It all begins with the story of light.  Since the beginning we have been draped with the comforting glimmer of the heavens above.  Stars, billions and billions of them sparkling in the sky.  Reminding us that we are just a blip in the infinite journey of time. 

You see, when you look up at the stars, what you are seeing is pictures of those stars, millions and millions of years ago.  That is because based on current theories in physics, light travels at a maximum speed of 3 times 10 to the 8th power meters per second (299,792,458 meters per second).  That translates to 670,616,629 miles per hour.  That means that a blip of light that leaves Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our star (the Sun), takes 4.37 years to get here.  So if Alpha Centauri were to explode tomorrow morning (Super Nova) we wouldn’t see it disappear for another 4.37 years.

This give you an idea of how far the stars are in the universe.  Some of the stars you see at night are millions of light years away.  So what they look like in the sky, is really what they looked like that many millions of years ago.  Imagine, being on a star somewhere out in the universe, and you observe Sol, our star.  Except if you are looking at our sun, literally RIGHT NOW, from this other star (millions of light years away); you see the Sol that existed millions of years ago.  Before man was on Earth.

And there are billions of old stars, much older than ours.  Imagine the complex planetary systems around these stars and the chances of planets with just the right conditions.  Suspended in the volatility of space like a shining gem, harboring a miracle called life.

But what does it mean when we say light travels?  What is light?  This is where the rabbit hole began.  In the late 19th century research by J.J. Thompson revealed the dual nature of cathode rays (similar to light for your purposes).  So light was thought of as a wave, but it also exhibited particle like characteristics.  This can be confusing, so I will explain.

Think of traffic.  The cars are particles that are participating

in the compression wave we call traffic.  If you look at traffic from the sky, you see a slinky like effect.  This movement of “the wave” through slinky is nothing more than a wave.  A wave is not an item of matter.  It is a probability.  The wave that moves through the slinky, or traffic, or the ocean is really an effect of the individual particles being at a certain point in space at a certain time.   Hold this thought.

As physics and chemistry advanced, we opened up the understanding of the atom.  This was important because everything, I mean EVERYTHING in this world is made up of atoms.  And atoms are the same every where you go.  So the pieces that make up atoms are protons and electrons.  And electrons are just like light particles (photons).  These little (-) charged particles are defined by orbital positions. 

When the atom is in it’s resting state, the electron is likely to be found in an electron cloud region defined as an orbital.

The confusion happens when we try to observe atoms.  Right now, we have the technology to observe and even place atoms where we want.  This image is a series organized atoms, paving the way for what we call Nano-Technology. 

When we observe atoms the electrons behave as particles.  But when the atoms is not being observed (in it’s natural state) it is actually a wave, meaning it is a probability. 

And thus, the doorway that connects physics and philosophy.  When the electron is being observed it assumes physical particulate behavior, and when it is without an observer, it is a probability, a wave form.

This duality concept puts the perception of what we call reality, in the key position.  Without perception, observation, experience, the stuff that makes everything is just a probability.  The observer plays a central role in calling to action the particulate form of that atom.

This concept is very strange.  It is hard to consolidate into regular life.  You get up in the morning, turn off your alarm clock and our yourself a cup of coffee and think, where the hell does Ali’s crazy rant about duality fit into this?  But once you understand this idea, the next few steps will make more sense.