---------------------------------------- From : FALCON Number : 1 of 1 To : ALL Date : 12/23/95 11:25p Subject : Quantum Magick - 2nd edit Reference : NONE Read : [N/A] Private : NO Conf : 535 - PODS - Articles * CHAOS * * INFINITY * PREFACE this is still a short article, because it is yust a compilation of thoughts in its second try. The process I am talking about has yust begun. Also, most thoughts are not brought to conclusion here, but left open-ended for the reader to think on from the basics I provide. Any input is appreciated. Please reply to area MAGICKNET. =================================================================== Restructuring Magick from Quantum-Physics 2nd edition (C)1995 by Falcon, 93:9200/3@pods =================================================================== Introduction ============ Quantum Physics has put an end to the old, newtonian worldview, at least for the physicist. Now, Quantum Theory is slowly getting into the public view. Much has been speculated on its meaning for Magick during the last years, and it has been heard more than once that Magick is "practiced quantum-mechanics". In this article I will try to present some of Quantum Physics theories and their connections and consequences for modern Magick. As soon as one starts reading and learning about Quantum Physics, one encounters the phenomenon that physicists "have lost their grip on reality" as DeWitt and Graham put it. Different from the newtonian/mechanical paradigm, there is not yet a single, conclusive and broadly accepted interpretation of the Quantum Physical phenomena. Most of the mathematics has been postulated by Bohr and von Neumann before the end of WW II, but the controversial discussions about yust _what_ these figures mean have never ceased, rather taken up in ferocity since the days Bohr and Einstein fought for their respective interpretation. I do not want to go into much detail here, especially not summarize the many different interpretations more or less popular today. There are, however, magickally interesting conclusions in Quantum Theory. Before I start, please let me define some terms to prevent misunderstandings. In the following, I will often talk about the QUANTUM SCALE. This is a loosely defined term for scales at which the quantum-physical effects appear. For most cases, assume that QUANTUM SCALE is identical to the planck scale. Everything above that scale will be called MACROSCOPIC, even if it is a single cell or molecule. I will not bother with a macroscopic/microscopic scale division, because it doesn't matter for this topic. The fabric of reality ===================== Quantum Physics states and has proven so in numerous experiments, that at the quantum scale, newtonian assumptions of reality do not hold true any longer. Well known is the so called "uncertainity principle", a mathematical formulation which is the basis of the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics. In short the uncertainity principle states that there is no way, no matter how sophisticated the equipment and methods, to measure both, the exact speed and position of a particle at quantum scale at the same time. We can measure the position quite exactly, but the more we know about the position, the less we know about the speed and vice versa. What sounds a bit confusing only is a revolution to science, because the question follows: If we cannot measure its speed - does it have a definite one at all? Other interpretations of quantum mechanics start off here and predict something that sounds more like a magickal paradigm than a scientific one: Reality is created by observation. If that doesn't sound occult enough for you, go one step further and promote that _consciousness_ creates reality. A number of famous and respected scientist, including Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner and Yohn von Neumann (the man who defined how nearly all our computers work and also laid down the foundations of quantum mechanical mathematics) follow this interpretation. This interpretation of the quantum theories states that as long as no conscious observer is there, the universe is in an undetermined state or as one could also say, it doesn't exist at all. As Cornell physicist N. Davi Mermin puts it: "We now know that the moon is demonstrably not there when nobody looks." Taking this interpretation to the edge, we reach the realm of magick very soon. Consciousness creates reality, will forms reality - is there a mayor difference between the quantum physical and the magickal statement? Yes, there is. Science reduces this statements to the quantum scale, while magick applies it to the general scheme, no matter what scale it is on. We will see that this difference is not as critical as it appears. Chaos at the core ================= Let us assume that newtonian science describes the world above the quantum scale correctly. Leaving out the question if it describes it _fully_, we also leave out the existence-question of ghosts, demons, gods or whatever. Science makes no statement about these, but sciences statements about how the universe works have been proven again and again. According to newtonian science, a full determinism lets the universe work as a giant clock. Determinism means that everything is linked in cause and effect chains with no exception to any rule, so that if I knew all the causes, I could exactly predict the effect and there is a 100% probability that I am right. The only problem, newtonian science postulates, is knowing the causes and the rules that describe how these causes produce what effects. But at the quantum scale, newtonian determinism suddenly breaks away. Spontaneous creation and destruction of particles seem to violate the laws of thermodynamics, and how can we formulate cause-and-effect chains for particles that are not there when we don't look and whose either speed or position we cannot determine, if we look? Chaos Magick has been seen as the result of brother mathematics. This, I say, cannot be true. Chaos mathematics defines so-called "deterministic chaos" which actually is not chaos at all. But as whatever happens beneath the quantum scale cannot be brought into conformity with any kind of order or ordering principle, it really deserves the name *Chaos*. The Quantum secret ================== We have seen that there are definite limits to the knowledge the macroscopic observer can obtain about the quantum scale. The uncertainity principle provides but one such border, there are actually a number more which I will omit here to avoid unnecessary complications. But the story goes on. Not only the knowledge, but also the manipulations are very limited for macroscopic beings like ourselves. Take a look at the amount of effort particle physics has to make to find out simple facts about quantum scale effects. And take a look at the techniques they use. There is not a single _direct_ influence we can have on the quantum scale. All quantum physics uses indirect methods, i.e. we let subatomic particles collide, measure what we can measure about the collision and then take out our mathematical gear to conclude that which we cannot see. I am not saying that we cannot take any influence at all, simply lift your arm and you are moving around more quantum particles than the galaxy has stars. The restrictions I stated apply to the interactions on the quantum scale, to the way the quantum world effects itself (if the concept of "effect" is at all appliable to that world!) To draw some conclusions: The macroscopic is very limited in its manipulation and knowledgability of the quantum scale. The quantum scale on the contrary doesn't appear to follow these same limitations. If there are always three quarks within a definite distance of each other, then it follows that each of them very well knows where the other two are and how fast and in which direction they are moving - the uncertainity principle doesn't apply once the observer is himself beneath the quantum scale. All this looks as if there were a sudden break in reality, which location is identical to the planck scale. Above this break, newtonian mechanics and determinism present a working paradigm. Beneath this break, quantum theories go beyond anything our macroscopic mind has thought up. Not only is this break proven to exist, it is also a definite one-way wall to perception and manipulation. One way? Yes, we must say so, because it can also be very easily shown that the quantum effects are not only able to manipulate the macroscopic, but are actually doing so constantly. In a short sentence: The macroscopic world is totally controlled by a world it itself can neither perceive nor manipulate effectivly - the quantum world. Quantum Magick ============== Let's take this statements to the magickal side of town. If we assume that modern physics describes the macroscopic world correctly - and it looks like it does - then Magick happens on the quantum scale _only_. I am not saying that it cannot have macroscopic effects, I know from myself that it most certainly does, but I am saying that the Magick itself has to affect the quantum world which then causes the macroscopic effects you were aiming at. As I pointed out above, the quantum world is quite safe against influence from our macroscopic world, unless we go way out of our way. Therefore, I conclude that not only the target of your Magick is in truth at the quantum scale, but also the _source_ has to be! Returning to the introductory statement that magick is applied quantum science, we can draw the conclusion that magick is that trickery of the quantum world, that surfaces in an unusually direct way to the macroscopic. Magick again seems to be the more direct interface to what really is going on. Accepting this paradigm asks for a revolution in a number of fields. If the true source for anything and everything is the primal chaos at the quantum scale, there can be no such thing as a "true will", moreover, there can be no such thing as a will at all (yes, the "free will" paradigm crumbles, too). There is no "ego", no center core of your being either. All these are yust effects of something that happens in the quantum world. So if you are really looking for "your-self", you will have to go beneath the quantum scale, into the primal chaos, if you plan on being truly sucessful. (NB: It may be enough to know about the effects, that "will" and "ego" thing, though, for a purely pragmatical goal.) Putting this theory on a solid foundation, I return to the consciousness interpretation mentioned in the beginning. If consciousness creates reality, than it definitly _has_ influence on the quantum world, because it is the quantum world that defines reality. If I assume my previous conclusions as correct, consciousness cannot be a macroscopic phenomenon, because as such it could not have a direct, controlled (and controlling!) influence on the quantum world. Nay, there is something different going on. Consciousness is the missing link between the quantum and the macroscopic world. Consciousness _is_ both worlds. It is time to build a magick from these foundations. * Origin: non serviam (93:9200/3)