The Most Incomprehensible Thing About The Universe

Physics Discussion Continues
June, ’80

“Determining the change of change in different reference systems,”
Jade continued, “is no small accomplishment, but there is something
even more amazing going on here. Einstein’s equations let us in on an
astounding universe, a universe absolutely different from the one that
Euclid mapped out for us a couple millenniums ago. The universe
discovered by Einstein even astounded Einstein, but it wasn’t the
oddness of it all that astounded him, it was the simple fact that it
could be discovered at all! He said, ‘The most incomprehensible thing
about the universe is that it is comprehensible.’ If you ask me, that
statement says more about the universe than does Einstein’s own
equations.”

“If that’s true,” Don interrupted, “then Einstein must have died a
pretty frustrated man because based on what you’re telling me here,
nobody is even close to comprehending a universe that is free of
contradictory laws. What’s comprehensible about that?”

“We don’t know everything, Don,” Jade replied, “but we do know a hell
of a lot more than we used to. We are beginning to understand ‘who and
what we are’ in a whole different light. It’s true that our knowledge
is limited by statistical analysis at the quantum level, but it works,
and it works well. That, according to Bohr and Heisenberg, was pretty
important all by itself. According to the Copenhagen Interpretation of
quantum mechanics--the model attributed to Bohr and Heisenberg-- it
doesn’t matter what’s going on at the quantum level, what matters is
that in all possible experimental situations we can, within certain
limits, predict the outcomes. Identifying reality, according to the
Copenhagen Interpretation, lies beyond the capabilities of rational
thought. The laws governing individual events are, at the quantum
level, completely discarded. Only mathematical laws governing
aggregations apply. According to quantum mechanics, it is not
possible, even in principle, to know enough about the present to make
a complete prediction about the future. Even with the best possible
measuring devices, it is still not possible.”