recommended reading: quantum and the lotus

thuan: [describing an experiment in particle behavior] they began by producing a pair of photons, one of which was then sent through a fiber-optic cable toward the north of the city, and the other toward the south. the two pieces of measuring equipment were over six miles apart. once they arrived at the end of the cables, the two photons had to choose at random between two possible routes - one short, the other long. it was observed that they always made the same decision. on average they chose the long route half the time, and the short route half the time, but the choices were always identical.

the swiss physicists were sure the two photons couldn't communicate by means of light, because the difference between their response times was under three-tenths of a billionth of a second, and in that time light could have crossed just three and half inches of the six miles separating the two photons.... wherever it happens to be, particle b continues to share the reality of particle a.

matthieu: even if the two particles were at opposite ends of the universe?

thuan: yes. quantum mechanics thus eliminates all idea of locality. it provides a holistic idea of space. the notions of "here" and "there" become meaningless, because "here" is identical to "there."

---from quantum and the lotus (previously published as l'infini dans la paume de la main). it's written as a dialogue between the two authors, matthieu richard - a molecular biologist turned buddhist monk - and trinh xuan thuan - an astrophysicist. as a whole, this book is a magnificent examination of the similarities between science (cosmology and quantum mechanics in particular) and buddhist philosophy. it provides a scientific justification for that which some of us have already sensed- oneness, and, from it, because of it, the infinite unfurling of the petals that constitute our collective being. beautiful. <3