic sheet around it wherein if other smaller objects are brought in this elastic sheet, they will be eventually pushed into the heavier objects. Newton thought of gravity as an attraction- a pull, whereas Einstein’s gravity pushes. Like Newton, the Einstein’s theory of general relativity makes predictions which can be tested by doing experiments and are proved to be right. Newton’s gravity could not predict the motion of planet Mercury around the Sun due to its limitations. Einstein’s theory of relativity predicted it accurately. Thereby proving it’s superiority.

Albert Einstein
Gravity is the bending of the fabric of Space-Time

The most important thing about Einstein’s theory of relativity is that it created the awareness of the fourth dimension and made it accessible to humanity in some indirect ways. Although, multiple dimensions are possible in abstract mathematics, but they were never accessible to humanity before the establishment of the theory of relativity. Einstein’s theory of relativity is still standing strong and predicting some of the wonders only universe can manifest.

But you know what, Einstein’s theory of relativity is not the generalized theory of our understanding of the universe. Einstein’s theory of relativity though fits for heavenly bodies, even to the grain of sand but it cannot explain the behavior of the subatomic particles making the atoms of the same grain of the sand. There are still some missing pieces in our understanding of the universe. Meaning that Einstein’s theory of relativity is applicable some special case of the reality we exist.    

Rise of Quantum Mechanics and the EPR Paper

Einstein’s attempt to formulate the theory of everything sets the Quantum mechanics in motion. The basic idea is that Newton’s and Einstein’s approaches were top-down approaches to understand the nature whereas the approaches of quantum mechanics are bottom up where the discussion starts from the subatomic particles and the fields responsible for the generation of the fundamental forces (Electromagnetic force, Strong force, Weak force) in nature. One must understand that gravity is still not explained by quantum mechanics. Which is what in a way was the point of concern for Einstein. The theory of relativity breaks at subatomic levels.

This is the part where the EPR paradox comes in picture.         

In order to understand the comments in the EPR Paper, one needs to understand some basic ideas in quantum mechanics.

The model of an atom has evolved greatly over time which also showcases how we improved our understanding of the universe.

John Dalton thought that matter on many divisions will end up in its smallest indivisible part called atom. Which established different elements will have their own characteristic atoms. This idea helped to establish the weight of an atom of each element. Combination of elements would give weight of the molecule made from that specific combination of atoms. With this idea one can exactly tell the molecular weight of product formed by the chemical reaction of two reactants.

J J Thomson in his experiments on Cathode Ray tube (exactly similar technology used in our old heavy box TVs) found out that if a high voltage is applied between two metal electrodes in a vacuum there is formation of a ray which gets attracted to the positively charged terminal thereby showing the negatively charged particles in this ray “The Cathode Ray”. Stronger the magnetic field stronger the cathode ray will deflect. And based on the relationship between the strength of magnetic field and the extent of deflection ray, Thomson found out that the weight of the particles in the Cathode Ray is very small compared to the weight the atoms. In this way the Dalton’s atomic model was revised to Plum Pudding. Where the electrons are scattered throughout the positively charged environment (Literally like the plum pieces randomly scattered in the pudding)

On further experimentation, Rutherford found out that there is vastly bigger space between the positively charged nucleus and the negatively charged electrons. This was a sort of weird plum pudding. The atom’s plum pudding has all the dough at center which positively charged and is the heaviest part of the atom. The plum pieces i.e., electrons are actually floating around this nucleus which are negatively charged. This devised the planetary model of an atom.

From here on now the real fun begins,

If the electrons are floating around the nucleus, how do they always remain in contact with their own nucleus. What makes them remain “attached” to their nucleus? If they are remaining attached to their own nucleus and are floating around it, after some time the tired light weight negative electron should get attracted towards the strong and dense positive nucleus, thereby becoming unstable. And this doesn’t happen in reality, otherwise nothing would exist from such atom as it will not hold itself longer. Technically, an accelerated electrically charged particle emits electromagnetic energy thereby losing its energy – getting “tired” and eventually falling into the nucleus. 

The Quantum Leap

Niels Bohr further sophisticated the model of Rutherford by assigning circular highways to the electrons around the nucleus. Each highway/freeway (autobahn!) has its speed limit which here in atomic model is the energy level. The difference between energy level of each highway is “quantized”. Meaning that there is no middle lane between each highway, no lane cutting/ lane crossing and no overtaking. The energy gap between each highway i.e., “orbit” is fixed. The change in highway is only possible when the electron gains or losses this fixed “quantized energy”. This jump of electron from on orbit to other coined the term the “Quantum Leap”.

Bohr’s idea was usable for simple atoms like hydrogen but it could not explain the behavior of heavier atoms and hence there was still something missing in the model of atom.

The Wave Particle Duality

Erwin Schrödinger formulated that the electrons don’t actually have discrete highways around the nucleus. Electrons are the particles that behave like a wave around the nucleus. This idea was inspired from the Louis de Broglie’s hypothesis that the subatomic particles like electron actually are the waves around the nucleus. Meaning that you cannot pinpoint the electron around the nucleus. The electron will be anywhere in the space around the nucleus, but it follows certain schedule/ timetable which is the famous Schrödinger Wave Equation.

The schedule of electron is always tightly packed. Electron is not that person who confirms his arrival to a party by immediately saying Yes or No. An electron is that friend in your group who will always has his plans and will ditch you at the last moment. To meet such type of an “electronic friend” i.e., the electron itself you have to study its behavior, its routine which is its waveform. The waveform will give you an idea where your electron hangs out the most. Such hangout places where you have largest chance of finding your electron are the “clouds of high probability” called the orbitals.     

This is where the real problems start to happen. You thought you knew everything about your dear “electronic friend”. The whole foundations of quantum mechanics are based on wave particle duality of subatomic particles.

Spin of an electron

Spin of an electron is actually term used to signify the angular momentum of an electron. Please note that spin of electron does establish that an electron is exactly a ball or a top which is spinning around the nucleus. Rather, spin only represents that there is some measurable angular momentum for an electron.  

Quantum measurements are never “Gentle”

The first and most important idea in quantum mechanics is that on subatomic levels the measurements disturb the state they are trying to measure.

The Heisenberg’s Uncertainty principle tells that if you go for the measurement of the spin of an electron the interaction between your measuring equipment and the electron will change its location. Same thing will happen when you go for the measurement of the position of an electron. The interaction between the equipment measuring the position will change the angular momentum of the electron.

Means, the effects we are trying to measure at such subatomic levels are so interaction sensitive that mere the interaction of measurement will disturb the state of the subatomic particle. Thus, you can either measure the momentum of an electron or position of an electron at a time.

The famous American physicist Leonard Susskind’s own words say,

“You can learn nothing about a quantum system without changing something else”

The quantum measurements are so interaction sensitive that they will change the state of the subatomic particle by merely interacting with the measuring equipment.

It’s like the measuring rotations of a ball in the air where you are physically flying with the ball with tachometer in hand in contact with the ball’s surface. The frictional interaction between tachometer and ball will either change the position or the rotation. Hence, you will only know about either the spin of ball or the position of the ball correctly at once. (I agree that it is one exhausting way to perform such measurements, but it serves the purpose here!)

Interaction during quantum measurements will change the state of the quantum particles

Einstein’s problem with the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics

The wave nature of electron, the so called “fault” to measure the exact conditions of the subatomic particles all at once, the probabilistic nature of the quantum mechanics puzzled Einstein. Please note that the ideas discussed in quantum mechanics are not just some wild thoughts, these are legitimate mathematical proofs which are conceptually established in place. Einstein despised the idea of entanglement, which was not consistent with the reality he had already developed.

The entanglement- the bizarre child of an innocent mother

One bizarre concept born from an innocent concept is entanglement. As far as nature’s fundamental laws go- for creation of anything, something has to be invested in first place. This is called “conservation”. Law of conservation of energy says that the net energy of a system remains same, remains conserved always, it will change its forms but will always remain same in total. Conservation of mass says that one mass can change to other mass with totally different properties but the net mass of the system will always remain the same. Law of conservation of momentum says that if two objects of different momentum come in contact – collide, the total momentum before collision will be equal to the total momentum after collision.

In the same sense, angular momentum is also conserved in the natural phenomena.

So, now consider that two particles are generated from a particle with certain spin. In order to conserve the angular momentum of the system, the two particles will have exactly opposite spin of each other. This nullifying spin with the spin of the object they are created from will give the net constant spin to the system, thereby conserving the angular momentum of the system.

For any system the momentum is conserved

This type of connection between the new two particles from a system is called as the entanglement in quantum mechanics. (This may be, is the exact cinematic love that transcends all the barriers, all the dimensions in your favorite SCI-FI movies and fantasy movies!)   

God does not play dice

In quantum mechanics, when one tries to measure the state of a subatomic particle, the act of measurement gives a state of that particle, but this act of measurement for getting the information about that particle also fixes the state of another particle entangled with it.

Meaning that if you separate the two entangled particles at a distance and measure the spin of one particle then spin of another particle gets fixed at the moment of measurement. The question is that, how does the other particle get the information of the first particle being measured and its state? Einstein called this idea as “spooky action at a distance”.  

The EPR Paper

Einstein was so sure that there is something lacking in the theory of quantum mechanics that he published his idea about the incompleteness of quantum mechanics today famously known as the EPR Paper. Albert Einstein with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen published the paper to explain why theory of quantum mechanics was still incomplete.

The abstract of this paper itself is intriguing:

“The EPR Paper”

Einstein debates that the reality is bound with all variables perfectly known. Hence, for a theory to be complete and to perfectly explain the reality there has to be one variable for each behavior. Hence, according to Einstein, as the quantum theory is completely based on wave function thereby becoming probabilistic (because wave function only gives the probability of measuring the information of the electron and does not pinpoint it) it is not giving the certain, definite, sure answers to the questions thrown at it. In simple words, if you ask a quantum physicist to pinpoint the electron around a nucleus, she/he won’t pinpoint the electron, instead they will tell that in this area there are high chances that you will find electron. As if, the quantum physicists have not studied the system completely, there is some unknown behavior that they haven’t identified yet which will complete the whole theory. Knowing this unknown variable will remove the tolerances in the theory, will remove the probabilistic nature of the theory.

Hence, Einstein puts the argument in two pieces:

First one attacks the lack of awareness of the all the variables in the quantum theory

The second one attacks on the reality, reality implying that the condition of having a definite state.

In short, either we don’t know completely about what is happening in quantum world or the quantum world does not have a real state.

Where the determinism and theory of relativity breaks

You have to understand the implications of the ideas put forth by Einstein and his colleagues in this paper. Einstein debated that the entangled particles when getting entangled secretly decide the state they are going to be. Hence, when one measures the information of the entangled particles, they seem to have been decided already. As if they have conspired about their states and our quantum theory is lacking to explain this conspiracy. The idea of fixing this state already established the concept of determinism. That every behavior in nature is already decided, it is only our lack of knowledge about nature which actually surprised us about the outcomes we experienced. If we have complete model of nature’s behavior we will not be surprised by the outcome, rather we will predict the outcome in advance. This was the heart of Einstein’s debate.   

One more reason for Einstein’s debate on incompleteness of quantum mechanics was his own theory of relativity. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light. The clever trick quantum mechanics holds it that even after being separated at larger distance where the light will take significant time to travel from one particle to its entangled counterpart the information of the first particle being measured is instantaneously transferred to the another entangled one. If this is happening instantaneously, then the information of one particle being measured has to travel faster than light to the another entangled one. This was also one point of concern for Einstein.

The concept of locality becomes important here. According to the principle of locality, only the immediate surrounding can affect the state of an object thereby limiting the speed information lesser than the speed of light. But, in quantum mechanics the information transfer is instantaneous irrespective of the distance, meaning that the state of one object even after not being in immediate surrounding is affecting the state of its entangled counterpart. (Park this idea of “locality” for one interesting concept called Quantum Cryptography). This meant that quantum effects if are true then they are non-local. Which established the concept of “non-locality” – challenging and exposing the limits of Einstein’s theory of Relativity. That is why Einstein always argued about the incompleteness of Quantum Mechanics. There were some practical explanations to believe so.

The understanding of Einstein about the incompleteness of quantum mechanics was not just a random philosophical pursuit or some complicated thinking done in the air which was incomprehensible for comparatively dumb people of the times. His idea of reality was influenced by the famous mathematician of his time called Jon von Neumann who was obsessed with structuredness of the fundamental theories. Rather he was the one who defined the standards of a good fundamental theory.

Einstein was unsettled with the idea of the probabilistic nature of the quantum mechanics.

This is the only reason which got Einstein into formulating “The Theory of Everything”. A theory which will combine the gravity from his theory of relativity to the theory of generation of fundamental forces of nature from quantum mechanics (if proven right in his time). Even in his last moments of his life, Einstein was working on “The Theory of Everything”. Today String theory and Loop Quantum Gravity are two strongest contenders for theory of everything. Humanity’s most brilliant minds are working on these theories. The problem is that these theories are completely abstract, conceptual to date and still in incubation mode to design a measurable experiment to check and validate the predictions.

The Nobel Prize in Physics for year 2022 is actually awarded to the contributions made for the real- life experimentation done to prove the completeness of the Quantum Mechanics and its implementation in real world.       

The Nobel Pursuit- Bell’s Inequality

The EPR paper went in hibernation for years but, this actually became a reality in near future. The paper attracted the attention of one of the physicists at CERN called John Stewart Bell. Bell formulated a mathematical argument to explain the idea of hidden local variable in system. If this mathematical argument is proved to be right then this would also prove that Einstein was right all the time.

The Bell’s Paper where he established the inequality due to hidden variable

The beauty of Bell’s inequality is that that it gathers the intangible ideas and inspirations from EPR paper and probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, wave function into a one definite, measurable and quantifiable equation. The equation given by Bell was testable in real world so that some concrete conclusions could be drawn about the completeness of quantum mechanics.

Bell developed a mathematical expression which was based on the assumption that the quantum mechanics has to be “Locally Real”. Where, Local means that the phenomena in quantum mechanics are not faster than the speed of light as explained and proven by theory of relativity; Real means that quantum mechanics is actually deterministic meaning that every measurement done in quantum mechanical system will give an exact answer, a definite value, a surety, it is only our lack of understanding of some hidden variables which cause the quantum mechanics to not be real.

Once the hidden variable/s in the quantum mechanics are identified, then theory will become consistent with the Classical Mechanics.

Smart thing about Bell’s equation is that it used the ideas of probability to show that quantum mechanics is not probabilistic.

Here is simplification of the idea explained by Bell:

We will set up an experiment where we will measure the spin of two entangled particles. You have to understand that in quantum mechanics the act of measurement itself changes the state of the quantum particle. So, when you are measuring the spin of a particle in say Z-direction, after measurement it spin value will no longer be the same as the measured value.

Now what we will do is that we will measure Z-direction component of the spin of one particle in Lab 1 and X-directional component of the spin of the another one which is entangled with the previous particle in Lab 2. Please note that the distance can be as large as possible on the condition that both labs receive undisturbed, un-interacted entangled quantum particles. The measurements will be exactly simultaneous.

So, the possible measurements we will get from the experiments where we only measure two variables are as follows:

The set of measurements when there are only two variables will be:

Here, M1, M2, M3, M4 are the measurements taken. Thus, for set of all measurements:

Now, the real game begins. According to EPR paper, if there are additional hidden variable/s in the model of quantum mechanics which we are not considering, the number of possible outcomes from the same experiment will increase. Say, if there is one hidden variable which we had not considered before while devising the Quantum theory called Q1, and now we are measuring this additional variable in the experiment then the number of possible states of entangled particles increase as follows:

When a new hidden variable is present in the system and if we measure that additional measurement as Q the number of possible combinations of measurement will increase. See below:

The set of measurements will be:

So, what will be the probability, the chance of getting Z directional spin positive and X-directional spin positive? i.e., What will be P (Z+, X+)?

Now, if there is one hidden variable and we are measuring that hidden variable then for the person who measures Z and Q the value of P (Z+,Q+) will be:

Similarly, for the person measuring X with hidden variable Q the value of P (X+,Q+) will be:

Now pay attention,

If we combine these three equations to establish the relation between them, the equation will be as follows:

Which is the Bell’s Inequality.

And is true, if we put the exact values,

In simple words, more variables driving the system, more will be the combinations of the measurements and thereby more complex the equation need to be to completely explain the system.

If there is hidden variable in the system, the number of possible combinations of measurements will be more than the system with lesser variables considered in the study. Which in turn will affect the balance of the possibilities of the events.

Now understand where does the quantum mechanics starts playing its tricks.

When we start to put the one-to-one values in this equation, we will realize what probabilistic nature can do. Due to the probabilistic nature of the quantum system, the measurements will not have a discrete value which lies on a straight line, rather it follows a sine wave, and if we substitute the values of the measurements from the sine wave function the inequality actually breaks.

The wave function in quantum mechanics actually tell what value it will have for measurement at certain angle. Which is indicated by the blue line in the graph below. The wave function only tells that what will the possibility that the spin will be +1 or the possibility that the spin will be – 1. The red line indicates that the measurements will be discrete (either up spin (+1) or down spin (-1)).  

Wave function does not give discrete values

For our example, if one makes a measurement of so-called hidden variable between Z- component and X-component i.e., along Q axis lying between 45 degrees from both Z and X axes the outcome will break the equality as follows:

The values for the Bell’s Inequality for quantum mechanical measurements is given by using the sine wave given in the graph above:

Hence, from the Wave Function in Quantum Mechanics:

Hence, for Bell’s Theorem in Quantum Mechanical System the inequality breaks as follows:

Which is not possible, indicating that Bell’s inequality does not hold true for quantum mechanics. Proving mathematically that there is no hidden variable in Quantum Mechanics. Quantum measurements are not discrete and give definite values, rather the measurements can take any value until we are measuring them, we can only give the probability of how the measurement will be.

This was a shock for those who considered reality as a very sophisticated and definite. The wave function of quantum mechanics does not follow the Bell’s Inequality. There was a strong need for devising an experiment to check and confirm what actually is true. But you must appreciate the power of mathematics and the intellectual level of human mind which can give such deep insight about the nature of reality.

John Stewart Bell
You can see that he has written the outcomes by classical way as 2 and by quantum way as 2 multiplied by square root of 2

The CHSH inequality

The first person with Nobel Prize in Physics of 2022 called Jon Clauser devised an actual experiment to check the Bell’s Theorem and to confirm whether there is any hidden variable in quantum mechanics. Jon Clauser, Michael Horne, Abner Shimony, and Richard Holt created the experiment and the CHSH inequality for the experiment from the Bell’s inequality.

The setup for experiment is as follows:

Two experimenter Alice and Bob (two important people in quantum cryptography. We will discuss about them in upcoming part) will receive a quantum particle simultaneously. The particles are entangled. Meaning that if Alice measures the Z-directional spin of her particle the spin will change in that direction so Bob again measuring the Z-directional spin of his particle which is entangled with Alice’s particle will give new and changed spin value in Z-direction thereby making the measurement meaningless.

Bell’s Test

So, what Bob will do is that he will measure the X – directional spin of his particle exactly when Alice measures the Z-directional spin of her particle. As the two particles are entangled with each other, we will know two states of the entangled quantum particles simultaneously (which seems like some type of cheating but is a pure possibility). The CHSH inequality for the system becomes as follows:

For any number of measurements, when spin of Alice’s particle in Z-direction indicates +1 then the Bob’s entangled one will have spin -1 in X-direction and vice versa. So, according the spin measurements, the maximum possible outcome of the equation is 2. When the experiment is repeated multiple times to converge to a fixed value, we get the statistical average of the measurements (remember that the wave function is probabilistic in nature, hence only statistical average of the measurements will yield a definite value for the equation)

Thus, for hidden variable in quantum mechanics,

Where the angular brackets indicate the statistical average of the measurements known as Dirac’s bracket notation.

But, from actual experiments done by John Clauser the CHSH inequality breaks. And the result is:

This proved that quantum mechanics does not follow the local realism as conventional classical mechanics do. Quantum mechanics does not have any hidden variable which are causing its probabilistic nature. Rather the reality is probabilistic instead of deterministic, predefined.

In the experiment done by John Clauser and his colleagues, they measured the polarization of entangled photons in two directions.

There was one loophole in the experiment of John Clauser. The angles of polarizers were preset or fixed before the entangled particles were sent out to observers from the source. This adds additional determinism in the experiment thereby making “Locally Real” to some extent, therefore the observations were to some extent discrete. I simple words, the experiment done by John Clauser and his colleagues proved a special case of for inconsistency of Bell’s inequality in Quantum Mechanics.

What Alain Prospect the second Nobel Laureate for Physics in 2022 did, that he closed this “loophole of locality”. Alain Prospect and his colleagues devised an experiment where it was possible to switch the detector settings after the entangled particles are released from the source. In simple words, Alain Aspect’s experiment increased the randomness of the combinations and the removed deterministic, predefined nature of measurement.     

Quantum Teleportation and Quantum Cryptography

So, now know that the quantum entanglement is real phenomena and not only mathematics but the experiments also follow the principles, it demands the value addition to the society. The third Nobel Laureate for Physics in 2022 – Anton Zeilinger used these principles for transfer of encrypted information.

It is now established that if one particle’s state is measured in a setup at that exact moment the state of the particle entangled with it gets fixed irrespective of the distance. It shows that the information of the first particle being measured is transferred with the speed faster than the speed of the light.

But there is one more catch,   

If we have to check the state of the second entangled particle to understand how the first particle behaved, we need to understand in what orientation of the equipment the first particle was measured. This information of the orientation of the equipment cannot be shared to the other end beyond the speed of light. But there is still use of this information. If only the people at both the ends measuring the entangled particles know the settings, orientation of measuring equipment, then only they can understand what the states of particle are.

If the entangled particles interact with some other particles or are intercepted by some enemy, there states will no longer remain the same. The information of the orientation of the equipment will show that.

Hence, the orientation of the equipment for measuring the state of entangled particles becomes a secret key for two observers- one of them is sender and another one is the receiver.

And this is exactly called as Quantum Cryptography. Quantum Teleportation refers to the transfer of information irrespective of the distances as the entanglement is instantaneous.

This implementation of quantum teleportation was done Anton Zeilinger and his colleagues using photons.

Alice will decide the equipment orientation while measuring the state
Bob will use the information of Alice’s equipment orientation for decryption
The one where someone tried to intercept

The name Alice and Bob- The “Power-couple of Quantum Cryptography” first appeared in a paper. The Alice and Bob characters were invented by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman in their 1978 paper “A Method for Obtaining Digital Signatures and Public-key Cryptosystems”.  Instead of using some boring name Machine A and Machine B they used Alice and Bob. (Some say that the secret message is Valentine’s Day Poem). The names became popular in no time and for any experiment in quantum mechanics you need to involve Alice and Bob. (Given that the love they have for each other!)

Philosophical implications of Bell’s inequality

The breaking of Bell’s Inequality shows that the quantum mechanical system has no hidden variables. Please note that the quantum mechanical systems are the most fundamental systems to date for the whole humanity’s understanding of the universe. This implies that even though the fundamental nature our reality is consistently changing, there are ways to completely understand. One can know the complete system without understanding it’s hidden variables.

The breaking of this inequality both theoretically and experimentally proves that the reality is not definite, predefined. This shows that nature is not deterministic. The idea that reality is mere superposition of infinite possibilities and the one of them becomes apparent only when you interact with them measure is really enlightening. The approach of your measuring equipment, the way you approach the things in nature is like the perspective you hold. The things will define their states their nature according to your perspective is such a humbling idea and learning from all these efforts of humanities greatest minds.   

References and Further Readings:

  1. Press release: The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022
  2. Three scientists share Nobel Prize in Physics for work in quantum mechanics
  3. Quantum Mechanics – The Theoretical Minimum by Leonard Susskind and Art Friedman
  4. The EPR Paper – Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete? A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen Phys. Rev. 47, 777 – Published 15 May 1935
  5. What exactly is the ‘spin’ of subatomic particles such as electrons and protons? – Scientific American
  6. The Universe Is Not Locally Real, and the Physics Nobel Prize Winners Proved It– Scientific American
  7. Is the Moon There When Nobody Looks? Reality and the Quantum Theory – N. David Mermin, Physics Today 38, 4, 38 (1985)
  8. Pioneering Quantum Physicists Win Nobel Prize in Physics – Quanta magazine
  9. Einstein’s ‘spooky action at a distance’ spotted in objects almost big enough to see – Science
  10. How Bell’s Theorem Proved ‘Spooky Action at a Distance’ Is Real – Quanta magazine
  11. Bell’s Theorem – Brilliant.org
  12. The EPR Paradox & Bell’s inequality explained simply by Arvin Ash – YouTube
  13. Local Reality and the CHSH Inequality – Qiskit
  14. The Experiment that Disproved Reality by Keystone Science – YouTube
  15. Security’s inseparable couple: Alice & Bob
  16. Poster Image of The History of the Atom – Theories and Models – http://www.compoundchem.com/
  17. Images References: Alain Aspect | John F. Clauser | Anton Zeilinger | Sir Isaac Newton | Albert Einstein | John Stewart Bell