From Chris Arnold, Perth, Western Australia
The article on causality in quantum theory reminds us that, until an observer takes a measurement, we are confronted by a fog of possible alternatives and that the measurement will cause these distributions to “collapse” to finally reveal definite properties.
These quantum scenarios appear less weird if we liken them to every point in space constituting, first, a set of actual properties – being a consequence of all past events – and, second, a cloud of future possibilities. As the future transitions across the present boundary to become the past, space and time act as filters to determine which future possibilities emerge from the fog.
Our observer's measurement is a mere snapshot, captured from the continuous stream in which future possibilities transition to past certainties. All the while, the effects of ensuing events feed back into and update future distributions. Under this scenario, measurements will potentially contribute to the continuously updating distributions, but won't cause them to collapse.
