The Paradise: A Metaphor for Quantum Mechanics I
The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge as Metaphors for the Wave Function and Measurement Summary This essay proposes a novel interpretation of the Edenic narrative through the conceptual framework of quantum mechanics, establishing systematic correspondences between biblical symbols and quantum-mechanical constructs. Through careful analysis of biblical texts and their mystical interpretations in Kabbalistic and Chassidic sources, combined with precise physical and mathematical formulations, I demonstrate how the Garden of Eden can be understood as a metaphorical representation of Hilbert space—the mathematical foundation of quantum mechanics. The essay develops four primary correspondences: (1) the Tree of Life as the quantum-mechanical wave function—representing superposition of all possible states; (2) the Tree of Knowledge as measurement—causing the collapse of the wave function to a single definite state; (3) Paradise as Hilbert space—the domain [...]