Quantum Tantra At The Tannery

Nick befriending some atoms

The Oldest Tannery in the West (Salz Tannery in Santa Cruz, CA) closed its doors in 2001 and was converted into a space for artists to live, work and perform. The former tannery is located on Highway 9, just inside Santa Cruz's northern limits on the San Lorenzo River. Old-time residents will remember that, during the transformation from leather factory to artist's lofts, the site was enlivened by dozens of plywood cows.

The Tannery Arts Center has been up and running for several years and has now invited local physicist Nick Herbert to appear on April 21 ( Room 117, 7-9 PM ) as part of their Thursday Evening Lecture Series.

Nick will talk about the deepest unsolved problem in physics, the "quantum reality question"-- the awkward situation that the most powerfully predictive theory humans have ever possessed comes at the price of renouncing a picture of reality. We cannot really say what atoms really look like. Nor can we say "what happens" when we measure an atom. But we can predict (sometimes with an accuracy of 11 decimal places) the results of these not-very-well-understood measurements. Physicists do not fully understand what they are doing when they do quantum mechanics but whatever it is they are doing they do it very successfully.

In the second part of his presentation Nick will introduce "quantum tantra" his latest obsession: an attempt to develop a more intimate way of connecting with nature using clues and technologies from quantum physics.

The Tannery Arts Center is located near the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 1 in Santa Cruz (close to Costco). Admission is free. Copies of Nick's Quantum Reality and Physics On All Fours will be available for sale and signing.

Works by Stephen Lynch and Diana Hobson will also be on exhibit.

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