At first glance, it seems obvious to the casual reader that when he introduces us to Pandaman, Ndbag is telling us about the changes in global political dynamics that are coming about thanks to China's accession to the WTO. Those who look more carefully, though, will realise that this is far too simplistic an explanation, and that a more in-depth examination is necessary.
Consider, for example, the bed. Several things will strike the attentive reader, but we shall focus on one; the bed spread. Why, one may ask, does it have sheep? Two possibilities spring immediately to mind; either the strip takes place in New Zealand or our ovine friends are to help one sleep. Seeing as we can probably eliminate the former, we'll concentrate on the latter.
Counting sheep is, of course, a well-known (albeit apocryphal) method for going to sleep. But how does one count the sheep on a blanket when lying down in the dark? By suggesting the possibility, Ndbag is showing us the futility of common sense, brilliantly highlighting the difficulty of grasping quantum mechanics and other areas of fundamental physics. Just as we know that it's impossible to count those sheep, we know it's impossible for quantum entanglement to work faster than the speed of light. Yet like the blanket, entanglement seems to be a reality.
So what of Pandaman? I humbly suggest that Pandaman's surname is Macguffin. He may be a black and white panda, but he's also a red herring. By focussing on the presence of Pandaman, we're overlooking the blanket. Equally, when we look at quantum probability, we overlook the fact that Einstein's theories of relativity have no preferred direction for the arrow of time. Pandaman obviously represents entropy; his presence is obvious, yet unexplained. We see him there, but, as we're told, he neither says nor does a great deal. He's like a ghost, but one that influences our everyday lives in ways that are impecerptible. Indeed, though we're told he gives great Pandabearhugs, we see that Ndbag is doing the pandabearhugging. This isn't to suggest that there's no reciprocation, of course. The pandabearhug is just as real for Pandaman as it is for Ndbag. The action, though, like the spontaneous emission of a photon, seems only to be one-way. But for Ndbag -- indeed, for us -- nothing could be further from the truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment