The Reluctant but Joyful Quantum Physicist

I have realized over the past week that I am a quantum physicist at heart, not a poet. My heart is not a poet. I was reading more in the Buffy book about quantum physics, and I saw myself there when it said [paraphrased]:

A particle's behavior changes simply by virtue of being observed or measured.

The illustration for this involved photons (a single particle of light) shot through a wall with two slits in it.



When measured for particle behavior, the photon is forced to choose which slit to pass through, since it cannot divide itself and go through both.

When measured for wave behavior, the photon does pass through both slits and projects a wave pattern on the measurement instrument. This defies common laws of physics.

This makes me think of: the panopticon, reality television, Rear Window, Arden:



It means witness determines outcome.