There is an interesting phenomenon in Quantum Physics. Light, as Einstein suggested, travels in little packets, or quanta of energy. These quanta can be divided and when they are, a very interesting thing happens. The two “halves” (for want of a better term) exhibit complimentary characteristics and remain that way until something interferes with one of them. Such particles are said to be entangled.
But this isn’t the interesting part. The interesting part comes when one of them changes, at which point the other, instantaneously changes its characteristics in a complimentary fashion and the bond is then broken forever, each quantum of energy becoming an independent entity.
That, at least, is how Neil DeGrasse Tyson explained it on his show Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014). What is most interesting about the phenomenon of Quantum Entanglement is what happens when one particle changes; as I said, the other follows suit, however, it does so, instantly and regardless of distance. Those familiar with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity may shudder and wonder how this could be so, and they would not be alone. It somehow violates the universal speed limit – the speed of light. How is this possible? There are many theories but, at least as of this writing, it remains definitively unanswered.
The discussion here, however, is not about quantum particles but about another form of entanglement: human entanglement. There is a story about a young boy who had a childhood friend. They were inseparable for more than half of their primary schooling years. When the time came for the two to go on to high school, they parted ways as they both were to attend different institutions of higher learning. They attempted to keep in contact. They saw each other on the weekends but those became more and more infrequent as they developed other friendships within their more immediate sphere.
The young boy grew to a young man, graduated from university and entered the workforce. It would be many years later when he would meet a peer who had attended the same high school as his childhood friend. One evening, after work they went out for a drink where the peer would mention his schooling. The young man inquired about his childhood friend and the peer, knowing exactly to whom he was referring, broke the news that he had been killed in car accident.
The young man was shocked as anyone would be. His closest childhood friend was dead. Remorse naturally followed, along with a degree of guilt at having let the relationship deteriorate. However, the truth is, the relationship did deteriorate and the two hadn’t heard rumour, let alone seen each other in almost two decades. Why would the young man feel this way?
This is an example of human entanglement. When we meet someone, there is a certain amount of entanglement; they affect us, even a brief interaction with a homeless beggar. Admittedly, this isn’t a very strong entanglement, but many years later you may think of that beggar and it may affect your behaviour. Naturally, closer and stronger relationships have a stronger effect – a birth in the family is more entangling than the birth of a child of a celebrity, for example.
In his book Parenthood, comedian Paul Reiser takes a satirical look at having children. As with many satirical pieces, it makes a good point. He speaks about relationships and talks, more specifically, about the ends of relationships. When one dates another person and breaks up, he says (I’m paraphrasing), one makes a few drunken phone calls at three a.m., and the relationship is over. When one marries another person and breaks up, one divides property, makes a few drunken phone calls at three a.m., and the relationship is over. However, when one has children together, it’s never over. Parenthood is, perhaps the strongest bond of human entanglement.
In the movie When Harry Met Sally (1989), Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) accidentally runs into his ex-wife in The Sharper Image. They never had children but were still entangled, as seen in the next scene when Billy Crystal vents his emotions regarding the relationship. If they weren’t entangled then they would not have even acknowledged each other’s existence.
Unlike its scientific counterpart, human entanglement isn’t as predictable nor as quantifiable except to say that the closer the relationship, the deeper the entanglement. Also, unlike its quantum namesake, the effects are not transmitted instantaneously. We still rely on standard communication methods. Nor are the bonds of human entanglement necessarily broken when one half of the pair changes. However, like our little quanta of light, when one does change, the other changes, forever.
