#wavefunction collapse

[vortexofadigitalkind]

What if you vanished the moment no one remembered you and only came back when someone did? Out of Sight, Out of Mind is a haunting sci-fi story about memory, identity, and the quantum rules of being.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

But why, a detractor asks, should fundamental physics be so closely tied to human awareness? If we were not here to observe the world, would wavefunctions never collapse, or, perhaps, would the very concept of a wavefunction not exist? Was the universe a vastly different place before human consciousness evolved on planet earth? What if, instead of human experimenters, mice or ants or amoebas or computers are the only observers? Is the change in their "knowledge" adequate to be associated with the collapse of a wavefunction?¹¹

11. Some physicists consider the questions on this list to be irrelevant by-products of earlier confusions regarding quantum mechanics. The wavefunction, this view professes, is merely a theoretical tool for making (probabilistic) predictions and should not be accorded any but mathematical reality (a view sometimes called the "Shut up and calculate" approach, since it encourages one to use quantum mechanics and wavefunctions to make predictions, without thinking hard about what the wavefunctions actually mean and do). A variation on this theme argues that wavefunctions never actually collapse, but that interactions with the environment make it seem as if they do. (We will discuss a version of this approach shortly.) I am sympathetic to these ideas and, in fact, strongly believe that the notion of wavefunction collapse will ultimately be dispensed with. But I don't find the former approach satisfying, as I am not ready to give up on understanding what happens in the world when we are "not looking," and the latter – while, in my view, the right direction – needs further mathematical development. The bottom line is that measurement causes something that is or is akin to or masquerades as wavefunction collapse. Either through a better understanding of environmental influence or through some other approach yet to be suggested, this apparent effect needs to be addressed, not simply dismissed.

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" - Brian Greene

[tenth-sentence]

If we were not here to observe the world, would wavefunctions never collapse, or, perhaps, would the very concept of a wavefunction not exist?

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" - Brian Greene

[funeral]

What Jung alluded to was that consciousness itself provided the cosmic glue that held everything else together. For an entity to be a 'thing,' it needed an observer of some sort. One can only know itself by becoming other than one. The duality of observer and observed produced known reality. Jung's ideas are in direct agreement with the modern interpretation of quantum level events. Some sort of observer is necessary to collapse the quantum wavefunction into one and only one manifestation.

Mystics have been stating all along that what we refer to as consciousness cannot be accessed directly by anything in the physical realm. A measurement can only be applied to the shadow of its movement through the physical realm. Any other physical attempt to directly measure it results in the same problem as trying to measure a sheet which is blowing in the wind . . . Taking a measurement alters it. And, this is the same conclusion quantum physicists have come to understand. The very act of observation changes both the observed and the observer.

MaAnna Stephenson, The Sage Age

[todays-xkcd]

Under quantum tax law, photons sent through a beamsplitter don't actually choose which path they took, or incur a tax burden, until their wavefunction collapses when the power is sold.

Beamsplitters [Explained]

Transcript

[Cross section of a telescope with some parts of the image darkened to represent the path of light, with portions where the light would be more concentrated being darker]

[Labels with arrows as they appear left to right, top to bottom:] Incoming Light Primary Mirror Secondary Mirror Beamsplitter Sensor Secret Solar Panel Power Sold To Grid

[Caption below the panel:] Astronomy News: The International Astronomical Union has finally banned beamsplitters, optical devices used by scientists to embezzle light from their instruments.

[muldermuse]

Nothing hotter than Butcher mixed with my particular interests …

You wake him with your lips around him, obedient and hungry. His fingers slide into your hair, holding your head steady—not rough, yet, but absolute

“Two mathematicians, Löwenheim and Skolem, early 1900s—before Gödel—proved somethin’ even more unintuitive than Incompleteness, love. You takin’ this deep? Yeah, that’s what they’d call an infinite model. But every infinite theory? It’s got a countable model too. Just like you, sweetheart—limitless on the inside, but still mine to grasp”

He grins down at you, hips rolling slow.

“So go on then. Prove your devotion. Prove I’m the only one who can collapse your fuckin’ wavefunction and rewire your logic while you’re gaggin’ on this cock like it’s divine revelation”

HOLY FUCK

[quanticide]

I mean yeah I’m right here

Just saw someone with “use whatever pronouns you use for yourself for me” in bio. I honestly never considered the depth the pronoun metagame could have, we’ve barely scratched the surface with this shit

[geometrymatters]

The Polynon: A Geometry of Consciousness

How Consciousness is a fundamental substance and everything else, including the Observer, is it's function of self-reflection within a complex construct and hologram.

Introducing the polynon:

A polynon is a conceptual geometric entity, a polytope of which vertices are non-events and its edges, holograms. A polynon contains all the holograms of that which can be projected as a polytope. From tetranon to dodecanon, and special cases such as dinon and nullanon.

The epistemological foundation of the polynon is a non-event, hence multi (poly) non-events. The ontological foundation is a noumenon, both in its negative and its positive aspect.

Collapsing the noumenal realm into a single dimension results in the conceptual noumenal monad, where the perceptual border is equal to the infinity of noumenal possibilities, as well as the phenomenal something.

Or, as "a cercle with the centre everywhere and circumference nowhere". A monadic embodiment of the thing and the non-thing, the visual expression of the substance of consciousness.

The neutral monistic approach enfolds the ancient knowledge of the self, and the contemporary science of consciousness, from a Vedantic self reflected in Indra's net, to a multi-dimensional implicate and explicate construct of Bohmian orders.

Also encapsulated in the formulation f(f)=f, akin to an Ouroboros mathematical formulation symbolizing a form of autopoiesis or self-production ad infinitum, a self-referential Fichtean process where the self (I) is both the creator and subject of its reality.

The eternal aspect of consciousness, a timeless monadic essence, is described as the perceptual continuum of f=0, signifying pure, timeless potential.

"Eternity isn’t some later time. Eternity isn’t even a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of here and now that all thinking in temporal terms cuts off." - J. Campbell

The wavefunction is defined here as a layer of the noumenal monad, a transition between epistemological and ontological, given by the limits of the Observer's senses and perception.

In this context, |ψ(x)>*n, with n not strictly equal to 2, transcends its conventional mathematical role within Hilbert space and diverges from standard quantum mechanics, suggesting that different values of n represent distinct dimensions or layers of noumenal collapse.

Each wavefunction is a layer of the noumenal lens, of which border is (n+), or consciousness C; it’s contents are negative noumena (n-) and it’s holographic centre “collapsed” onto a phenomenal Observer O(n) as function of noumenal self-reflection of consciousness.

Furthermore, the Observer is envisioned as a holographic projection sitting at the core of the noumenal lens, emerging from the focus and diffraction of noumenal probabilities within the noumenal lens.

The perceptual border of positive noumena (n+) reflects and focuses noumenal probabilities (n-) into the hologram of the Observer O(n).

A rotation of noumenal lens reveals the noumenal essence (n+), hidden under the superposition of the noumenal lenses (n-) and the hologram of the Observer O(n).

The observer’s perceptual focus, directed through Cognitive Gravity G and visualized with noumenal g(n) and cognitive gradients g(r), refracts the essence of Consciousness, transforming noumenal vertices into discernible edges like light through a prism.

As the number of noumenal collapses increases, the complexity and breadth of the observer’s perceptual dimension diminishes, resulting in a progressive refinement and narrowing of perceptual prowess of the observable construct.

A cognitive threshold marks the evolution from a purely phenomenal observer to one with phantasiai and developed cognitive functions. This threshold varies according to the local conditions of the observer’s cognitive gradient and gravity and the overall noumenal function.

The hologram of a polynon enfolds within it the reflection of the noumenal substance, that both originates and reflects consciousness. It encapsulates the entirety of consciousness in each of its vertices and edges, as projections into a perceptual reality.

The concept of “consciousness nodes” describes (n+) zones between noumenal lenses (n−), revealed as vertices of the polynon, equal and identical in nature.

The Observer O(n) is in superposition with the phenomenal p+, epiphenomenal or phantasiai p-, negative noumena n- and noumenal vertices (and centre) n+ of the hexanon as a function for self-reflection of consciousness C.

The polynon is abstract and elusive, residing beyond human imagination yet within its grasp. No heavier than a fleeting idea, but far too heavy to be understood. A palindrome for language and thought, mirroring itself in perpetual paradox. Beginning the same way it ends.

From the "Polynon: A geometry of Consciousness", by Tib Roibu Read the paper here.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

By contrast, the Many Worlds interpretation avoids the whole matter of wavefunction collapse, since in this approach wavefunctions don't collapse. But the price to pay is an enormous proliferation of universes, something that many a detractor has found intolerably exorbitant.¹²

12. There are other controversial issues with the Many Worlds interpretation that go beyond its obvious extravagance. For example, there are technical challenges to define a notion of probability in a context that involves an infinite number of copies of each of the observers whose measurements are supposed to be subject to those probabilities. If a given observer is really one of many copies, in what sense can we say that he or she has a particular probability to measure this or that outcome? Who really is "he" or "she"? Each copy of the observer will measure – with probability 1 – whatever outcome is slated for the particular copy of the universe in which he or she resides, so the whole probabilistic framework requires (and has been given, and continues to be given) careful scrutiny in the Many Worlds framework. Moreover, on a more technical note, the mathematically inclined reader will realize that, depending on how one precisely defines the Many Worlds, a preferred eigenbasis may need to be selected. But how should that eigenbasis be chosen? There has been a great deal of discussion and much written on all these questions, but to date there are no universally accepted resolutions. The approach based on decoherence, discussed shortly, has shed much light on these issues, and has offered particular insight into the issue of eigenbasis selection.

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" - Brian Greene

[socrates-stuff]

Physics: The Cult You Join Willingly

You come in wide-eyed, quoting Feynman, dreaming of unraveling the secrets of the universe. Five years later you’re just hoping your simulation doesn’t crash overnight— because if it does, so will you.

They say physics is beautiful. And it is— like a glacier collapsing in slow motion.

My week? It’s me, in the lab at 2 a.m., arguing with a bug I caused six months ago in a code I no longer understand, modeling a system I barely believe in.

My advisor says, “Be patient, this is how real science works, blah blah blah!!!�� But honestly, it feels less like science and more like I’m part of a very long, very expensive existential joke. And the punchline? Me, trying to explain to a committee why a graph with no trend is somehow “publishable.”

Physics is the only field where you can spend four years deriving a result that literally says: “Under these approximations, reality doesn’t matter.”

You know what the real “black hole” is? My inbox.

And quantum mechanics? It’s not weird or magical anymore. It’s just another gaslight. Like, oh—your wavefunction collapses? Cool, so did my mental health.

Every time I submit an abstract, I die a little. Not because I fear rejection, but because I hope for it. Just so I won’t have to present again.

Sometimes I fantasize about leaving— getting a normal job, maybe even smiling again. But then I remember: I’ve spent seven years learning to speak exclusively in tensor indices and self-doubt. I'm unemployable in the real world.

People ask, “So what will you do after the PhD?” I don’t know. Probably haunt the physics department, roaming the hallways whispering, “Did you normalize the wavefunction?”

But here’s the sick part— the truly twisted part— Even after all this... I still love it. Because somewhere beneath the burnout, beneath the cynicism and the caffeine shakes, there’s still that child who looked up at the stars and asked, Why?

And physics? It never answered. But it taught me how to keep asking, even as everything else fell apart. :)

[oliviabutsmart]

Physics Friday #12: Interpreting Quantum Mechanics

Preamble: "God does not play dice"

Education Level: High School (Y9/10)

Topic: Quantum Mechanics (Physics)

Developing the Schrödinger Equation

Quantum mechanics had it's origin in the nature of light, and then over the course of 50 years from 1900 - 1950, the entire field of physics was overturned as we realised that waves weren't just limited to light, but everything.

This came to it's head in 1926 with the creation of the Schrödinger wave equation, which dictated how particle 'waves' evolve in time and space.

Now you've probably heard of the wavefunction. Effectively, it's a probability wave, where the amplitude of the wave corresponds to the most likely location you'd find the particle.

The wavefunction doesn't just involve a probability distribution in space, but also in other quantities.

For example, if you put an electron in a small box, you can imbue it with an energy.

But because of quantum mechanics, energy is quantised - there is an energy of X joules, 2X joules, 3X joules, etc. If you put an electron of 2.5X into the system it can't just work like that.

Which is why the electron forms a weighted combination of different states corresponding to specific multiples of our X value. And this superposition just so happens to be the average energy, which is considered the classical energy of the electron.

For example an electron with a superposition of 2X, 50% of the time, and being in state 3X 50% of the time. This averages out to 2.5X.

Collapsing the Wavefunction

But how do you find a particle? Or measure it's energy? Well, via what's known as the wavefunction collapse. When we take a look at the particle as a wave, it suddenly snaps to a specific value and then evolves from there.

This wavefunction collapse can occur for any observable property of the particle. If you measure the energy of our 2.5X particle in our above state, it's a 50/50 chance that you'll catch it in either state.

And once the coin flip occurs, the particle's energy will suddenly jump to 3X or 2X and remain at that value.

You may think this violates the conservation of energy, but remember that the act of 'measurement' intrinsically involves interacting with the electron - a very important point.

But wait, what does this collapse mean?

The Schrödinger equation does not explicitly mention this collapse. It simply describes the evolution of an undisturbed wavefunction. Thus, we need to include collapse as a part of the three postulates of QM:

Particle states are described by a wavefunction, a vector belonging to a Hilbert space

The Schrödinger equation dictates the time evolution of these states

Measurement of an observable (i.e. a hermitian operator) collapses the wavefunction to an observable's eigenstate (each eigenstate being associated with a probability of collapse)

But this still doesn't really answer the question. What is measurement? What counts as measuring an observable property of the particle?

Well here's the thing ... we don't have an answer ... it's an open question and the topic of this post.

The interpretations

An interpretation of quantum mechanics is effectively a theory that aims to answer this question: where and how does this measurement occur?

After almost a century since the formulation of standard QM, we have a litany of many interpretations, most of which fall on a spectrum of when exactly it occurs.

On one end, we have ideas where the wavefunction never existed in the first place, or that the wavefunction naturally collapses.

On the other, we have ideas that the wavefunction collapses at a point very far in the process, or even that it never collapses at all.

I'll talk about 6 of these interpretations, although some of these theories of collapse are more categories of theories.

Think of the Ocean (Pilot Wave)

In the 1920s, de Broglie developed an interpretation of quantum mechanics that posited that subatomic particles do, in fact, physically exist.

The source of the wavefunction and the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics is caused by the particles being guided by a series of "pilot waves" - which push and move the particles around and imbue them with the motion and energy we observe.

The randomness comes from the fact that the waves themselves depend on the positions of all particles. These guiding waves are dictated by a special guiding equation.

dear lord that's complicated Image Credit: Wikipedia

This guiding equation, when applied to particles just so happen to result in our neat and clean Schrödinger equaiton.

So what happened to this theory?

The biggest problem with this theory is that it's non-local, meaning that the evolution of the guiding wave requires knowledge of all of the particles in the universe.

This of course, violates special relativity.

Another problem is that it lost the authors' support, or that the authors lost support. de Broglie rejected the theory in 1927 and David Bohm, the other author, was distanced from the other scientists for being outwardly socialist during the early red scares.

Pilot wave theory, in a sense, is so strict on the physicality of particles that it ends up sort-of wrapping around and becoming a many-worlds theory instead, to quote David Deustch:

Pilot-wave theories are parallel-universe theories in a state of chronic denial.

This arises from the problem of branching, a tacked-on attempt to reconcile the nature of the theory. That since the wavefunction was a physical thing, and the pilot wave and particles kept self-interacting, it sort of creates branching realities caused by distant communication with other particles.

Those silly numbers are hiding from us! (Hidden Variables)

The EPR (Einstein-Podolski-Rosen) paradox is another famous problem in QM, caused by entanglement.

Take two electrons and force them to collide with eachother, bounce off, and travel far into the distance. We know that after the interaction, these electrons propagate with free-particle wavefunctions. And we can fire them at eachother such that we don't know their momentums initially - i.e. they entangled.

Now wait for the electrons to travel very far away from eachother, and then measure one of the electrons momenta. In order to maintain conservation of energy, we instantly know what the momenta of the other electron is.

What we also know is that because of this measurement, and that the electron is entangled with the other, that we have just collapsed the other wavefunction instantaneously from a distance.

This is a problem, due to special relativity, we cannot transfer information faster than the speed of light. So clearly our QM is broken.

Hidden variable theories aim to solve the EPR paradox as well as just generally trying to interpret quantum mechanics. Effectively, there are a series of unobservable entities that dictate how wavefunctions collapse.

The wavefunction in the EPR paradox has a hidden variable stating the electrons' momenta so that we aren't violating causality, for example.

Fortunately, but unfortunately, this theory makes a testable prediction via Bell's theorem, which utilises entanglement to determine if these hidden variables work locally.

The experiments conducted show that only a non-local hidden variable theory is possible. One example of this just so happens to be our previous pilot-wave theory!

Observing isn't needed (Spontaneous Collapse)

We could be thinking of this wrong. Perhaps the wavefunction is real, and it is non-deterministic. But that at some point, it collapses on it's own.

There are several ways to do this, but at it's core, these are how the theories go:

There is an extra non-linear term in the Schrödinger equation, that is insignificant at the small scales

This non-linearity causes the wavefunction to be unstable, and prefers it to collapse to observable eigenvalues

With increasing complexity, this term becomes much more important, as more entanglement = more instability

The rate of decay increases as you entangle the system. And if a system is large enough, it's likely to collapse into a classical environment

Effectively, they say that the wavefunction will collapse on their own. And the reason we don't see it on larger scales, or see a collapse when measuring the system, is that the act of interaction (entanglement) causes the wavefunction to be more likely to collapse.

Of course, the theory has trouble reconciling with relativity. As entanglement works over large distances. Models can be made to try and say that entanglement over these distances increases instability for example, but we're still waiting on developments.

Lastly, we have the problem of tails. The wavefunction of a particle exists for all of physical space. At these far out distances, it is very possible for particles to get entangled with distant objects. Meaning that a wavefunction may end up collapsing further than we think.

The easy way out (Copenhagen)

The Copenhagen interpretation was developed in the 20s to attempt to come up with some placeholder answer to what collapse is. It is our middle-of-the-road theory which states that observation of an observable causes collapse.

Observation is defined as the act of applying an observable operator (like the energy operator) to the wavefunction by an external source to gain information on that operator's outcome.

The problem is that this is a meaningless statement. Because anytime a system entangles itself with something greater, it technically does this 'observation'.

Take the double split experiment.

Image Credit: Discovery Channel

What defines the moment of observation? Is it when:

The particles interact with the measuring laser

The measuring laser interacts with the larger observation device

An electronic signal is sent from the device to a computer

The light from the computer interacts with the conscious observer

We can't pinpoint the specific cut-off between the quantum world and the classical.

After all, we know that lasers can entangle themselves with atoms. And that electronic signals are nothing but moving electrons.

The point of the theory is that it's a placeholder. The definitions are ill-defined because we're kinda waiting for another theory to help us.

It's all in your head! (Consciousness)

The immediate answer to the Copenhagen interpretation could be that the collapse occurs at the end of the specified chain. When a conscious observer interacts with the entangled system.

It's a nice idea given that it kills two birds with one stone - it helps point to a physical theory on the nature of sentience, but also allows us to solve the measurement problem.

This does come into conflict with our current understanding of sentience. Our placeholder theorem is effectively that conscious experience is an emergent property of a series of interacting electrical signals in our brain.

This placeholder helps explain why humans are more 'sentient' than animals, or very young children, as we have a very active and complex central nervous system.

Of course, it's just a placeholder. We don't have an actual meaningful answer to sentience, and probably won't for a while. So for now it's left to the dark realm of god of the gaps.

Where it comes into conflict with QM is that a series of interacting electrical signals sounds exactly like an entangled system. So there clearly can't be just emergent properties involved otherwise we're just dealing with a spontaneous collapse theory.

There has to be something physically unique about a sentient brain to cause the collapse - effectively you require the existence of a soul. Something which is even further in the dark realms of philosophy.

Another issue is that it doesn't work with special relativity, as it violates the EPR paradox still.

We also need to determine what counts as sentient. Sentience isn't an on and off switch. There are many ways it can be expressed.

We know that some mammals have some form of conscious experience - so then are cats capable of collapsing the wavefunction?

Finally, what about the universe prior to consciousness? Did it just end up in an entangled nightmare until somehow we got an observer to collapse it all? How can something built of entangled particles end up collapsing itself at some given size?

This interpretation is very interesting, however if it turns out to be true, we'll be stuck with our measurement problem for quite a while.

For now, the biggest problem with the interpretation is that it opens the door to many, many quacks like Deepak Chopra. Who think that we can control this collapse with our minds and alter our reality by just thinking it away WoOOoOoWwowoWoOo!

Forever entangled (Many Worlds)

So, assuming that our consciousness theory is not the right answer, then what causes the collapse?

We can keep getting bigger and bigger:

The electrons in the double slit entangles with the laser photons entangles with the measurement device entangles with the electrical signals entangles with the computer entangles with the observer entangles with the room their in entangles with the Earth entangles with the solar system entangles with the galaxy ...

This out-spiralling entanglement continues without bound until the entire universe is in a superposition of states. And every time an interaction occurs we ourselves are being pulled into a new wavefunction.

This entanglement would've happened early, at about the time of cosmic inflation. But every new quantum event comes with a new set of entanglements.

This leads to the name Many Worlds, as we're creating new realities with every event.

Now it's important to note something important: this is not a multiverse theory. Multiverse theory is proposed source for cosmic inflation. Here, there is still one single universe. Much like how an electron in superposition isn't multiple actual electrons. The universe is just being treated as an electron.

This theory sounds far-fetched. Arguably the fact that it's unfalsifiable makes it not a good interpretation of QM. However, it is a lot simpler than the previous consciousness interpretation - it simply removes the need for a measurement process.

This satisfies Occam's razor as well. It doesn't require a mathematical formalism because the point of the theory is that the formalism doesn't exist.

However, not having a formalism makes it quite difficult to prove. It only seems to be correct in the sense that it doesn't necessarily say that measurement cannot happen, just that it's not measurement. It's entanglement.

Conclusion

Interestingly, the theories on the "wavefunction collapses early" side of the spectrum are more likely to be disproven. Primarily a consequence of the fact that they have the opportunity of making testable predictions.

Despite all of these interpretations, it's clear who stands as the best theories: spontaneous collapse and many worlds. They have their strengths, but they have fair grounding. You could argue that consciousness is also a fair contender, but it's a bit too much in the realm of fantasy - attempting to tie one big unanswered question with another.

Spontaneous collapse has proper mathematical formalism while many worlds seems to work well in an Occam's razor sense.

Regardless, that is a surface-level exploration into the many different ways we have attempted to answer the measurement problem. I hope y'all enjoyed this post and god I need to make them less long.

Please can someone fix this inverted colours issue it's like causing all of my colours on these posts to invert too thx

Reference post: https://www.tumblr.com/oliviabutsmart/732200630726377472/for-some-reason-some-reasons-only-some-images-i

Anyways, feedback appreciated, follow if want, send memes and send help.

[canonical-transformation]

Doylist take:

the only way Hoyoverse can give Sparkle a canonical origin story is if they kill her off. (Collapsing the "wanna know how I got [this mask]?" wavefunction would destroy her power, fae style.)

the only way Hoyoverse can convincingly kill Sparkle off is by explaining wtf her deal is, i.e. giving her a canonical origin story.

Watsonian implication:

Either Black Swan is capable of destroying Sparkle with a few words, or Sparkle has some kind of actual Mythus/Aha nonsense protecting her from the Remembrance.

Black Swan draws a card to divine Sparkle's past. It's a different card every time. Converting the card numbers to musical notes gives a Rick Astley song.

[platypusisnotonfire]

I have more to say about the tags like this is ABSOLUTELY my most hated symptom of ADHD in that willpower means NOTHING.

I can want to do something SO BAD but be unable to move, and on occasion have it be so bad that I have a literal 200bpm panic attack just sitting there because I cannot motivate myself to move and do the thing.

And in the occasion that I can overcome the paralysis, if the ADHD is still saying “no,” there is nothing I can accomplish with the shred of willpower I have. It’s just like “no we aren’t doing this now. I am going to completely disconnect the part of your brain that knows how to do this activity so you CANT do it.�� I cognitively CANNOT remember how to do the task, the knowledge has been erased from the archive memory.

I’ve washed dishes my entire life. They were my first childhood regular chore at 4 years old. I worked as a dishwasher when I was 16.

I’ll stand in front of the sink and my brain REFUSES to remember the first step of dishes is “pick up the sponge.” Absolutely INCAPABLE of remembering the first step, I’ll just stand there staring FREAKING OUT that I can’t get started.

And THE ABSOLUTE WORST PART is that if another person is in the room, I get body-doubled and the ADHD says “yeah sure someone else is here, I’ll unlock that knowledge” so no one can ever WITNESS me having absolutely disabling levels of wandering around my house in a panic just moving things but not accomplishing a single task.

I am convinced if someone were to see me doing this ridiculous song and dance moving a jacket to 12 different locations even tho the coat rack is right there within arms reach or picking up a cup and staring at it because I have NO IDEA what to do with a cup rn, where does a cup go, and then setting the cup on top of the wardrobe to pick up a pair of shorts and stare at it with incomprehension and then set them on the kitchen counter…and do this for hours

…..they would immediately be like “OH you have an ACTUAL mental illness. This is not normal. You are behaving so strangely that I think this might me a form of psychosis”

But of course no one can ever see this happening because just like a wavefunction, I suddenly cohere into a functional person upon Being Perceived.

I need to clean my house entirely TODAY because I’m going away and don’t want the cat sitter to have to deal with mess and while I had the entire week to do it. And all of today to do it.

I HATE that instead of realizing “today is the last day NOW it’s urgent you must clean “ My brain calculated “I can do all that in about an hour or two (of absolutely light-speed rush cleaning)” and therefore the ADHD urgency panic mode will not activate until there’s like an hour or two before bed.

I am watching Venom rn when I could be leisurely cleaning my dishes

Instead I’ll probably wait until midnight and go OH DAMN and then the ADHD will let me clean.

[machinesonix]

I wanna dive kinda deep on one of the plot points in Dune that isn’t given its full context in the films. Actually I want to wax poetic about my favorite space witch super power and this plot point is gonna be our entry point into it, but without some sort of framing mechanism to focus my thoughts this blog is probably just gonna look like a bunch of all-caps Alistair Crowley cocaine patterned theology. But we’re here to talk about a different sort of psychoactive drug-fueled cult today.

The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood sure does give Lady Jessica a whole lot of shit for having a son. The plan was to have Girl Paul Atredies to have a baby with their cousin Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and produce the Kwizatz Haderach, but in Jessica’s love for Duke Leto she gave him an heir instead. Which is weird because Princess Irulan is the heiress to the Imperial throne and a Bene Gesserit herself, but I guess that’s not how things fly on Caladan. Whatever the case, Jessica is very adamant that she does not regret her decision. Now the Bene Gesserit can do a lot of wild shit and sure, if you’ve got fetal telepathy maybe you can psychic your baby into having your favorite chromosomes and it doesn’t need a lot of technobabble but Herbert DOES provide some babble and I for one think it’s extremely cool.

Towards the beginning of the novel when the Reverend Mother microwaves Paul’s hand, she explains that in lieu of the machine technologies destroyed in the Butlerian Jihad, human technologies had to be developed to bridge the gap. This whole idea of ‘human technology’ fascinates me. Like I’m not sure if there’s a huge philosophical take away here other than something about the tenacity of the human spirit since a lot of these technologies are the result of the preternatural properties of the geriatric spice melange, but it really is a cool take on science fiction that’s made the setting as iconic as it is. 

Specifically, Bene Gesserit practice a technique called Prana Bindu meditation which I think translates as something like ‘muscle breathing’ but I’m not gonna pretend I can translate Sanskrit. A Prana Bindu trance allows its practitioner to manipulate their biology through sheer force of will. The big way the Sisterhood has been able to keep this century spanning eugenics program on the rails has been their ability to put their reproductive organs on manual. This is also what's going on with drinking worm poison to level up. Jessica and Paul are being put to the same test represented by the gom jabbar: Die like an animal or prove your worth by using your phenomenal human willpower to stay in control of the situation. If you're badass enough to manipulate your own metabolism to process poison into a particularly powerful dose of spice, you have earned the Other Memory and the esteem that entails. Or you can have your mom cheat and do all the hard work for you while you're sharing a metabolism, but you can see how that could stir some controversy. 

As a nonbinary person it is unavoidable to be fascinated by transformative bodily stuff. If I'm not then Rebecca Sugar will come take my license and like a poorly understood thought experiment about a physicist's cat, the quantum wavefunction in my pants will collapse into a single state. That's got at least something to do with my frothing fascination with Prana Bindu and all it entails. Now my brain is stuck on this whole male heir thing when Florence Pugh is absolutely killing it. STAY TUNED

[absyyynth]

lowkey addicted to collapsing wavefunctions