00:00Before we talk about science,
00:02we'd like to give a big shout-out
00:04to our sponsors at VOCAL.
00:18If a tree falls in the forest
00:20and no one is around to hear it,
00:23does it make a sound?
00:25According to quantum theorists,
00:28that tree might not even exist
00:30until it's observed.
00:32So is our world just an illusion?
00:38Why do some physicists believe
00:40that physical matter isn't real?
00:44What scientific experiments
00:46have changed our view of reality?
00:50And could everything we see
00:53just be a hallucination?
00:56This is WHAT IF,
00:58and here's what would happen
00:59if the world is only your illusion?
01:05The great philosopher René Descartes
01:07came to the profound conclusion that
01:10I think, therefore I am.
01:13He was searching for a universal truth
01:15that couldn't be disputed,
01:17and the act of thinking was
01:19undeniable proof of his existence.
01:22Yet our understanding of existence
01:25and reality are still evolving.
01:28In the worlds of quantum physics
01:30and neuroscience,
01:32there are different theories
01:34about what reality is.
01:37So what is reality?
01:40If we dive deep into the quantum realm,
01:44matter is made up of subatomic particles.
01:47These particles, including protons,
01:49neutrons, and electrons,
01:51are in a state of flux
01:53until they're observed.
01:55In fact, at the quantum level,
01:57they may not even look like particles at all.
02:00You could think of them as a cloud of probabilities.
02:04This concept is known as superposition,
02:06meaning a particle exists
02:08in several possible positions
02:10until they are measured.
02:13The idea of superposition
02:15was famously observed
02:16in the double-slit experiment
02:18by physicist Thomas Young in 1801.
02:22When we shine a beam of light
02:23through one slit,
02:25it produces a predictable line of light.
02:27But when another slit is added,
02:30something kinda spooky happens.
02:33Instead of two lines of light,
02:35we see several.
02:37The photons seem to act like a wave,
02:40as if they were rippling through the slits
02:42and bouncing off each other
02:43in different directions.
02:45This interference pattern
02:47led scientists to believe that
02:49matter could act as both particles
02:52and waves.
02:53That was a profound idea
02:56that changed the world of physics forever.
02:59So if things only exist
03:02when they're observed,
03:04would black holes still exist
03:06if we hadn't measured their x-rays?
03:09Some physicists, like Max Tegmark,
03:11believe that black holes
03:13and everything we perceive to be real
03:15is simply mathematical information.
03:18This idea is known as
03:20information realism.
03:22In the world of philosophy,
03:24this idea of reality
03:26being a product of our observation
03:29is known as phenomenalism.
03:31It states that anything we experience
03:34is simply sensory data in our minds,
03:37as if life itself is virtual reality,
03:40without the silly glasses.
03:43If scientists were able to send signals
03:46to a living brain in a vat,
03:48simulating all the senses,
03:50could we trick the brain
03:51to believe it's in a human body somewhere
03:53and experiencing reality?
03:56Maybe we could reprogram our ideas
03:58at the neural level.
04:00Just imagine being able to fly
04:02anywhere you want,
04:03drive fancy cars,
04:05dodge bullets and live forever.
04:07Your pleasure, your achievements
04:10and your level of success
04:11would only be limited
04:13by your ability to imagine them.
04:16Some cognitive neuroscientists,
04:17including Professor Anil Seth,
04:20suggest that our brains
04:21are hallucinating reality all the time.
04:24Have you ever had a dream
04:25that felt so real
04:26that you jolted awake,
04:28feeling disoriented?
04:30Like that one night
04:31when I thought I was stuck
04:32in a How to Survive episode?
04:36Well, our nightmares
04:38and our perceptions of reality
04:40are both processed
04:41in our brain's visual cortex.
04:44This is why it can be hard
04:45to tell the difference between them.
04:49You know, maybe you could start
04:50a diary or a dream journal
04:52or a video blog
04:53and keep track of all your brain stories.
04:56For content creators,
04:58Vocal is a great platform
04:59for all kinds of stories.
05:01It's an amazing community of bloggers,
05:03podcasters, YouTubers and more.
05:06Do you have a science-themed YouTube channel
05:09like we do?
05:10Well, you can promote and monetize your content
05:13on Vocal.media to reach a whole new audience.
05:16Vocal hosts weekly challenges
05:19with chances to win cash prizes and more.
05:22With over 30 different topic-based communities,
05:25there's something for everyone.
05:27Even us.
05:28We've been posting our
05:29what-if stories on Vocal as well.
05:31So check out the link below
05:33to learn more.
05:35Even though we can't
05:36exactly be sure what is real,
05:39with rapid advancements
05:41in the world of physics and neuroscience,
05:43we're getting closer to understanding
05:46the complexities of reality.
05:48Maybe we'll crack the code someday.
05:51Speaking of coding,
05:52could it be possible that we're just characters
05:55in some sort of computer simulation?
05:58I mean, video game graphics
06:00are looking pretty real these days.
06:04On that note, computer,
06:06load what-if sequence.
06:08Okay, Peter.
06:10That's a story for another what-if.
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