Quantum Psychology

Let's get straight to the moral of the story: When you observe something, it changes. It no longer behaves the same way as if you hadn't observed it. Is it possible that we give too much power to circumstances in our lives by focusing on them too much?

And now for the science:

Physicists have discovered that there is a problem with the laws of physics as we know them. We know that there are waves and that there are particles (the tiniest pieces of matter). But then something happened. Scientists decided to perform what we now know as the double-slit experiment. And what they found was that particles will act like waves when they are not being observed, but when they are being observed, they go back to acting like particles. It's sort of like the old "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" idea.

If you're a total science geek, and you like to nerd-out on Wikipedia, then this is the article for you: Double-Slit Experiment.

If, on the other hand, you're not, this little animated explanation of the experiment is cheesy, yes, but it explains plainly and perfectly what happens - without getting into all the very technical quantum physicky details:

Now this is crazy stuff, and after a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine, I think it's about time we make the connection to psychology.

The point essentially is that when we're not observing things, they are different than when we are... they behave differently. Sure, that tree that falls in a forest likely is producing a tremendous thud that is going to produce sound waves... but the question is more what does it sound like? The way sounds enter the ear will make an enormous difference in how they're perceived. Perception is paramount.

I've spent lots of time considering this thought that perception is a tricky thing. I've written about it before in a different context, but in essence, it really all leads back to the same fundamental idea. Maybe our lives and our happiness are inextricably linked to how we perceive things. Maybe it's possible that if we look away from something negative and give it less of our focus, it will actually become something different? Maybe it will begin to act in a way that we didn't expect -- the way the particles started acting like waves when they weren't being watched. At very least it's worthy of consideration... and even without the scientific discussion, I think we can all agree that it wouldn't hurt to focus more on positive things and less on negative. Maybe when the tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, it makes what could be perceived as a beautiful noise if someone were. :)