What If the World Is Only Your Illusion_

Amor.541

If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? According to quantum theorists, that tree might not even exist until it is observed. So, is our world just an illusion? Why do some physicists believe that physical matter isn't real? What scientific experiments have changed our view of reality? Could everything we see be just a hallucination?

Transcript

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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