The electron in question had no “independent reality in the ordinary physical sense”. While Einstein believed that (for example) an electron was real, that it existed no matter if it was observed or not, Bohr on the other hand in his Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics said that the very act of observation caused existence. In the popular imagination the basic problem between the two was not as much ontological as it was epistemological (one can refer to Bohr’s paper titled “ Discussions with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics”).

The Einstein-Bohr debate is a particularly famous one in the history of the physical sciences and has shaped the entire discourse of the field. In modern physics there are perhaps no two bigger names than that of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. Has the question of what is real been ignored for far too long in the quantum sphere? Adam Becker’s new book What is Real attempts to trace the history of modern quantum physics over the last hundred years and unearth the ontological and epistemological problems at the heart of the science. The great Richard Feynman himself said before he died: “I still get nervous with it.I cannot define the real problem, therefore I suspect there’s no real problem, but I’m not sure there’s no real problem.” It is not just us poor laymen who are left bereft of this profound knowledge of the building blocks of reality. Quantum physics has a long list of phenomena too strange to be believed – particles that sometimes behave like waves, cats that are simultaneously dead and alive, and acts of observation that instantly create what is being observed. When Albert Einstein called quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance” he wasn’t very far off the mark with his choice of words. ‘I couldn’t see any humanity in them’: Muzaffarnagar riots rape survivor on the long road to justice.‘Air’ review: Film about Air Jordan shoe brand is a slam dunk.UK is considering curbs on visas to foreign students’ families, says report.View from Dawn: Violence, rights and communications curtailed in Pakistan – what next?.From Odisha to Kerala, a bus of climate migrants.

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What Is Real? by Adam Becker