Layperson's Question -- The wave function requires observation to collapse?

[Se7enthSon]

TL;DR

If wave function requires observation to collapse, who or what may have been the observer during the billions of years before the emergence of life?

If wave function requires observation to collapse, who or what may have been the observer during the billions of years before the emergence of life?

 

[DrChinese]

Answer: The observation does not require a conscious observer to have the collapse.

 

[PeterDonis]

Moderator's note: Thread level changed to "I".

 

[pines-demon]

It depends in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. In some interpretations there is not even a collapse.

 

[Nugatory]

TL;DR Summary: If wave function requires observation to collapse, who or what may have been the observer during the billions of years before the emergence of life?

If wave function requires observation to collapse, who or what may have been the observer during the billions of years before the emergence of life?

You might want to try David Lindley's layman-friendly book "Where does the weirdness go?". It won't quite answer your question, but it will explain more about how we think about wave function collapse these days.

You might also google for "quantum decoherence", but most of what you find will be less layman-friendly.