Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet Read Online Free Page B

come to be arranged in such a way where they
create specific types of matter, like this chalkboard?  Or your desks?  Or your
chairs?”
    No one raised a hand.
    “Here’s where it gets interesting!” squealed the Professor
excitedly.  “According to quantum theory, atoms can exist in multiple places at
once!  So every atom exists in every possible location in the universe all at
the same time.  Think about that for a moment – there is no empty space, just a
bunch of atoms, everywhere, in a great, big, entangled mess!  This means that
there is an infinite combination of atoms existing everywhere, all at the same
time.  And that means all matter, every object you see around you, has the
potential to be anything else.  Your pants have the potential to be tomato
soup.  Your desks have the potential to be anthills.  Your sneakers have the
potential to be ice skates.  So matter has the potential to literally be
anything, until you make a measurement.  This is because the simple act
of measuring an atom chooses one of its many possibilities to become a reality. 
So until someone observes the atom as something, it could potentially be
anything!”
    Jack raised his hand.  “I’m confused,” he said. 
    “About which part?” asked Green.
    “Uh… all of it.”
    Green laughed.  “That’s not surprising, I suppose.  The key
thing to remember about quantum theory is that it is WEIRD.  That’s a technical
term we science-lovers like to use.  It means funky, counter-intuitive, mind-boggling. 
It’s confusing because our brains aren’t used to thinking about things in that
fashion.  But let me see if I can explain it in a different way. Reality – which
is everything we can see, hear, and touch – begins and ends with us.  Each and
every one of us is an observer, which means we are all constantly creating
measurements to which the atoms around us adhere.  Because of this, the
physical world we see around us is actually created by our own minds.  It is we,
the observers, who create the reality in which we live.  So those chairs you’re
sitting in aren’t chairs until you choose to see them as chairs.  Make sense?”
    “So you’re saying that our brains tell atoms to turn into
different stuff, and they do it?” asked Jack.
    “In a way,” said Green.  “Try to think of it like this – all
reality begins and ends in the mind of the observer.  The universe is nothing
more than the vivid imagination of our brains, which chooses to see certain
things but not others.  All the stuff we see around us is not determined by the
external world; it’s actually determined by us!  So it’s our minds that actually
choose to see only one possibility out of the infinite probabilities that
exist.  And by observing one of those possibilities, we make it true.  So all
matter – everything that could possibly exist – is already out there
somewhere.  It’s not until we choose to see it that it enters our reality.”
    “Are you saying that our brains don’t tell atoms to turn
into stuff; they just choose to see one possibility that’s already there?”
clarified Jack.
    “Yes!” exclaimed Green.  “Exactly!  So there’s a probability that you’re not actually sitting on a chair.  You’re sitting on a huge
mushroom.  But your brain chooses to see the possibility in which atoms
are arranged in such a way that make a chair, so that’s what it is.”
    “Then why is it we choose to see chairs and not giant, comfy
mushrooms?”
    The Professor shrugged.  “That’s one of the great questions,
isn’t it?  Why is our reality the way it is?  What dictates our observations?  Some
believe our subconscious mind is aware of every single possibility that could
exist, and it is not until our conscious mind makes an observation that one of
those possibilities is decided upon.  Why is it that we’ve all decided to see a
chair instead of a mushroom, considering all the other possibilities