How many times have I started a blog with the words ‘I have just finished a book’? Too many to remember yet I read one or two a week and as each one comes to an end I like to reflect on what I have learned. There is always something to pick up and I find that I learn more about human nature and the way we work from literature than from factual books. That might be just the way I am wired.
The one that has kicked off this piece is ‘Helgoland :the strange and beautiful story of quantum physics’ by Carlo Rovelli. It does what it says on the tin, telling us how strange the universe really is. Helgoland, or Helegoland is a small rocky outcrop in the North Sea just off Germany. It is an interesting place to start the deconstruction of everything that we knew.
It is an interesting book and, while I can understand the concept of quanta and all that they imply, the science and especially the mathematics is way beyond me, not that there is much in the book. It is strange that I am quite numerate and can do arithmetic but maths remains beyond me. I am in awe if those who can speak its language.
The way I see it, the smaller and smaller things get, the deeper and deeper we dig into our physical world, the stranger things become. Substance becomes unsubstantial. Particles become waves while waves become particles and the act of observance determines which it may be. Schroedinger’s cat is either alive or dead, apparently.
My takeaway is that things only exist in relation to other things. The speed of a train is only in relation to the tracks. The cat needs to be observed and it is the relationship between objects that create the universe.
It may be a stretch but thai made me think of what we are doing in CyberNorth. Businesses only exist in relation to its customers, its people, its creditors etc. CyberNorth can only exist in relation to its members, supporters and the market. The more relationships we build, the more CyberNorth exists. That’s where our efforts need to be.
We may not be operating at the quantum level yet the physics still holds true.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 