The biggest, most surprising revolution that came along with the development of quantum theory, quantum mechanics and later, quantum field theory, was the overthrowing of the idea of a deterministic Universe, replacing it with a Universe where only a probability distribution of outcomes could be theoretically known, even if you knew all the initial conditions of a system.
Image credit: Institute of Physics (IOP), via http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2013/apr/16/alice-and-bob-communicate-without-transferring-a-single-photon.
But one of the most intriguing concepts to come along with this was borne out through Niels Bohr’s Copenhagen Interpretation, which gives central importance to the observer, a huge change from the classical world, where the observer is merely an onlooker, watching but not influencing the outcome. This, in particular, really resonated with Tears for Fears’ cofounder, Roland Orzabal, with whom physicist Paul Halpern conducted an exclusive interview:
It resonated with me, the suggestion that the person doing the experiment influences the outcome, that the outcome is influenced by what the experiment is indeed trying to prove. It seems to make more sense to me, that our view of the world directly influences and interferes with the world around us, as opposed to the suggestion or feeling that we are mere cogs in an unfeeling machine.
Image credit: courtesy of http://afriedman.org/.
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