Quantum

“If you think you understand quantum theory, you don’t understand quantum theory”, words attributed to Richard Feynman and as true now as when they were uttered. The quantum world is replete with examples that make a mockery of our intuitive understanding of the world. From uncertainty principles saying you can’t know exactly where a particle is and how fast it is going to electrons that can pass through solid barriers. Light that is both a particle and a wave, virtual particles and quantum foam, it’s a crazy world down there. Unfortunately this very impenetrability makes quantum theory ripe for misrepresentation and co-option by those who use it as a smokescreen to cover the initial implausibility of their claims.

The mysterious nature of the quantum realm makes it easy to think that almost anything is possible and so any claim that attaches to itself the concept of quantum mechanics becomes more reasonable by association. Telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, paranormal claims of all kinds have been subject to attempts to provide them with a plausible basis by tying them with quantum strangeness. Unfortunately, most of the unusual properties shown by atoms and subatomic particles are incredibly unstable and have a tendency to collapse on themselves and cancel out any spooky behaviour in a process known as decoherence. Mere interaction with other particles can provide an excuse for this process, unless you go to extraordinary lengths in a purpose built laboratory, particles tend to collide.

Another barrier to the likelihood of quantum mechanics as a framework for the supernatural is the De Broglie Wavelength, this is the effective wavelength of any body and is related to the wave/particle duality of matter and has a direct impact of the distance scales over which quantum effects are observed. For very small objects, like electrons the De Broglie Wavelength is large and quantum effects are pronounced, as objects increase in size this wavelength rapidly decreases until for classically sized objects, like brain cells, it essentially vanishes, taking all quantum weirdness with it. That’s a pity, I’d love to be able to walk through walls, oh wait, we have doors for that. 

Resources

http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=312

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Broglie_hypothesis

Supernatural

There is no such thing as the “Supernatural”. First sentences are supposed to grab attention, I hope I have yours. Of course I can’t say that we understand everything in the Universe, we don’t. Nor can I say that there aren’t things in the Universe that we may never understand, there may well be. But to say that such things are “Supernatural” is to say nothing at all. The concept of the supernatural has no explanatory power, if a phenomenon is observable and has physical effects on the world then it is by definition natural and potentially capable of being explained.

There are those who at this point may start quoting such lines as “There are more things in Heaven….” or “The Universe is not only stranger…” but the simple fact is that we live in a world where physical effects have physical causes. If you see a manifestation that you believe to be a ghost then it is because there are photons that have traveled from it to your eye where they are intercepted by the rhodopsin molecules in the light sensitive cells of you retina and in turn produce a electrical signal that travels along your optic nerve to the visual centres of your brain.

While it can be tempting to label things as things as beyond the knowable or supernatural, this only hampers the intellectual pursuit of answers to the world around us. There was a time when disease, the motion of the planets and why men ever thought the comb-over was a good idea, were inexplicable and could only be thought about in terms of other worldly causes. But now we have germ theory, Newtonian Mechanics and later Relativity and, well, two out of three ain’t bad.

Resources

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_3_32/ai_n25376809

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-178482219.html

Open Minds

Have you ever had anyone accuse you of being close minded? It’s quite unsettling and very difficult to refute without back peddling so fast you could win the Tour de France in reverse or sounding incredibly arrogant. I don’t really have a problem with appearing arrogant but lets look at this thing called Open Mindedness. The usual people who use this phrase, and they wield it like a bludgeon, do so with the seeming belief that it means approximately: “Accept without question”. This is certainly one way to look at it but I think the better definition would be: “Use all available resources to come to a reasonable conclusion”. Unfortunately my definition requires something that is distressingly close to effort.

I would agree with many that being open minded is a good thing but those that brandish the admonishment of “Closed Minded” seem to do so as if it is a talisman to ward off them that would subject their claims to rational scrutiny. And in so doing reveal themselves to be ones whose minds have shut up shop, drawn the blinds and quite possibly, gone fishing. The ability to view all propositions with an eye to determining their merit or lack-there-of without reflexive dismissal nor acceptance is the mark of the truly open mind. It is also inordinately difficult to do.

All claims should be open to criticism and rational discussion. Those that are backed up with reasonable arguments and evidence should be accepted, those that are not should be considered, at most, provisional. The accusation of close mindedness should not be a substitute for evidence or used as a blockade for preventing inquiry and analysis. So next time someone doesn’t buy into your pet theory, step back and consider who has the more open mind.

Resources

http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php?p=262

Exorcisms

Exorcism is obviously the attempt to compel non-physical entities allegedly inhabiting a person’s body to depart. These entities are usually identified as demons or even the devil, though these are not the only options and ghosts can also be blamed. Exorcism is also mainly associated with the Catholic church but many cultures have a form of this practice, even the Polynesian ancestors of our very own Maori. Putting aside once again how an immaterial being can interact with and so influence or control a corporeal body, since basically by definition they cannot affect each other, what evidence is cited to support the thesis of possession?

The behaviour of the possessed is often looked at to determine possible possession, personality changes, loss or gain in weight, violent behaviour, nightmares and self-mutilation have all be suggested as signs of demonic influence. To their credit most modern believers in possession admit that these signs can also be explained by mental illness and that the diagnosis of possession should not be rushed into. Levitation and psychokinesis can give more reliable evidence apparently but I’m not aware of any independantly verified instances of this. Besides it could just be a ghost, right?

Unfortunately such medieval concepts of the workings of the human mind and condition do still persist. The harm that this particular belief can do is almost self evident but there are several examples listed below if your imagination has run dry. Ultimately if you become convinced that an entity of pure evil has entered and is controlling your loved one then you may be motivated to do almost anything to rectify that situation, I know I would. You may even come to the conclusion that if harming or killing said loved one is the way to achieve this end then it is better than the alternative, and after all, it’s for their own good.

Resources

http://skepdic.com/exorcism.html

http://www.stmichael.pair.com/ritualofexorcism.html

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/32657.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article2950635.ece

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WOMAN+DIES+IN+EXORCISM+RITUAL%2C+POLICE+SAY-a083952859