Vol. 33 of Thursday Third Things
Is quantum entanglement responsible for consciousness?
Does Consciousness Arise From Quantum Entanglement?
I do not fully understand this article or this article which both seem to be explaining the same study that proposes that consciousness may arise from quantum elements. But here we go:
Quantum mechanics tells us that the universe is filled with tiny little things existing in superpositions — i.e. existing in two locations (or as two things) at once. This is the idea behind Schrodinger’s cat: until observed inside the box, the cat is both dead and alive. And according to a theory from cosmologist Roger Penrose, when these quantum elements are observed and the superposition collapses, a moment of consciousness is created. The entanglement of hundreds or thousands of these moments creates a subjective experience, AKA consciousness.
(And maybe you’re really smart and you’re already asking yourself, but Anja, what happens to the OTHER superposition when one of them collapses? Well, that’s where the multiverse theory comes into play: every time another option arises, another universe is born. In theory, there are billions upon billions of “yous” out there in billions upon billions of universes birthing billions upon billions of conscious moments.)
The new theory being proposed (I think?) is that rather than the collapse creating consciousness, it's when the quantum bits go INTO superposition that a moment of consciousness is created.
I don’t know what a “moment” of consciousness is. But it’s got me wondering if other objects experience little blips of consciousness all the time and we (humans) just happen to experience a more steady stream of it. This gives me that tingly, goose-bumpy feeling that all things have consciousness in some form.
In Praise Of Doodles
My notebooks (especially work notebooks) are absolutely FILLED with doodles. The era of Zoom calls has made this habit even more pronounced because I hate awkward silences in video meetings and keeping my head down as though I’m taking diligent notes feels better than staring into the dead eyes of my coworkers wondering who’s going to break first. See below for some horrifying self-portraits because I just sit there analyzing my own face.
A Very Old Whale
Did you know that a whale’s tail is as unique as a human fingerprint? That’s how we know Old Timer — a humpback whale — is at least 53 years old. He was first spotted in 1972 and was spotted again after many years again this summer. Old Timer is the oldest known humpback whale in the world (though I’m sure plenty lived to be older than that before we nearly hunted them to extinction and ruined their homes with garbage and climate change).
I don’t know what it is about Old Timer that makes me feel a little emotional. I guess I just like picturing my mom at eight years old and this whale was out there swimming around the ocean, and now here I am, a whole other human she created, and that whale is still out there. You know what I mean?
Even Older Acoustically Connected Whales
Bowhead whales can live up to 200 years (something about the icy, Arctic water I’d like to believe) and have recently been observed synchronizing their dives across more than 100 kilometers through what scientists guess is acoustic communication but may be something else entirely.
“The possibility of acoustically connected whales, which seem to be diving alone but are actually together, is mind-bending.”
Stuck In The Scroll
I gave up Instagram back in June and still don’t feel like I’ve totally cleared it from my system (for example, how is it that I know there is some kind of trend about being “demure” going around on the internet? I don’t know!! No one in their right mind would ever describe me as demure!).
Which is why I’m delighted and horrified by artist and professor Ben Grosser’s project which shows in real-time whether or not he is scrolling TikTok, how long it has been since his last scroll, and how much time he has spent scrolling since July 1 (199 hours as of writing this). If I ever get back on Instagram, this kind of public scrutiny may be the only way to hold myself accountable.
I’m Here For Liz Gilbert
Even though I’ve listened to Liz Gilbert speak on multiple podcasts throughout the years (and loved what she had to say), I had never delved into her published work. I didn’t want to be the kind of woman who read Eat. Pray. Love.
When Eat. Pray. Love. made its (wildly successful) debut in 2006 which put Gilbert on the map, I remember there being a “girly, goopy, woo-woo” vibe around the book and declaring to myself that I wouldn’t be caught DEAD reading such a thing. I was 13-ish and swiftly entering my era of trying to be “one of the boys” and desperately trying not to be one of those “needy” “high maintenance” girls (Jesus, whatever that is). I was bespeckled with deep cystic acne and figured if I couldn’t be soft and small and pretty, I better be tough and hardy and immovable. Reading Eat. Pray. Love. I thought, was for girly girls. And even though deep down I think I really wanted to be a girly girl, I didn’t feel like I was allowed with all that acne.
Having finally read Eat. Pray. Love. this summer (as well as Big Magic and The Signature Of All Things — which I highly recommend as audiobooks because Gilbert’s voice is so wonderful), I now know the irony of keeping away from this book all about building confidence in yourself first before falling for validation from others. Middle and high school may have been completely different experiences if I’d just read this book. I may have learned to love myself before my late twenties.
It’s been the summer of Liz Gilbert for me, which is why I extra loved this interview with her in Oldster Magazine. And I love that she cut off all her hair. And I love that she’s single and childless. And I love that she’s 54 years old. If you were too afraid to read Liz Gilbert growing up, now’s the time my friends.
“So I said: fuck it. I bought some clippers and took off all my hair, and I also stopped messing with my face. And I love it. I think I look gorgeous. I think I look more like myself than I have ever looked in my life. Because when I look in the mirror, I see a woman who looks FREE. And I never met any free women, growing up. And that, I believe, is my final destination in this incarnation: True and total freedom.”