So you’re saying that things can’t exist unless they have a PLACE to exist. In these cases, that “place” is the observer.
It’s the “tree falls in a forest” koan.
I think the important thing to realize is that our current concept of reality is flawed in that we have this perception that “the speed of light” is the necessary upper limit on interactions. From the example i have given in regard to the radiation of IR in a hard vacuum it is clear this is not the case. The fact that the photon cant leave until it has a place to go means there is an instantaneous interaction between the atom that radiates and the one that receives but in spite of that immediacy the photon cannot actually transfer that energy any faster than the speed of light. It is like there are two different things going on. In regard to the ability to transfer the energy it is like the two atoms are in direct contact but in the actual transfer they are in different locations. IMHO the issue you mention about needing a place to exist and that place is the observer is an imaginary metaphysical conundrum that exists only because of our limited understanding. IOW we are being distracted by something that is unimportant and failing to see what is staring us in the face. The question about the tree falling in the forest is man’s attempt to put himself at the center of the Universe IMHO.
I read it as a form of energy generally thought to roam free can’t move in space/exchange its energy until a spot somewhere else has already received it. The delay should be measurable by the speed of light for the transmission of the energy wave/particle, but the final effect (heat transfer) occurs instantaneously—even if totally across the universe.
It has a parallel with entanglement.