What is the “observer effect” in science and does it suggest reality is linked to consciousness?
To me, the “observer effect” in quantum mechanics (that the position, velocity, etc. of a particle cannot be observed without changing it) is all about the movement of information, and has nothing to do with whether anybody is awake. (Consciousness sounds less mysterious when we call it by its other name: “being awake.”) The effect takes place when the measurement is made, even if nobody ever becomes aware of it. I think a particle contains only so much information. If you extract some of the information, it isn’t there anymore. I think that under the rules of quantum mechanics, information can only be moved around and cannot be copied (see article: “A Single Quantum Cannot Be Cloned”) So I think the “observer effect” is a consequence of the movement of information out of the particle. Digression: If a particle always contains a fixed amount of information, and you extract some in making a measurement, then it would follow that an “observation” (of a particle by another particle) must
The observer effect, or ‘observer bias’, has any of various context-specific meanings. In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observing will make on the phenomenon being observed. For example, for us to “see” an electron, a photon must first interact with it, and this interaction will change the path of that electron. It is also theoretically possible for other, less direct means of measurement to affect the electron; even if the electron is simply put into a position where observing it is possible, without actual observation taking place, it will still (theoretically) alter its position. In physics, a more mundane observer effect can be the result of instruments that by necessity alter the state of what they measure in some manner. For instance, in electronics, ammeters and voltmeters need to be connected to the circuit, and so by their very presence affect the current or the voltage they are measuring. Likewise, a standard mercury-in-glass thermometer
