In the path integral approach, the probability that a system in initial state A will evolve to a final state B is given by adding up a contribution from every possible history of the system that starts at A and ends in B. For this reason a path integral is called a ‘sum over histories’. For large-scale systems, contributions cancel each other in the sum, and only one history is important. This is the history that classical physics would predict.
This is to say that before a particle (in this case an electron) settles in its end-state, it explores infinite trajectories simultaneously before occupying its end state. In essence, the cosmos is in a constant state of flux, theoretically occupying every possible state at the same time.
This body of work is a representation of the complex and ultimately infinite interrelationships of matter in the cosmos, from the ultramicroscopic to the cosmological. I find comfort in the fact that this schema of thought does not rely on allegorical or metaphorical allusions to justify its ends: rather, it is the end, the beginning - it is both of these things at once. Some will interpret this view as a purely cold and mechanical standpoint in relation to our position in the cosmos. I, on the other hand, find it a most wondrous and beautiful thing that we exist at all.
I also realize the paradoxes that arise when uttering such statements, and although this theory attests to the immutability of The Fabric, I understand that this body of work, by its very nature, is metaphorical in its content. There is, of course, no other way. I think of this as a schematic of sorts, of looking at the stars from my backyard, of attempting to understand the complexities of my personal relationships, of the neural connections in my brain that prompt me to elucidate these thoughts for others to ingest. Wondrous indeed.
Energy ebbs and flows as empires rise and fall like the chests of infants stealing quick breaths.
Landon Giauque
May 13, 2006
