Mysteries of Quantum Entanglement

The poet Ogden Nash once wrote that “the dog is man’s best friend.” Since that time, the phrase has fallen into the popular vernacular, largely because the public believes it to be true.  Dogs, above all other animals, are seen not only to be loyal and faithful companions but to have a unique relationship with their owners.  While the source of this relationship has been much debated, one explanation is scientific and grounded in the theory of quantum entanglement.

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     Quantum mechanics is a branch of science that examines the behavior of light and matter --including electrons, protons, neutrons, and photons -- on the atomic and subatomic levels. At these levels of reality, the rules are different from the deterministic laws of nature. It is a world of probabilities rather than certainties.

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     Quantum entanglement occurs when subatomic particles interweave and remain connected so that the actions performed on one of the particles affects the other, no matter how great the distance between the two particles. Because humans are made up of tiny sub-atomic particles, scientists now theorize that one person’s particles may get "entangled" with those of another person.  This can happen when we fall in love or form a strong bond.

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     Suppose you have a twin sister who lives in California. You live in New York City. One day you get the sense that something is going on with her, so you call her. She tells you that she just accepted a proposal of marriage. She is not at all surprised that you knew when that happened. Throughout your lives you’ve been having intuitions about each other, even when you were separated, sometimes by long distances.

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     When you are in love, you develop a deep connection with your partner. After spending time together, you feel as though you are able to read each other's minds. When your partner asks if you’d like to see a movie on Friday, you have the same thought before he even makes the suggestion. Why does this occur?  Because you’ve become entangled at a subatomic level.

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     The real-life story of the “Jim Twins,” is a famous example of quantum entanglement between humans. Separated soon after birth in the 1940s, the pair seemed to live parallel lives even though they grew up miles apart in different families. When they were reunited at the age of 39, they discovered many similarities between their life stories.  These included the same names of their sons, wives, and childhood pets, as well as their shared preferences for cars, carpentry, and more.

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     Some scientists believe that quantum entanglement can occur between animals and humans. In his book Dogs That Know, Rupert Sheldrake documents how horses have been able to find their way home with an injured rider on their back; how cats have cried at the remote death of a human with whom they have been familiar; how dogs have howled when members of the family with which they live have been killed in a distant war; even how people have been taken sick in sympathy with distant injured pets.