路過波士頓火車站旁的一面牆，燈光打在牆壁旁邊的樹幹，生成了樹影，實景與陰影交錯，真真實實，難以分辨。是哪一個更加真實呢？
其實兩個都不真實，又兩個都一樣真實。從科學的角度來看，我們一般理解的「真實物體」，其實是一組物理屬性與感知的結合。樹幹是透過人類的大腦對感官輸入的處理結果。所以我們透過感官看得到，摸得著，聞得到，聽得到的都覺得是真實。但是倒影也是一樣確實存在的，它的存在是光線投射的結果，雖然它沒有獨立的實體，我們摸不著。
量子物理學說物質的本質其實是由微觀粒子組成，而這些粒子沒有固定狀態。在他們沒有被我們觀測時，可能是「波」的狀態，只有當我們觀測它時，它才呈現為「粒子」的狀態。所以我們所認為的「物體」，原來其實是根據我們的觀察條件決定的，物體存在方式與我們的觀測行為密切相關。從這個角度來看樹幹與樹影同樣是真實，就看你怎麼去觀察而已。
可能更有趣的問題應該是：「我們如何超越固有的想法與看法去理解這個世界事物的本質？」
Passing by a wall near Boston’s train station, I noticed how the light cast the shadow of a tree trunk onto the surface. The real tree and its shadow intertwined, both equally present yet indistinguishable. Which one is more real?
In truth, neither is completely real, and yet both are equally real. From a scientific perspective, what we typically understand as a “real object” is actually a combination of physical properties and sensory perception. The tree trunk is perceived as real because it is processed by our brain through sensory input—we see it, touch it, smell it, and even hear the rustling of its branches. However, the shadow also undeniably exists; it is a result of light projection. Although it lacks an independent physical form and cannot be touched, its presence is just as valid.
Quantum physics tells us that matter is fundamentally composed of microscopic particles, which do not have fixed states. When unobserved, they exist as “waves,” only collapsing into “particles” upon observation. This means that what we consider “objects” are determined by the conditions of our observation, and the way an object exists is closely tied to how we perceive it. From this perspective, both the tree and its shadow are equally real—it all depends on how we choose to observe them.
Perhaps the more intriguing question is: “How can we transcend our preconceptions and habitual ways of seeing to truly understand the essence of the world around us?”