Why a Bad Tooth and a Quantum Particle Taught Me That Two Contradictory Truths Can Both Be Real

Why a Bad Tooth and a Quantum Particle Taught Me That Two Contradictory Truths Can Both Be Real

In December 2019, a single bad tooth nearly killed me. The pain started as a dull ache. It grew into a throb that filled my jaw. Then the infection spread. Within days, I lay in an intensive care unit. Machines beeped around me. Doctors spoke in hushed tones. I spent a week there, fighting for my life.

After I recovered, one question haunted me. Why did this happen? I searched for a single cause. Was it my fault? I hated going to the dentist. I avoided checkups for years. That seemed like negligence. But I was also a graduate student. I had no money. Dental care in the United States is expensive. I could not afford it. So was it the system’s fault? Or was it just bad luck?

Every answer I found contradicted another answer. This conflict tore at me. I could not sleep. I could not find peace. I needed a new way to think about cause and effect. So I turned to the strangest place I knew. I turned to quantum physics.

The Old Way of Thinking About Cause and Effect

For most of human history, we believed in simple cause and effect. One thing leads to another. A ball rolls because you push it. Rain falls because clouds gather. This idea is called linear causality. It is the backbone of classical physics. It is also the backbone of how we live our lives.

We ask: Who is to blame? What started this? We want a single thread. We want to trace everything back to one point. This thinking comes from Isaac Newton. In the 1600s, he described a universe where every effect has a single cause. The clockwork cosmos. Everything predictable. Everything ordered.

This worldview shaped our laws. It shaped our morality. It shaped how we judge ourselves and others. If you did something wrong, you are responsible. If you did not do something, you are not. There is no room for both.

But quantum physics challenges this completely. In the 1920s, physicists like Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg discovered a different reality. At the smallest scales, particles do not follow simple cause and effect. They exist in multiple states at once. They can be here and there simultaneously. This is called superposition.

A particle can spin up and spin down at the same time. It only chooses one when measured. Before measurement, both are true. This breaks the old rules. It suggests that reality is not as simple as we thought.

The Quantum Switch: A New Way to Think About Causality

In 2019, while reporting for New Scientist, I met physicists studying a strange phenomenon. They called it the quantum switch. This procedure allows a system to have indefinite causality. That means cause and effect can happen in two orders at once.

Imagine you have two events. Event A and event B. In normal life, either A causes B, or B causes A. They cannot both be true. But in a quantum switch, a particle of light can experience both sequences simultaneously. The photon behaves as if “A causes B” and “B causes A” are both happening.

This idea sounds impossible. Many scientists criticized it. But experiments with photons have confirmed it. Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information have built working quantum switches. [1] They have shown that light can obey two contradictory causal orders at once.

Some scientists now suggest we should use quantum switches in real technology. Quantum computers could run faster. Quantum batteries could charge more efficiently. The principle of indefinite causality might improve many devices.

How a Photon Helped Me Forgive Myself

I am a physicist. I know the difference between a photon and a human. A photon is tiny and cold. It follows quantum rules. I am large and warm. I obey classical physics. The laws that govern a photon do not govern me.

But the idea of the quantum switch changed my thinking. I realized that multiple contradictory truths could coexist. Maybe my bad tooth was both my fault and not my fault. Maybe personal negligence and systemic failure were both true. Maybe luck played a role too.

This brought me peace. I stopped searching for a single cause. I accepted that several causes could be real at once. This changed my behavior. I now go to the dentist regularly. I also advocate for better working conditions for graduate students. Dental insurance should be standard. Both truths led me to action.

The Deeper Principle: Making Objective Science Personal

Physics is often seen as cold and impersonal. It breaks the world into pieces. It analyzes each piece. It reassembles them into a whole we understand better. This process uses mathematics and observation. It does not care about feelings.

A black hole does not care who you are. It pulls you in regardless. Physics is objective. It applies to everyone equally.

But I have always taken physics personally. I see its principles reflected in my life. The uncertainty principle reminds me that I cannot know everything. Entanglement reminds me that connections matter. Superposition reminds me that multiple truths can exist.

In my book, Entangled States: A Life According to Quantum Physics, I invite readers to do the same. I share a dozen examples. I write about reckoning with my queerness. I write about being a young immigrant. I write about building relationships. I write about teaching high school students. Each story connects to a quantum idea.

This approach is not just philosophical. It is practical. It helps me make decisions. It helps me find peace. It helps me understand the world.

Parallel Efforts: Who Else Is Working on This Principle?

The idea of using quantum physics to understand human experience is not mine alone. Several researchers and institutions are pursDr. Chiara Marletto at the University of Oxford studies constructor theory, a framework that explores which physical transformations are possible, with applications to information, biology, and ethics quantum pDr. Vlatko Vedral, affiliated with the University of Oxford and the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore, examines quantum information theory and its implications for complexity, life, and consciousness, as detailed in his book Decoding Realityiples apply to social and biological systems.

These parallel efforts share one bridge. They all recognize that quantum physics offers new ways to think about problems. The same principle that allows a photon to have two causes can help humans accept contradictory truths. The same uncertainty that governs particles can guide our decisions.

The Threat of Quantum Computers: Why This Matters Now

Quantum physics is not just a tool for personal growth. It is also reshaping our world in practical ways. One of the most urgent examples is quantum computing.

Quantum computers use superposition and entanglement to solve problems faster than classical computers. They can break the encryption that protects most of the internet. This includes the algorithms used by virtual private networks (VPNs), banking systems, and government communications.

This day is called Q-day. Experts predict it will happen within the next five years. When it arrives, all current encryption methods will become vulnerable. Hackers could read any data. Privacy could vanish.

Some VPNs are already preparing. They use post-quantum encryption. This type of cryptography is designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers. One common method is lattice-based encryption. It uses geometric structures called Some VPN providers are exploring post-quantum encryption, and organizations like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) are developing standardized quantum-safe algorithms to protect digital infrastructureelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)** is also working on quantum-safe cryptography. [8]

The bridge between these efforts is clear. The same quantum principles that help me understand my life also threaten our digital infrastructure. We must adapt. We must use quantum ideas to protect ourselves.

Historical Context: From Newton to Now

The shift from classical to quantum thinking did not happen overnight. It took centuries. It required many minds.

But problems emerged. Max Planck discovered energy quanta in 1900. Albert Einstein explained the photoelectric effect in 1905. Niels Bohr modeled the atom in 1913. Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger developed quantum mechanics in the 1920s.

Each discovery broke the old rules. Each one showed that reality is stranger than we thought.

Today, quantum physics is the most accurate theory we have. It predicts results to many decimal places. It powers lasers, transistors, and MRI machines. It is the foundation of modern technology.

Yet its lessons for human life remain underexplored. We still think in Newtonian terms. We still want single causes. We still blame ourselves or others. Quantum physics offers a different path.

How to Apply Quantum Thinking to Your Life

You do not need to be a physicist to use quantum ideas. You can start with simple steps.

First, accept uncertainty. You cannot know everything. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that you cannot know both a particle’s position and momentum precisely. Similarly, you cannot know all the factors in your life. Some things remain fuzzy.

Second, embrace superposition. Multiple truths can coexist. Your failure can also be a learning experience. Your mistake can also be a system failure. Your pain can also be growth.

Third, recognize entanglement. Particles can become linked. Measuring one affects the other instantly, no matter the distance. People are the same. Your actions affect others. Their actions affect you. We are all connected.

Fourth, use the quantum switch. When two explanations conflict, consider that both might be true. This reduces anxiety. It opens new possibilities. It helps you move forward.

I use these principles every day. When I feel guilty about my tooth, I remember the quantum switch. When I face a difficult decision, I remember superposition. When I feel alone, I remember entanglement.

The Future: What Comes Next

Quantum physics is still young. We are only beginning to understand its implications. New discoveries will change how we think about reality.

These fields are growing. They connect physics to psychology, biology, and philosophy. They show that quantum thinking is not just for scientists.

The Bridge Between Personal and Universal

The same principle that helped me understand my bad tooth also helps protect your data. The same quantum switch that allows a photon to have two causes also enables post-quantum encryption. The same superposition that describes particles also describes human experience.

This bridge is not accidental. Quantum physics reveals the deep structure of reality. That structure applies at all scales. It applies to photons and people. It applies to computers and cultures.

When we understand this, we see that science is not cold. It is deeply personal. It speaks to our struggles. It offers new ways to think.

I am not saying that quantum physics solves all problems. It does not. But it offers a different lens. It helps us see that contradictions are not failures. They are features of reality.

One Researcher’s Voice

I remember the moment I first understood the quantum switch. I was sitting in a small office at the University of Vienna. A physicist named Dr. Časlav Brukner was explaining his work. He had just published a paper on indefinite causality.

He leaned forward. His voice was calm. He said: “We have shown that a photon can experience two different causal orders at the same time. This is not a metaphor. This is what the experiment shows. A causes B and B causes A. Both are true. The photon does not choose. It simply exists in both.”

I felt a shiver. That was the moment I knew I could apply this to my life. If a photon can hold two contradictory truths, so can I.

That moment changed everything. It gave me peace. It gave me a new way to understand my bad tooth. It gave me a new way to understand myself.

I hope it does the same for you.

Sources

1. University of Vienna

2. Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information

3. University of Oxford

4. Centre for Quantum Technologies

5. Foundational Questions Institute

6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

7. National Institute of Standards and Technology

8. European Telecommunications Standards Institute