Reality and knowledge of reality

Schrodinger developed a thought experiment commonly called Schrodinger's Cat to amplify the quantum concept from microscopic level to a macroscopic level. Schrodinger's intention of developing such a model is to counter Bohr's believe that it is impossible to invent a new language to describe the "quantum reality" However, Bohr argued back that the theory is about our state of knowledge of the cat, not about the cat. If Bohr is right, then it implies that all theories human beings have developed could only be used to gain the knowledge of certain aspect of the reality.

Then the question becomes if the knowledge of reality and the reality itself are the same. In my opinion, they are different. In case of Plato's Cave, the slaves could gain some knowledge such as shape, size etc. by studying the shadows of the studied objects, but that knowledge represents only certain properties the reality, but not the reality itself.

To avoid the concept of slave, I would rather develop another analogy that a curtain (the measuring apparatus) separates all observers and all realities even though we are all free men (are we really? I wondered). This curtain is imposed by God for whatever the reasons. The reality could only project certain aspects of itself onto the curtain that allows the observers to observe. As mentioned earlier, observers could obtain certain knowledge of the reality by studying the projection (the shadow), but would never be able to reach the reality itself. Certain properties of the reality could not be projected onto the curtain at same time for the same reasons as the example of a cube mentioned in earlier post (Duality and Uncertainty Principles, July 15, 2004).

For now, I call it Shen’ Curtain (what a joke).

The problem of this model is that it assumes the reality does exist even though the reality is beyond our reach while quantum theory says that there is no deeper reality (no reality behind the curtain). More thinking is needed.