I have been thinking about this a bunch recently and researching it a bit, both without good effect

I mean the observer effect, not the towel. 

I could use a little guidance 

What counts as observation? How does it play out if you make a cat observe? A fly? A camcorder? Is the effect binary or can some kinds of weak observation create semi-wave-semi-particle behavior?

Assume I am clueless on the subject but will be able to carry myself forward with a curated list of articles or search terms

@nicom has some awesome explanations here, but to dumb it down a bit, "observer" in this context is basically someone blasting the target with a spotlight to get a good look at it. This affects the target.

Measuring the momentum changes the position, and measuring the position changes the momentum. ✨uncertainty✨