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Toaru Majutsu no Index’s
Personal Reality
and the
Uncertainty Principle
By Tony
At one time or another, we’ve all thought about what it would be like to have super powers. The thought of being able
to break through walls, fly through the skies, or control the natural elements has fascinated children and adults alike. In
the world of anime, super powers are frequently used as a heavy-handed element of the plot, and serve to demonstrate
abilities that even the wildest imaginations cannot come up with. One such series, which has an increasingly large fanbase, is “A Certain Magical Index” and its spinoff “A Certain Scientific Railgun”.
In the show, there are two main types of powers: Magic, through
Idol Theory, and Esper abilities, through the Power Curriculum
program. For now, we’ll focus on the details around the Power
Curriculum program, and how the great realm of science brings
Espers into existence.
The Power Curriculum Program
The Power Curriculum program is, in short, a large-scale
curriculum program specially crafted for use within Academy
City. In theory, students taking part in the curriculum will
eventually attain supernatural powers that aren’t naturally
accessible. The extent of their power determines their “Esper
Level”, which denotes how powerful they are; ranks range
from a Level 5 (the highest and most powerful), to a level 0 (the
lowest and least powerful). There are some exceptions to the
power denotation that a Level brings (i.e. Kamijou Touma), but
we’ll ignore those for now.
The Personal Reality
The Power Curriculum achieves its goal by allowing the
student to attain their own “Personal Reality”, which refers
to the normal reality being replaced by a
person’s own. Now, there’s obviously a lot of
questions that such a theory raises, so we’ll
look at the physics behind the notion. As
defined by Index’s wikia:
whole “system”, the macroscopic world, to create a microscopic
effect, which is in this case, their powers.
For anyone unfamiliar with theoretical physics, this can all very
easily fly over their head. Don’t worry; I’ll explain the main
principles behind the Personal Reality, and link them together
along the way.
Schrödinger’s Cat Thought Experiment and the Uncertainty
Principle
Most people have at least heard about this experiment, and
understand why “Schrödinger” is such a taboo name for cats.
References aside, this experiment was key in provoking a
seemingly simple thought from many scientists, and even the
common man: What happens to objects when they aren’t being
observed?
Schrödinger, aiming to test the Copenhagen interpretation
(which says that the absolute measurements of objects cannot
be ascertained without observing them), put a cat in a room that
was completely separated from the outside world. Also in the
room were a Geiger counter (which measures radiation) and a
small piece of a radioactive element.
It was stated that, within one
hour,
the
radioactive
material may or may
not decay.
The concept of Personal Reality is
related to quantum theory. It allows the user
to utterly ignore the Uncertainty Principle,
and with regards to the Schrödinger’s cat thought
experiment, would allow them to choose the
possibility they want, or more specifically, distort a
micro world using different laws, or more accurately,
control their microscopic observations of the world. This is in
contrast with holism, which is based on major changes in the
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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