UNCERTAINTY

Once upon a time there was uncertainty. Only a few kids on the playground wanted to play with it, most of them avoided it, timid, hesitant, afraid. That is, until one day when they discovered that uncertainty was actually their friend in ways that had not understood. That changed everything.

As you read, if you wonder how I find myself in the domain of quantum physics at the moment, it is because fields of knowledge are interconnected. Some domains are connected by highways with lots of obvious traffic in well-lit conditions, such as mathematics and physics. Other times domains are connected by somewhat obscure tunnels and the only other humans one comes across there are scholars in tweed jackets with elbow patches. I crawled through the tunnel that leads from ancient Greek philosophy to quantum physics and I shall soon be crawling back, but before I do, here is a little something.*

 Our current (quantum) understanding of space and time is very different from what we previously thought.  This is largely because of Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg who was responsible for instantaneously abolishing Newtonian physics with his discoveries, the most well known being Heisenberg’s Principle or the Uncertainty Principle. I must warn you this will be a bit technical, but I think it’s worth it, so stay close.

 A variable has two properties: position (where it is) and velocity (where it is going). The Uncertainty Principle says that you cannot exactly know the values of both pairs of variables; you cannot know both the position and the velocity. The more precisely you know the one, the less precisely you know the other. You cannot know where something is and where or how fast it is going. Either you know one or the other, but not both. Either you know where you are in life or where you are going, but not both. ** Fine, now we know what the Uncertainty Principle is, but it starts to get interesting when one discovers that the Uncertainty Principle safeguards quantum theory. What do I mean by safeguards, and how exactly does it do that?

 Two aspects of quantum theory will answer that question: decoherence and interference (this is the last technical bit, I promise).

 Quantum particles can do very cool and mind-boggling things. Particles can spin in two opposite directions at the same time, they can magically appear on the other side of a barrier, and they can appear in different places at the same time (known as superposition). If particles or systems experience what is known as decoherence, that means that they lose some of their unusual and special properties, such as those listed above. What they are becomes diminished. That is the first aspect. The second aspect is interference. Interference is what enables two waves to mingle when they pass through each other. As they do, they support each other in some areas and in other they cancel each other out. Now what do decoherence and interference have to do with uncertainty and safeguarding quantum theory? It goes something like this.

If we could know the properties of a particle with certainty, then that particle would decohere (stop being special) and lose its ability to interfere (mingle). So much of what makes it so brilliant would suddenly disappear. If we knew exactly where we are in life and where we are going or how fast we are moving in a given direction, we would lose our uniqueness and our ability to mingle with others as we do. The Uncertainty Principle allows particles to keep being special and be able to do those very cool things they do, and also allows them to mingle with other waves. This is a built-in limit that is a fundamental law of reality. Suddenly the kids on the playground looked at uncertainty in a different way.

So often we want to know the future and we are not entirely mistaken to wish for that. Seeing further sometimes helps. Sometimes it can enable us to better prepare. Sometimes. Often we want to know everything for certain:  exactly where we are and where we are heading, exactly how we will get there and exactly when we will arrive. We want certainty in every aspect of our lives. Perhaps part of us even expects that. What is interesting is that Heisenberg’s research reveals that not being able to know everything is a fundamental aspect of being that is built into our reality. This means that in order to move about wholly, healthily and at our optimum in the world, we need to live with a certain level of uncertainty (pun unintended but quite cool, actually). This seems terribly obvious, but think about it. 

In this framework uncertainty protects who we are with all our traits, abilities, and quirks that uniquely make us us. It safeguards our ability to connect to others, to support each other and tell each other the truth, to let go of that which is superfluous and retain that which is essential. If we had certainty – as we think we would like to have – all of that would disappear. It would simply not be possible. It would not be possible because that is not how reality is structured, nor how we are wired.

The catch is, of course, that uncertainty generally causes discomfort, unease and even fear. We tend to think of uncertainty as an anomaly, as though it were a ‘mistake’ of nature, and that absolute certainty is what we need. Of course we need solid ground to an extent, but evidently not as much as we think we do. This ultimately means that one of our challenges is to develop a different relationship with uncertainty. It means that perhaps we could learn to keep leaning into trust rather than fear. Trusting that even though we do not know what is around the corner, no matter what it is, in every possible way it is actually for our very best that we do not know. On the flip side, this also means that mystery, excitement and possibility are also built into our reality.

Uncertainty is a fundamental law of nature built-in to reality as a key feature of its optimal functioning.

Uncertainty is hard-wired into our nervous systems as part of our unique optimal functioning.

This is why the other kids now play with uncertainty on the playground, swinging on monkey bars and running up slippery slides. This is why they are less afraid and even grateful for its company and friendship. And you? Shall we play?

(c) Belinda É. Samari

*If you are curious you can peek into this tunnel via Werner Heisenberg’s book Physics and Philosophy, a succinct and easy read for those without tweed jackets and elbow patches.

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