I am all in a huff about the oft-repeated references to the Observer Effect by new-age writers these days. These spiritual leaders try to use the Observer Effect to illustrate that if one simply uses the powers of the mind to observe something hard enough and whole-heartedly enough, that alone is sufficient to change whats being observed. Not so fast! This physics experiment and the results are largely misunderstood by laymen; the double slit experiment has been featured in some Discovery Science special narrated by Morgan Freeman, which does NOT mean its to be taken at face value. Ill put it simply: to observe an electron, you have to stick a proton on it. That changes the experiment! There is not only one variable in the observed double slit experiment - there are two: 1) the attention of the scientists observing the particles; 2) the particles themselves in order to collect and observe the data! There is no cause and effect there that can be clearly attributed to item #1. The nature of some objects or phenomena being observed can be changed by the very equipment or instruments being utilized to perform the testing. Make no mistake: attention, focus, and observation are all important - and can be very powerful. But not THAT powerful! LOL
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:26:22 +0000
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