I think one problem we have is that our minds want to collapse reality into something we can get our heads around.
I start with this mystery: Why should observation affect anything external like quantum behavior of an electron?
It's a good question, but it does have an answer.
Think about it like this. What does it take to observe an electron? More specifically, what does it take to observe the *location* of an electron (say, to answer which slit it goes through in the double slit experiment)?
Well, we cannot 'just look' because to 'look' means we are getting light (or something else) that somehow interacted with that electron and carries information about the position of that electron.
But, in order for that light to react differently to the different electron positions, the light has to have a wavelength short enough to distinguish the distances we are wanting (the distance between the slits).
The problem comes when we realize that small wavelength = high energy.
So to be able to distinguish between the two slits, we have to hit the electron with light of a small wavelength, which is thereby energetic. But this means that the electron was more affected by the collision of that light (photon). And, in fact, if the wavelength is amll enough to distinguish between the slits in a double slit experiment, the interaction with the light is strong enough to eliminate the interference pattern for the electron.
And this is the fundamental realization of ALL of quantum mechanics: in order to 'observe' something, you interact with it. More precision in the observation implies a stronger interaction which affects the thing you want to observe.
It isn't consciousness that makes the difference. It is the wavelength of the light used to observe the electron.
