From The Storyteller
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April 9, 2018, Quantum Thoughts
Twenty-five bored 8th graders sitting in science hear the question, “Is the glass half empty or half full?” Half full -17 hands go up. Half empty - 8 hands go up. They’re bored because they have repeatedly heard the optimist- pessimist explanation. Today it doesn’t happen. Students are told their “4 person” groups have 3 minutes to come up a proper scientific response. Finally, from the back of the room one group declares, “We get it” and explains the glass is neither, because it is full with two different things – ½ water and ½ air. Elaine, my science teacher bride of 30+ years, is making the point to her class about careful observations. That evening as she shares the day’s adventures, my mind goes in a totally different direction. I am thinking about the super tiny, crazy things quantum physics tells us literally make up everything. Before my birth these crazy things were here, and will be after I am gone. The “super glue” that holds me together is the same “glue” that holds the entire universe together. I think of it as a universal Lego set. While the word “magic” comes to mind, it is really more a statement of wonderment at the fact that it exists at all. The fact that all of creation is made up of the same super tiny, crazy stuff, and yet trees are trees, rocks are rocks, and 7 billion people are all unique. This is definitely - Wow! As Elaine explained her day, I realized that once again I’m in awe of this amazing creation I call home. I am also aware that having a science teacher for a spouse is really cool. Moral: Being amazed is easy, if we simply pay attention to what “is”. |