[Neo]

More on the self...


Physicist John Wheeler believes that the universe should be viewed in terms of information with matter and energy as incidentals. Recent research in to black holes has yielded theoretical results which suggest that the universe may be a giant hologram. In other words the laws of our 3-dimensional universe (excluding time for the moment) may be painted onto a 2-dimensional surface. The information content of a black hole is dependent on its surface area, not its volume.

A hologram is created when a laser beam reflects off an object (like an apple) and then interfers with the incident beam on a film plate. If you shine a laser of the correct frequency through the plate you can re-create the image of the apple. The curious thing about these plates is that if you shatter them into several pieces and shine the laser through any one piece you can reproduce the entire apple. Any one piece contains the information of the whole apple.

This is important because it demonstrates that physical separation may be an illusion. Though we can measure the distance between the stem of the apple and the bottom, this distance does not exist on the holographic plate. All the information is condensed into a virtual point.

Also consider the phenomenon known as quantum nonlocality. A particle pair is created and its members are sent in opposite directions from one another. Each particle can have either spin up or spin down. The spins are always opposite in that if particle A is measured as spin up, then particle B has to be spin down. Because of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle each particle exists in a superposition of spin up and spin down prior to being measured. It has been proven mathematically and experimentally that the degree of cooperation between the particles is such that the superposition is a real phenomenon and each particle simply doesn't have a definite spin until it is measured. The question of course is how does particle A "know" that particle B has been measured? As soon as particle B is measured then it instantaneously collapses the superposition of particle A, and vice versa.

Originally this was thought to violate relativity since the particles seem to instantaneously communicate with each other when we know that nothing can travel faster then the speed of light. What Einstein really said however was that no signal can travel faster than light. There are things that travel faster than light, such as the phase velocity of a radio wave, but as long as you are not transmitting information then you are fine.

And technically these particles cannot be used to send information. Even though we can choose to measure a particle and force it to pick a spin, we can't force it to choose spin up or down - the effect is random.

This is where psychics and mystics get totally tripped up. They use this experiment to "prove" how action at a distance is possible, but they don't understand this experiment simply doesn't allow that. The spins of the particles are correlated, nothing more. We are dealing with correlation not causation.

Still it is an interesting experiment and no real explanation has been put forth by mainstream science. The majority of physicists resort to the Copenhagen interpretation which isn't really an interpretation but more of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. They treat these events in statistical terms only and kinda ignore the philosophical implications.

If we look at the universe in holographic terms then this experiment makes sense. I believe that even though the particles are separated by a vast distance, this separation is an illusion. On a subquantum holographic reality the particles are right next to each other (overlapping in fact).

So when I say our separation from others gives us our identity, I'm referring to the projections of an interconnectedness which exists on a fundamental level. On a subquantum level our souls or experiences are overlapping and combining (this is another topic by itself), and it's only through our existence on this physical plane that we can separate our "self" from other "selves" in order to have the feeling of being a unique person. I definitely understand that we need others in order to develop our identities, but we have exist separately from them to have a "self" to begin with. But even on this physical plane we wonder what the self really is or what it encompasses. Your experiences? Neurons? The body that sustains them? The air you breath? Where does your self end and the external world begin?

This is a controversial point but there is evidence to suggest that your own brain operates on holographic principles. Patients who have portions of their brain removed don't report the loss of any specific memories, which is what you would expect if the brain stored information locally. Rather their memories overall become more fuzzy, which is right in line with the notion that your brain stores memories holographically. Kinda cool, huh?