Agnostic.com

29 7

Does observation alter an event?

Observer effect?

Stacey48 8 June 14
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

29 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

5

I drive way slower if there's the police watching. So, sure.

4

No. Unless the "event" notices you watching.

godef Level 7 June 14, 2018

@Stacey48 Yup. How many Christmas scenes get ruined when the picture and video takers command that you pose for them?

4

According to the double-slit test it surely does

It's not "observation". It's the act of measurement. It has nothing to do with consciousness.
As Sean Carroll explained, you cannot measure a particle without affecting it because in order to measure it you need to collide it with... other particles. 🙂

or
3

According to Heisenberg it does.

It was Niels Bohr, or rather it is a variation of Bohr postulation that existences requires observation and measurement.

@TheAstroChuck
Thanks: I just had a reason to research that.

In physics, the observer effect is the theory that simply observing a situation or phenomenon necessarily changes that phenomenon. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner. A commonplace example is checking the pressure in an automobile tire; this is difficult to do without letting out some of the air, thus changing the pressure. Similarly, it is not possible to see any object without light hitting the object, and causing it to reflect that light. While the effects of observation are oftentimes negligible, the object still experiences a change. This effect can be found in many domains of physics, but can usually be reduced to insignificance by using different instruments or observation techniques.

For other uses, see Observer effect.
An especially unusual version of the observer effect occurs in quantum mechanics, as best demonstrated by the double-slit experiment. Physicists have found that even passive observation of quantum phenomena (by changing the test apparatus and passively 'ruling out' all but one possibility), can actually change the measured result. A particularly famous example is the 1998 Weizmann experiment.[1] The "observer" in this experiment — a sophisticated electronic detector — wasn't human. And yet, possibly because the word "observer" implies a person, such findings have led to a popular belief that a conscious mind can directly affect reality.[2] The need for the "observer" to be conscious has been rejected by mainstream science as a misconception rooted in a poor understanding of the quantum wave function ψ and the quantum measurement process.[3][4][5]

3

Semantics and philosophical fluff.

3

Definitely, I instantly stop masterbating when I realise I'm being observed.

smoyle Level 6 June 14, 2018
3

Depends on both context and perspective...

@Stacey48

From afar..?? I'm perspiring here Stacey..overtly intelligent women make me nervous..???

@Stacey48
I will try logic...If you are an observer you are within at least some sort of visible range of the event..
Therefore your mear presence could effect a change of outcome of that event...in theory..
All of this presupposes that the observer is indeed close enough effect alteration.
Examples:
Event=crime in progress
Observer=witness
Alteration= criminal abandons the crime.

Example2:
Event= block of ice in a room
Observer= in room with ice
Alteration= body temperature of observer melts ice faster.

???

@Stacey48

Phew!

2

According to quantum physics it does, so far!

2

Everyone will have a different perception

@NickNakorn i agree with that for sure

2

Yes. There it goes again...

Dwight Level 7 June 14, 2018
2

Reminds me of the old tree falling in the forest query.

Without a whole quasi scientific pseudo elaboration on your question, I'll just say, no, I do not think observation alters an event. However, multiple observations will render multiple accounts of the event many of which will likely differ. So, in that regard, I suppose you could argue that, yes, observation altered the event.

@Stacey48 I think so. ?

2

Absolutely. Double slit experiment proves it.

2

Without being overly technical, the answer in my opinion is yes. Heisenberg proved on a quantum mechanical level that it is impossible to measure something without changing it. Think of it like tasting bourbon. If you sample the bourbon from the glass, you have changed the glass of bourbon. Philosophers have extrapolated Heisenberg to larger systems in the universe, like glasses of bourbon. If you are interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asks probing questions, would your outlook possibly be changed by the introspection required to answer them???

[en.wikipedia.org]

2

I think it really depends on the event in question. If it is people driven, and the people don't want to be seen then yes, it could stop them from doing whatever it is. If those involved want to be seen, then no... I mean that's what they are after, being observed.

Now in non human events, nature... say lightening striking... it will strike regardless of observed or not. If a tree is going to fall, it will fall, witnessed or not.

AmyLF Level 7 June 14, 2018
1

In the case of quantum mechanics, it sure does.

Agamic Level 6 June 16, 2018
1

It is well established that human behavior is altered when the subject knows he is being observed. Neither will my dog steal food from a toddler while I am watching. In the physical universe I would say no, except that I am led to believe that electrons do behave differently when observed. I am too stupid to understand quantum theory. I accept nothing on faith alone, so I can only pass on the "double-slit" experiment without my personal attestation. [highexistence.com]

1

That's a No/Yes question..... If you observe a stone then nothing gets altered. If you observe an atomic particule then the answer is yes....the good stuff is why..... To observe anything light is mandatory (try to see your hand in a pitch black room). If the system under observation is bigger than photons (light) then no alterations. If the system under observation is an electron then throwing light at them knock them off their path, which clearly interfere with it. The paradox gets missunderstood and things get a bit more confusing when the infamous cat enter into the picture but that's another story. Good question !!!!

1

For us, yes. The actual event, I don't think so. Especially since every event we're seeing milliseconds after it actually happened.

1

Quantum Mechanics says yes. And I believe there is a cat involved with this question as well, though I can't say if it's alive or dead.

DerekD Level 7 June 14, 2018

This is why veterinarians hate physicists

1
1

It certainly can.

1

Yes it does.

1

Too many questions.

@Stacey48 Touche.... Why?

@Stacey48 I gave up that pursuit many years ago. I am satisfied, not corrupted by greed. Only worried by how far can I go with what I already got. Lack of ambition will keep
me in check.

@Stacey48 What will be my opinion without a value established beforehand?

1

I think our culture and our conceptions have a lot to do with what and how we observe, which alters our interpretation of events.

Imagine some one who knows what a duck is but has never seen a rabbit. What would they observe looking at this picture?

cava Level 7 June 14, 2018

In other words.... god will arrive and we won't recognize him.

1

My favorite quote on the subject, most often attributed to Richard Feynman:
"If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics."

skado Level 9 June 14, 2018
Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:106585
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.