Blending Physics and Literature: Analyzing Quantum Uncertainty Principle and Identity Fluidity of Military Children With Case Report

Abstract

Integrating physics and literature bridges the gap between the sciences and the humanities and accentuates the interconnectedness of knowledge. Blending the two different domains in the study allows the use of scientific principles as metaphors to deepen the understanding of complex human experiences. The study traverses the intersection of physics and literature by applying the quantum uncertainty principle to the analysis of identity fluidity in Rebecca Honig’s ‘Something Small’. It focuses on the experiences of military children, whose identities are often shaped and altered by the unique challenges of an unpredictable lifestyle. Centered around the concept of quantum uncertainty principle that certain elements of a system cannot be understood with certainty concurrently, the study adds on a case report of an eighteen year old female and focuses on how military children’s identities are changeable representations of the uncertainty and unpredictability that dominate their lives. The aim of the study is to examine the identity fluidity of military children in ‘Something Small’ through the lens of quantum uncertainty principle.