I was sitting on the patio of a creperie alleging that superposition could be applied to much more than just quantum computing. As human beings, we apply theories and concepts to practicality never realizing that those theories could one day wake up in the synthesis of another doctrine. Superposition is simply that that a piece of matter can be in more than one state at once. Interesting when applied to a thought. Thoughts are a form of matter. But unlike concrete physical reality, thoughts are constantly changing shape and state. This is why there have been no satisfying answers to age old philosophical debates like free will.
We have been working in the habit of creating synthesis out of dichotomies. It has been the hallmark of most of the scientific and creative breakthroughs throughout the centuries. In philosophy, this form of inquiry is called dialecticism. In dialecticism, as you may know, you take a hypothesis and deduce it into a theses and antitheses to come to a final synthesis. What this proves is that there is resolution for two opposing ideas through strict speculation,reasoning and gathering of factual data.
Dialecticism is incongruent with the new (and some old) questions science and philosophy pose. Why do we still apply it? It's comfortable.
How could two things exist in the same space and time at once? Ask the quantum scientists. With this field of science growing more and more into a feasible reality, I believe it will not only shape the way we use computers but will also change how we look at philosophy, logic, and computational models in the cognitive sciences. It will break down most of our current methodologies of thinking. For example, let us take a look at applying superposition to moral theory. Two opposing doctrines of religion and how they can co exist together both as true. Dialecticism to me seems as good to us as unpasteurized milk. It could flush relativism down the toilet taking the pope with it in one fell swoop.
The wake of a new paradigm in thought is never met with ease. The mystery at the bottom of the rabbit hole has always been a mystery in itself. The only way to change the world is to change our thinking. Nothing is certain. But, just like natural selection, we run around with our ideas and own up to them whether they are right or wrong and whether they succeed or fail. That is progress. Progress doesn't need a brain behind the gun -- just take a look at how well the brainless DNA molecule has done in the past few millenia. How can humans peacefully co exist on this planet without having to worry about over consumption? How can we as humans balance opposing thoughts and doctrines in belief systems without imposing war? How can a 1 and a 0 exist together in the same space and time? Can homosexuals and heterosexuals live in tandem without being seen as different? Can free will and fate exist together and share the same outcomes? Without having to prove a point -- a synthesis. A synthesis only leads to more questioning. More questions lead to more time being wasted. We value time as our most precious asset, yet we don't realize how much time we waste in indecision and debate.
I hope the new grounds we break in quantum mechanics can be someday be applied to disciplines such as moral theory, environmentalism, politics, etc. We may never find that magical equation to explain the universe, but we may find a way to sustain equilibrium more efficiently by understanding there is room for more than one idea in this world. Knowing this, we could be a little more at peace.
Some informative reading:
More Info on Dialectic
Quantum Computing
A Quantum State of Mind
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