After writing the previous post I got to thinking; we should rebel
against the Observer Effect (explanation: once observed, a wave
function transforms into teeny weeny particles that combine to make
up our universe – Why? Who knows?). It’s high time the mystifying
tyranny of quantum physics was resisted. For too long this subatomic
dictator has kept us in the dark as to the workings of our reality.
We are the ones who have to inhabit reality so I think it only fair
that quantum physics give us some answers. All we know is that for
something to exist it must be observed. Well, let’s use that paltry
knowledge to strike back.
‘But how Mr Fugger’, I hear you whinge in a high-pitched and
frankly pansy-like way. I’ll tell you how. If the principle is that
things must be observed to exist then let’s start observing things
that don’t exist. Example – say you don’t have a car. Well,
tomorrow I want you to leave your home, pretend to open a car door,
pretend to put a key in an ignition, put your hands on an imaginary
steering wheel, make a car-like noise (like
‘nuuuurrrrr’ or
something) and drive to work. Sure, you’ll look like a total
fuckin’ eejit but it’ll be one in the eye for the quantum
bastard. You’ll be breaking the only law of this befuddling reality
that we can get a purchase on. Quantum physics has been confounding
us since we first discovered it. Let’s have our revenge. Let’s
drive imaginary cars. You might feel a fool but soon everyone will
get in on it and we’ll all be nuuuurrrrring up and down the road in
non-existent cars. We’ll even be nicking these cars from each other
and reporting it to the police who’ll pursue the culprits in
equally unreal automobiles (whilst roaring
‘mee maw, mee maw’).
The subatomic world won’t know what to do with itself. We’ll show
it that we can play silly buggers too. Maybe then it’ll start
yielding some answers and show us the way out of the existential maze
it has us all lost in. You’ll be able to have any type of car you
like too and not just the banger you drive around in now.
It won’t stop there of course. We’ll be adding imaginary
extensions to our houses. Dropping imaginary kids off to imaginary
schools before going to an imaginary gym and then doing an imaginary
day’s work. We’ll walk imaginary dogs. We’ll watch movies that
were never made. We’ll read books that no one thought to write.
We’ll sunbathe in the rain, swim on the sand, and build sandcastles
in the sea.
‘Mmmm, this ice cream is delicious.’
‘Really, what flavour is it?’
‘Whatever damn flavour I want it to be.’
Just think of the liberation. We’ll all be Gods! Personally, I’m
going to build a rocket out of nothing and head off to the outer
reaches of nowhere. Fwoosh!
Now, some might argue that we already have the power to make the
non-existent real. These people might say, for example, that if we
get the idea that we want a nice car we can design one and build it or that we can save
the money for it and, hey presto, there it is. These people might say
that reality is made from ideas and that ideas come from nothing.
These people might say the quantum deal is a pretty sweet one. These
people might argue that my proposal lacks pragmatism and that you
can’t treat people in imaginary hospitals or go to sea in an
imaginary boat. But these people, (and by
‘these people’ I of
course mean The Mother and her insufferably argumentative nature) are
appeasers. These people are willing to hone the expertise and do the
labour required to make something out of nothing but that is just
willing slavery to my eyes. These people (a.k.a. The Mother) are
willing to endlessly toil in the quantum mystery order as long as it
awards them petty material compensations and a certain sense of
stability but I say
‘No!’ I say:
‘No, The Mother, this is
inequality and it will not stand.’ That’s what I said to The
Mother yesterday as she made the Sunday dinner. Then she put an empty
plate in front of me.
‘And what do you call this?’ I asked her,
hungry as I was.
‘Whatever you like’, she said, all smart, and
then she wandered off to the other room to watch an episode of
Midsomer Murders that had actually been made - as opposed to 'made up'. Outraged, I stormed out
of the house and drove off in my imaginary car. Nuuuurrrrr.
A funny thing happened though; I ran out of non-existent petrol
and broke down on an imaginary motorway. I tried to ring the imaginary services
on my make believe mobile but the bloody thing was out of pretend
credit. I had to sleep the night in the imaginary car. No matter how
many imaginary blankets I pulled over myself, it was bleedin’
freezing and I caught a non-existent cold. I should have known
something like that would happen. I always did have a bad
imagination. Brrrrr.