Carlo Rovelli in 2006.\u00a0 \u00a0 (Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity<\/em>, translated by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre (Penguin, 2017):<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is a curved spacetime born 14 billion years ago \u2014 nobody knows how \u2014 and still expanding.\u00a0 This space is a real object, a physical field with its dynamics described by Einstein\u2019s equations.\u00a0 Space bends and curves under the weight of matter and plunges into black holes when matter is too concentrated.<\/span><\/p>\nMatter is distributed in 100 billion galaxies, each containing 100 billion stars, and is made up of quantum fields which manifest themselves in the form of particles, such as electrons and photons, or as waves, such as the electromagnetic ones that bring us television images and the light of the Sun and the stars.<\/span><\/p>\nThese quantum fields make up atoms, light and the full contents of the universe.\u00a0 They are strange objects: their quanta are particles that appear when they interact with something else; left alone, they unfurl into a \u2018cloud of probability\u2019.\u00a0 The world is a swarming of elementary events, immersed in the sea of a vast dynamical space which sways like the water of an ocean.<\/span><\/p>\nWith this image of the world, and the few equations that make it concrete, we can describe almost everything that we see.<\/span><\/p>\nAlmost.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is also quite nice:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the world described by quantum mechanics there is no reality except in the relations<\/em> between physical systems.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t things that enter into relations but, rather, relations that ground the notion of \u2018thing\u2019.\u00a0 The world of quantum mechanics is not a world of objects: it is a world of events.\u00a0 Things are built by the happenings of elementary events: as the philosopher Nelson Goodman wrote in the 1950s, in a beautiful phrase, \u2018An object is a monotonous process.\u2019\u00a0 A stone is a vibration of quanta that maintains its structure for a while, just as a marine wave maintains its identity for a while before melting again into the sea.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is a wave, which moves on water without carrying with it any drop of water?\u00a0 A wave is not an object, in the sense that it is not made of matter that travels with it.\u00a0 The atoms of our body, as well, flow in and away from us.\u00a0 We, like waves and like all objects, are a flux of events; we are processes, for a brief time monotonous . . .<\/span><\/p>\nQuantum mechanics does not describe objects: it describes processes and events which are junction points between processes.\u00a0 (115-116)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity, translated by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre (Penguin, 2017): \u00a0 There is a curved spacetime born 14 billion years ago \u2014 nobody knows how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17111,16245,5622,17105,2199,9721,2195,12452,17099,17096,17093,16784,404,9332,16921,17102,17108,2197,5571],"class_list":["post-88379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cloud","tag-event","tag-events","tag-objects","tag-particle","tag-particles","tag-physics","tag-probability","tag-quantum-field","tag-quantum-fields","tag-quantum-mechanics","tag-quantum-physics","tag-quantum-theory","tag-reality","tag-relationality","tag-relations","tag-things","tag-wave","tag-waves"],"yoast_head":"\n
Processes, and events that are junction points between processes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Processes, and events that are junction points between processes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-29T02:02:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-29T04:49:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/09\/1600px-Carlo_Rovelli_2006.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html\",\"name\":\"Processes, and events that are junction points between processes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-29T02:02:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-29T04:49:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Processes, and events that are junction points between processes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Processes, and events that are junction points between processes","description":" I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Processes, and events that are junction points between processes","og_description":" I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2020-09-29T02:02:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-29T04:49:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/09\/1600px-Carlo_Rovelli_2006.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html","name":"Processes, and events that are junction points between processes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-09-29T02:02:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-29T04:49:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" I really like this summation by the Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli,\u00a0 which appears on page 123 of his\u00a0Reality Is Not What It","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/09\/processes-and-events-that-are-junction-points-between-processes.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Processes, and events that are junction points between processes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88379\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Wikimedia](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/09\/1600px-Carlo_Rovelli_2006.jpg\")
<\/a>