(accessed May 18, 2025).Today's knowledge particle comes from Sabine Hossenfelder, of YouTube fame:
- A young man once asked Sabine if his grandmother is still alive because of quantum mechanics, as claimed by a shaman.
- The shaman told the young man that his grandmother is alive but not in the present time and place.
- Sabine's answer is that the shaman's claim is not totally wrong.
Takeaway:
Quantum mechanics confirms that it is not totally wrong to say that the young man's diseased grandmother is alive—just not right here and not right now.
In other words, it is not totally wrong to say that the grandmother used to be alive, and that she is still alive at that time and place.
Shamans agree. Frankly, I don't think I know anyone who wouldn't. The grandmother is still alive in the past. I guess "dead" is just a matter of spacetime coordinates.
If it were me, I would ask Sabine and the shaman if I am dead in the future, and whether that means I am still dead—just not here and now.
Drops mic. Enters quantum superposition.
Source:
Hossenfelder, S. (2022) Existential physics: A scientist’s guide to life’s biggest questions. New York, New York: Viking.