Quantum physics is one of the most complex scientific fields ever created, and its exploration is far from complete.

Quantum physics forces us to rethink how uncertainty, perception, and change work in the real world. And we, as biological organisms, live in that world.

So when quantum scientists discovered how particles behave, they also indirectly enable us to make some parallels why our brain struggles, why stress rises abruptly, and why human behaviour is far less predictable than we wish it were.

And to start with, Quantum physics proves that uncertainty is is a law of nature

In 1927, physicist Werner Heisenbergdemonstrated something astonishing: you cannot know everything about a particle at once. If you measure its position precisely, you lose precision on its speed (speed times mass). If you measure its speed, you lose precision on its position. This is not a limitation of our tools. It is how nature works. It is a built-in property of matter.

The parallel we can make is that uncertainty is built into the structure of reality; therefore it makes sense to learn to cope with it. This is where modern psychology joins the conversation.
In 2016, researcher R. Nicholas Carleton showed that humans do not suffer because uncertainty exists: they suffer because they cannot tolerate it. Our brain is wired to crave prediction. Predictability equals safety. Lack of prediction equals threat. While at the lower level – e.g. particles – the world is built on uncertainty. So if even the universe does not offer certainty, let’s cope with it – rather than go against it and seek for certainty.

In years 1920s, another discovery of quantum physics came from experiments by Thomas Young, then expanded by Niels Bohr. Light behaves differently depending on whether you observe it.

When nobody watches, it behaves like a wave: fluid, free, unpredictable. Individual particles (electrons, photons, atoms) are even in to places at once. It is called the “wave-particle duality”, where one particle can be in different states at once.... when you do not observe it! And the moment you observe it, it behaves like a particle fixed, measurable, more rigid.

Our simple attention modifies the outcome.

In 1926, Max Born also demonstrated that quantum mechanics does not give certainties. It gives probabilities. There again, the outcome is not certain. The universe is not fully predictable. It follows likelihoods, trends, possibilities — not fixed outcomes. The future is inherently probabilistic.

Why is this so important?

Because humans - just like anything else – are formed of particles. So this would mean that physically, deep down, we do not behave the same when watched.
Such effect can also be observed at macro level. Psychology calls this the “observer effect,” and it shows up everywhere: job interviews, performance reviews, public speaking, family pressure, even medical exams.

We tense up.
We freeze.
We make mistakes we never make alone.

And no, it is not “just in our head.”
Quantum science shows that even physical systems change under observation.

In 1935, Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen discovered the notion of “entanglement”. Two particles can become so connected that changing one instantly changes the other, even if they are far apart.
Later, John Bell proved mathematically that this effect is real.

Neuroscience calls this co-regulation: nervous systems influencing each other, often without words.

Quantum entanglement gives us a scientifically elegant metaphor: systems — whether particles or humans — do not function in isolation. We affect each other deeply, rapidly, and sometimes non-linearly.

This is for instance why a stressed leader can destabilize an entire team. Or why one grounded person can calm a room.

Quantum physics also demonstrated that electrons do not slowly move from one energy level to another. They “jump.”
Instantly.
Abruptly.
All at once, when a threshold is reached.

We can argue that human stress follows the same principle. Psychology calls this nonlinear response or catastrophe theory.
You can handle pressure for days, weeks, months…
And then one moment — without warning — you snap.
You cry.
You shut down.
You burn out.

Maybe because you just reached your natural threshold?

In addition, in quantum theory, a particle can exist in multiple possible states at the same time.
It is not here or there — it is both — until something forces it into one state.
Physicists like H. Dieter Zeh and Wojciech Zurek later explained how these multiple possibilities then “collapse” into a single reality.

And that opened a big question, which science has not been able to answer yet: why is time not a quantum observable like everything else? How can something be in two places at the same time?

This is a beautiful analogy for human decision-making. Before a big decision, we often hold contradictory states inside us. We imagine several futures at once.

Ambivalence is a natural state of a complex system — including us!

To summarize, Quantum physics is a whole new field of science, which evidences that uncertainty is natural, not dangerous. Being observed changes behaviour of atoms. Reality unfolds in probabilities — not fixed plans. Systems influence one another. Change happens in sudden leaps — not linear steps. And holding multiple states before choosing is normal — not a flaw.

And because we are biological beings built of particles, living in the same world these laws describe, understanding them gives us new perspectives on ourselves.

One important note though as we conclude: quantum effects happening inside the brain at the psychological level remain unproven. While we can make some parallels, there is no consensus on whether quantum phenomena scale up to complex cognition.

At this state of progress, Quantum science reminds us that the universe is complex, non-linear, unpredictable… and so are we!

The main contributors to this science are: Werner Heisenberg, R. Nicholas Carleton, Thomas Young, Max Born, Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen or more recently Etienne Klein or Philippe Guillemin