The 'observer effect' in quantum physics might just be the universe trying its hardest to be as random as possible.
arXiv · March 17, 2026 · 2603.14136
The Takeaway
Scientists have long struggled to explain why quantum particles act like waves until they are measured or observed. This new model suggests that 'wave function collapse' isn't caused by the act of looking, but is instead a natural result of the universe maximizing its entropy, potentially bridging the gap between quantum mysteries and everyday reality.
From the abstract
In this paper, we present a statistical model of spacetime trajectories based on a finite collection of paths organized into a branched manifold. For each configuration of the branched manifold, we define a Shannon entropy. Given the variational nature of both the action in physics and the entropy in statistical mechanics, we explore the hypothesis that the classical action is proportional to this entropy. Under this assumption, we derive a Wick-rotated version of the path integral that remains