Actually, according to some interpretations of quantum mechanics, a thing (like the Moon) really doesn’t exist until it’s been observed.
Does this seem too stupid for words? Yeah, it does to me, too. But that’s the thing about quantum mechanics: None of it appeals to “common sense”, which evolved to deal with “middle Earth” — halfway between sub-atomic particles and galaxies, midway between dead stop and the speed of light, neither nuclear-fusion hot nor absolute-zero cold. Stuff that makes sense here in “middle Earth” is all too easy to mistake for the way the whole Universe works. But it’s not.
Actually, according to some interpretations of quantum mechanics, a thing (like the Moon) really doesn’t exist until it’s been observed.
Does this seem too stupid for words? Yeah, it does to me, too. But that’s the thing about quantum mechanics: None of it appeals to “common sense”, which evolved to deal with “middle Earth” — halfway between sub-atomic particles and galaxies, midway between dead stop and the speed of light, neither nuclear-fusion hot nor absolute-zero cold. Stuff that makes sense here in “middle Earth” is all too easy to mistake for the way the whole Universe works. But it’s not.