You (Are) Matter

Aditi Ganapathi
2 min readNov 24, 2022

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You are matter. Atoms combine to form molecules, which combine to form compounds, which combine to form…well, you.

You meet people, people meet you. Same old story, but different characters, different characteristics. At some point of time, you’ll find a soulmate. A friend, a lover, or perhaps a coworker?

Because ideas are energies generated in the electric field of the human body, our brains are fundamentally transceivers. Through the electronic frequencies of our thoughts, we are able to transmit and receive signals from other people. In essence, you realize Darlene from Yoga is your soulmate because her atoms and your atoms are affecting each other in a good way, and have been doing so since even before you met.

For the common human, this is called attraction. But physics, or quantum physics, to be more specific, labels this “Quantum Entanglement.”

Quantum Entanglement: No matter how separated in space they are, two particles can still become entangled in a certain way.

Forget Darlene for a bit (sorry, Darlene!) and think of something farther away. Maybe the 52-hertz Whale. Or the clouds or the Kármán Line. Or a star at the outer edge of space. Now think about a single atom in that star, and think about an atom that makes you, you — an organism at least 13.8 billion light years away — and apply the definition of Quantum Entanglement.

A small movement in your atoms, which could be an exhale, a sneeze, or a football kick, is going to affect that atom in that star. When you eat a bagel, maybe you’re helping a star take birth, or protecting a planet from colliding with an asteroid.

You and all the stars in the universe and all the grains of sand in all the beaches on Earth.

Do you see the power you hold? You, my friend, play a HUGE role in the functioning of this universe. So the next time you feel inadequate, worthless, unimportant, or that you amount to nothing, just remember Quantum Entanglement. If someone so much as dares to tell you you don’t matter, just remember those two words — Quantum Entanglement.

Because you do matter. Because you are matter.

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Aditi Ganapathi

What do you get when you mix engineering school and people-watching? Aditi’s Medium blog! Join me in decoding the relation between algorithms and life.