From: dickhoff@NERO.WUSTL.EDU
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Name Commonness and Quantum Physics
Date: 15 Aug 92 22:41:57 GMT



Does this subject sound absurd to you?  Well, just hold on for a while.

Recently some netters seem unhappy about the fact that quite a few
Olympic Chinese athletes share same given names.  Of course, part
of the reason is romanlization of Chinese characters.  However, 
even in original Chinese characters, some are still same.

I would say that there are always enough Chinese characters to 
express every concept you could conceive of, no matter how abstract 
or how subtle it is, but there would never be enough Chinese characters
to be alloted to each person so that people are distinguishable from
each other just by their names.  To make thing even worse, people 
tend to select characters for their given name from a small fraction  
of whole vocabulary of the language.  I guess this is also true for 
every language used by a large population as native tongue.

Fortunately, we can distinguish those athletes by their surnames, 
ages, specialties or just by their faces if we could watch them from
TV covered by non-NBC network. :-)   Now in some case, people not 
only have same given name, but also have same surname, or more likely 
in case all relevant information needed to distingush individuals are 
not available, what could we do about it?

We could do nothing about it.  The only option we have is to live
with it.  Sometime many objects are indistinguishable to human
beings.  In other time people are indistinguishable to each other.
Hey here I am really serious. IMHO, this attitude makes lifes a little
bit easier.  I always tend to leave the ultimate details of anything
to God.

However, some people seem to refuse to accept this fact consciously
or unconsciously.:-)    They probably think their faculties to 
distinguish anything are unlimited.:-)  I suspect that is why they
felt unhappy when they found some athletes have same given names.:-)

But scientists are much modest.  Scientists believe the faculties of 
human beings to discern the "blueprint" of Nature are limited. Put it
in another way, it is really pointless to insist on the ultimate Truth.
Sometime to live with the indistinguishability of some entities in the  
nature is our only option. And believe or not, it is also one of 
principles in quantum physics.

Earlier in this century, Austria physicist Mr. W. Pauli was puzzled 
by atom helium spectrum.  The theory which could perfectly explain  
atom hydrogen failed completely in explaining helium spectrum.  Well, 
one night he went to a movies with his girl friend.:-)   Because of 
absent-minded, he was confused about two characters who were twins 
in the movies.  He asked his girl friend what was going on in the  
movies.  Frustrated by his absent-mind his girl friend grumble, "
Just think they are indentical.  It really makes no difference in 
understanding the plot".  This very remarks stroke Mr. Pauli as a 
great inspiration from God (or Mother Nature, if you like).  It sparked  
a revelutionary idea -- Identical Particles -- in his mind which is the
key to explain atom helium spectrum.  BTW, atom heium has two electrons. 

You see, if you could not distinguish one electron from another by 
ANY mundane means, what is the point to have them distinguishable 
in your equation.  Make them indistinguishable!  And that is the
the very concept of Identical Particle in Quantum Physics.  
Miraculously, the idea works. 

Sometimes, if we exhausted all options in explaining REALITY, the 
very last option which probably we are reluctant to accept because 
of inconsistency with our mundane experience, is probably the best 
choice our human beings could make as our perception about REALITY.  
Along this line of thinking, A. Einstein proposed his successful 
"special relativity".  But that is another story.

I guess had some netters been born in earlier this century, the credit
for introducing concept of identical particles would probably have
gone to them.:-)   Because they seem to have noticed some indistin-
guishability in everyday life.

Now, do you still think this subject is absurd ?

----------------------

T.T.Wu

Newsgroups: soc.culture.china