[ETL]

but aren't photons bouncing off of it anyway whether they go into my eye or not? i guess my point is, i am not doing anything but looking at it,not trying to measure it - not affecting it in any way, scattered photons of light either enter my eye or they don't through nothing of my doing, if they enter my eye and i see them, how does that change it's state?

"The observer effect refers to situations in science where the act of observing a system has an impact on the system being observed. Checking pressure in a tire, for example, is done by causing a release of air which, in turn, causes a slight change in the tire pressure. This is a classic example. Scientists (especially psychologists) have to be especially careful when planning their research methods to avoid interfering with the results they intend to get.

In the realm of quantum physics, there's a more powerful form of the observer effect, as exhibited by the Schroedinger's Cat thought experiment and the quantum double slit experiment. It appears that in cases like these, the very act of making the measurement doesn't just modify the system, but actually results in fundamentally different physical behaviors within the system.

Also Known As: Quantum Observer Effect

Examples:

The quantum Zeno effect is an especially powerful example of the observer effect in action within quantum mechanics."

http://physics.about.com/od/physicsmtop/g/ObserverEffect.htm

[Chode]

but checking the pressure of a tire is a MEASUREMENT not an observation, LOOKING a tire and seeing it is soft is an observation...

that is why i ask if he is using the words interchangeably when they really are not interchangeable

one is active the other is passive like active vs passive SONAR

or am i missing something?

thx for putting up with me here