The Quantum Pontiff

Quantum Rugby

Posted by Dave Bacon on September 30, 2008
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A quantum physics spotting in….rugby? An article about rugby player Jonny Wilkinson:

The experiment was conceived by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödin-ger to demonstrate a conundrum at the heart of quantum physics: that a sub-atomic particle exists in two states. However, the act of measuring it effectively forces it into one particular state, rather as England’s discounted second-half try in the 2007 World Cup Final appeared to many fans to be both a try and not a try, until the referee called for a video replay.


Oye vey:

He realised that his entire world-view was bound up with a fear of not achieving his goals. “Quantum physics helped me to realise that I was creating this destructive reality.” This in turn led him to Buddhism, which helped him to overcome an abiding fear of failure, which he believes was rooted “in an even deeper fear of death”.

Dude, as the Quantum Pontiff I can only say that Jonny Wilkinson has taken up the wrong religion: quantum physics obviously leads to Quantum Presbyterianism. But wait! There is actual some clarity at the end of the article. Woot:

Yesterday Professor Peter Main, of the Institute of Physics, was delighted to learn of Wilkinson’s transformation via quantum mechanics, though “I think his interpretation wouldn’t be the mainstream physics interpretation”, he said.

Professor Main had a similar sort of experience in his student years over the “EPR paradox”, involving quantum mechanics, classical intuitions and physical reality, though it led him into physics, rather than into Buddhism. Nor did it help the professor to relaunch himself as a successful rugby player. Still, “the mere fact that Jonny Wilkinson was getting inspiration by reading about physics and enjoying it is wonderful”, he said.

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Comments

  1. #1 SimonG
    September 30, 2008

    Coincidentally, I saw Johnny Wilkinson just a few hours ago. No real evidence that quantum physics has helped his game as Newcastle gotted soundly beaten by Gloucester. (Hooray!)

    When last seen, Wilko was being helped from the field of play. I’d like to make some witicism about collisions and collapsing, but it’s too late for that.

  2. #2 killinchy
    October 1, 2008

    Johnny is out of the imminent test matches…. shoulder. Bugger

  3. #3 Kohl
    February 25, 2009

    Christian Thomas Kohl

    East meets West

    Buddhism and Quantum Physics

    What is reality? The mindsets of the modern world provide four answers to that question and oscillate between these answers: 1. The traditional Jewish, Islamic and Christian religions speak about a creator that holds the world together. He represents the fundamental reality. If He were separated only for one moment from the world, the world would disappear immediately. The world can only exist because He is maintaining and guarding it. This mindset is so fundamental that even many modern scientists cannot deviate from it. The laws of nature and elementary particles now supersede the role of the creator. 2. René Descartes takes into considering a second mindset, where the subject or the subjective model of thought is fundamental. Everything else is nothing but derived from it. 3. According to a third holistic mindset, the fundamental reality should consist of both, subject and object. Everything should be one. Everything should be connected with everything. 4. A fourth and very modern mindset neglects reality. We could call it instrumentalism. According to this way of thinking, our concepts do not reflect a single reality in any one way. Our concepts have nothing to do with reality but only with information.
    Buddhism refuses these four concepts of reality. Therefore it was confronted with the reproach of nihilism. If you don’t believe in a creator, nor in the laws of nature, nor in a permanent object, nor in an absolute subject, nor in both, nor in none of it, in what do you believe then? What remains that you can consider a fundamental reality? The answer is simple: it is so simple that we barely consider it being a philosophical statement: things depend on other things. For instance: a thing is dependent on its cause. There is no effect without a cause and no cause without an effect. There is no fire without a fuel, no action without an actor and vice versa. Things are dependent on other things; they are not identical with each other, nor do they break up into objective and subjective parts.
    This Buddhist concept of reality is often met with disapproval and considered incomprehensible. But there are modern modes of thought with points of contact. For instance: there is a discussion in quantum physics about fundamental reality. What is fundamental in quantum physics: particles, waves, field of force, law of nature, mindsets or information? Quantum physics came to a result that is expressed by the key words of complementarity, interaction and entanglement. According to these concepts there are no independent but complementary quantum objects; they are at the same time waves and particles. Quantum objects interact with others, and they are even entangled when they are separated in a far distance. Without being observed philosophically, quantum physics has created a physical concept of reality. According to that concept the fundamental reality is an interaction of systems that interact with other systems and with their own components. This physical concept of reality does not agree upon the four approaches mentioned before. If the fundamental reality consists of dependent systems, then its basics can neither be independent and objective laws of nature nor independent subjective models of thought. The fundamental reality cannot be a mystic entity nor can it consist of information only.
    The concepts of reality in Buddhism surprisingly parallel quantum physics.
    More: http://ctkohl.googlepages.com