You are probably not reading this right at the moment. This is not a philosophical assertion about how many non-readers a news article has. It is a declaration about the literal. This article may not exist.
It's possible that none of this exists. Or they could all exist, but their reality doesn't. It's complex.
It's not as difficult as it seems. It is possible to simply take a journey through quantum physics and tap into genius minds, and then let go of preconceived notions about reality.
What is real?
Reality is very similar to pornography, in that people are more likely to recognize it when they see it. Is the floor or chair you are sitting on real? We intuitively believe it is real.
Every person knows that sometimes what appears real may not be. As technology advances, we all know that not seeing is enough. Through augmented reality, I have seen Pokemon in real life.
It is evident that our understanding of what it means to be real is not always strong when we think back to the lessons we learned in grade school.
Quantum bananas
Science is founded on the principle that all matter is composed of atoms, molecules. This is because microscopy can be used to see atomic structures.
Imagine a banana. Take a banana from a tree and peel it. The banana is real. What if you took one banana and separated its individual molecules and put them in a line.
A banana that is really long would not be straight, but you would have a bunch molecules that could theoretically be used for other purposes.
Imagine separating all the molecules from every object in the universe, and placing them in a bag. It is possible to see how the molecules could form back into their original forms if we shake that bag.
As gasses, hydrogen and oxygen are both perfectly usable on their own. They can also make water when combined in the right combination.
A gods eye view
Carlo Rovelli, an Italian physicist, recently published a book entitled Helgoland: Making sense of the Quantum Revolution.
Rovelli claims that all reality is relational in this book. This means that even if every object in the universe disappeared suddenly, there wouldn't be an empty universe.
There would be no time or space if you took out the stars, black holes and planets.
Although this is not a new theory, it does mean that we have to reevaluate our assumptions and theories with each technological advance in our ability to understand quantum phenomena.
We have to ask what this means for the concept of an infinite universe if we assume that there is no god's eye view and no place from which one can see the literal big picture.
Is reality necessary for existence?
Non, really. The existence of reality is its own proof. Reality, however, is not always what we perceive.
You can also be reduced to atoms, cells, and molecules. These molecules can also be reduced to protons and neutrons as well as electrons. Then, they can be further reduced into quarks, leptons, muons, etc.
It is important to remember that quantum realms are still far from the ground. We can see how far the quantum rabbit hole extends as well as how large the universe becomes.
Rovellis' book posits that all of the stuff that makes up the universe is linked to each other. So, sure, your desk exists. The floor on which it sits also exists. It touches everything else, which is what we call quantum adjacency.
What does it all mean?
Accepting quantum relativity means that we can understand the banana analogy. It is possible, at the quantum level of quantum relativity, that all the stuff in our molecules may actually be distributed randomly.
If we can zoom in beyond the muons, leptons, and continue to go deeper, the theory is that all objects in the universe could be indistinguishable because everything at the quantum level is just a collection of almost-identical subparticulate entities.
This view of reality would make space and time meaningless. Time would be a construct that gives meaning to our observations. These observations would be merely side effects of living in a quantum universe.
It is possible that reality is nothing more than a fleeting, random arrangement of molecules in the scheme of things. The entire universe that surrounds us may just be a short hallucination triggered by a quantum vibration.
None of these explanations seem to provide any explanation for dark matter and radiation, black holes or time crystals, as well as other quantum phenomena.
Maybe quantum relativity is just a passing fancy in the field of theoretical Physics. Maybe it isn't.
Our species might have to face the reality that we exist in a reality other than ours one day.
