Flying Sparks- Photo by Johannes Groll on Unsplash

The Age of Entanglement…

A transition from a Classical to Quantum Material World

5 min readFeb 22, 2019

“Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of wave particles are generated, interact, or share spatial proximity in ways such that the quantum state of each wave-particle cannot be described independently from the state of the other” – a metaphor for human life & the interdependencies of the complex systems we inhabit”…

“From a binary world anchored in a reductionist form of scientific reason and a post-modern relativism to a quantum world anchored in the human condition [1] and system complexity[2]”…

“There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs”…
― Thomas Sowell

We live in a complex, interdependent [3], uncertain [4] and increasingly white water world [5].

In attempting to make sense of this world, we have embraced Cartesianism anchored in formal and symbolic Aristotelian term logic[6].

Rules-based abstract reason ( Verstand ) and the scientific method [7].

Since the Age of Enlightenment [8], these frameworks via observation, abstraction, codification, and creation have provided new tools in our search for truth [9].

They have led to an exponential explosion in human knowledge.

We have shaped a thesis and antithesis to arrive at a hypothesis[10] and, in some cases, a theory that provides a heuristic framework to begin to understand the natural world.

It has resulted in incredible advancements in technology.

From the invention of the wheel to space travel to penicillin to genetic engineering to modern-day digital information systems pervasive in our lives.

At the same time, the world we inhabit is anchored in the human condition of each one of us.

Our culture, art, personal experiences, religious beliefs, and philosophy provide meaning and context.

Our perceptions of reality and the complexity & interdependencies of the systems we inhabit provide feedback loops shaping our World.

It’s the stories we tell, the beliefs we form, the rituals we undertake, the memes [11] we absorb, and the archetypes [12] we embrace.

This interplay manifests in a range of cognitive and perceptual constraints that form the foundations of our personal and community views of the world.

Our memory and perspectives interact with other human perspectives (incl. potential manipulation [13]) and the complexity of the natural, social and conceptual systems that we inhabit.

These systems are interdependent.

We are not observers but are actors and agents in these environments.

The emergence of a new reality through digital technology magnifies this phenomenon and amplifies [14] the complexity of our perceptions of reality [15].

We live in a world of paradoxes — a dance between:

Order and Chaos
Science and Humanity
Socialism and Libertarianism[16]
Truths and Beliefs
Right and Wrong
Technology and Humanity
Certainty and Uncertainty
I and We

All of which are anchored in the human condition and the limitations of what we really know.

Can we move from a binary world anchored in scientific reason and post-modern relativism to a quantum world anchored in system complexity and human fallibility?

It will require a profound shift.

Our lens of the world will need to shift focus from one anchored in the ego state [17], certainty, control and ideology to one anchored in learning – open inquiry, humility, uncertainty, collaboration, ideas, creativity, problem-solving and cognitive diversity.

**Metaphysical Idealism and Epistemological Realism**

A world where decision-making is full of paradoxes.

A Copernicus 2.0 moment in how we navigate reality.

Cartesianism views the mind as being separate from the body.

Newton's first law appears to break down in the quantum realm

Newton's first law of motion says that particles move in straight lines unless influenced by a force but a new…

www.newscientist.com

Sensation and perception are thought to be the source of untruth and illusions.

Moving towards an integrated consciousness will require combining our Mental World and Material World.

Our ideas shape our outcomes, and the outcomes shape our ideas.

Navigation shifts from one of rules ( verstand) to one of principles (Vernunft) and qualities, and the more we learn, the more we begin to realise how little we really know [19].

By embracing human sensemaking [20], reflexivity, the sciences and humanities and recognising the interdependencies & complexity, alternative pathways emerge.

Sensemaking, a core skill for the 21st Century…

Navigating the Emergent

richardschutte.medium.com

We begin to revisit our truths and beliefs, asking fresh questions.

We shift our prism of reality.
New stories unfold.
New beliefs are shaped.
New realities begin to form.

A transition from searching for binary outcomes through absolute truths or no truths (relativism) to a quantum world where the duality [21] of meaning resides in combining the search for truth with the fallibility of the human condition and recognising the complexity & interdependencies of the systems we inhabit.

“The misconception which has haunted philosophical literature throughout the centuries is the notion of “independent existence”. There is no such mode of existence; every entity is to be understood in terms of the way it is interwoven with the rest of the universe.”…
— Alfred North Whitehead