How Could We Be So Wrong About Atoms, Light, and Time?
Our over-simplified conception of reality is probably all that our tiny little brains can manage.
My brain is no match for the universe. In terms of processing power, memory, and accuracy, it’s not even close. The universe will win every time. I like to think that I live in a universal processor. Everything is information. My mind is always asking the question: how accurate do my senses need to be for me to survive?
Consider our pop culture concept of the atom. In the picture below, we see a very common illustration of what an atom looks like:
The proportions above are all wrong. Atoms consist of almost entirely empty space. If that nucleus were the size of a basketball, the electrons could most likely be found about 2 miles away.
Notice that I stated the position of the electrons as a probability, not a certainty. That’s because reality can at best be described as a set of probabilities. the reality of our existence is that nothing is 100% certain.
