How real is the past? (Theatre)

This page is for in-person theatre tickets. For Livestream tickets, please go to Both in-person and online attendees will be able to access the event recording.

You might think that the happenings of the past are a done deal. Events that are now set in stone. Although we may not know the details of everything that happened, we can confidently assume there were definite 'facts of the matter' concerning past events. But that's where Quantum Physics comes in to turn things on its head - in quantum physics, the existence of a definite, specific historical pathway leading to the present is denied. It proposes that instead of a fixed series of events, we must envisage the past as a ghostly amalgam of blended potential realities.
Einstein described the ability of quantum systems to be entangled telepathically across space as “spooky action at a distance.” But the same physics can be described as "spooky action back in time." In this talk, physicist Paul Davies examines these spooky quantum "retro-effects", which are already being utilised by technologies such as quantum computing, and their implications. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle states that there is a limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties, such as position and momentum, can be simultaneously known. His work reaches into the future, but also stretches back in time. When experiments are performed to observe past events, they collapse due to contending pasts, pointing to a possible form of backwards causation?
If the past, like the future, is fuzzy and undetermined, what does that say about attempts to explain the origin of the universe as a quantum event? And indeed, how real are the events of the past at all? Paul will look to answer these questions and more in this talk that's bound to leave you questioning everything you know.
Copies of Paul's book "Quantum 2.0" will be on saleavailable to purchase after the talk.

By booking to attend events at the Royal Institution, you confirm that you have read and agree to the Ri's

Event image by Unsplash

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher The Royal Institution