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I was really into physics in college. After taking a course on chaos theory and one on advanced quantum mechanics, I started getting a very strong feeling that

by kapv89 10y ago

I was really into physics in college. After taking a course on chaos theory and one on advanced quantum mechanics, I started getting a very strong feeling that whole quantum mechanics is kinda BS(like its just a mathematical model, not a representation of reality, ala GTR). And that chaotic systems is where the key to understanding the quantum world is. So I took some time out to step back and see what my life would look like if I pursued physics, given the current state of affairs. Didn't like it at all. Dropped out, learnt programming, started a company this year, finishing up the product for first 10 customers, and have a very strong feeling that we are onto something big!

ZeroFries 10y ago
Everything you could possibly use to describe reality is a model. What else could it possibly be?
- drdeca 10y ago
  A model which is, in some sense "particularly appropriate" in addition to making good predictions?
- kapv89 10y ago
  A model you can talk about without mathematics. Which doesn't need mathematics to form an intuition about. STR and GTR are perfect examples of models which you can help even a layman develop an intuitive understanding of by just talking to them, without mathematics.
  - nilkn 10y ago
    You can certainly explain even something as sophisticated as quantum field theory to laymen if you take the right approach. Feynman did just this in his lectures on QED, now available in book form. He didn't use any math, even though he talked about his own solution to the entirely mathematical problem of renormalization in QED.
naveen99 10y ago
Quantum mechanics (physics) makes lots of testable predictions and has many real world applications. Starting with black body radiation: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_catastrophe https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_catastrophe Double slit experiment, Solid state physics, semiconductors. Mathematical models are not bs. I think you will need some bs to be successful at sales, but I wouldn't try to use quantum mechanics in sales.
- kapv89 10y ago
  You can talk about GTR to someone without the use of mathematics and explain to them that time moves differently at different speeds, and that gravity effects time. You cannot do that with quantum mechanics without bringing in a "probability wave", or a hypothesis that "maybe energy levels of systems are discrete", which anyone would agree doesn't make any sense by itself.
  - wodenokoto 10y ago
    That's a really poor argument. You can't demand that the universe works in easily comprehensible ways and discard a theory on how easy it is to explain without using math.
  - dsmithatx 10y ago
    If you wanted to talk to someone about Quantum Mechanics you can start with black body radiation, the photoelectric effect and wave particle duality and the experiments that lead to these discoveries. Then let's move on to precision tests of quantum electrodynamics done with low-energy atomic physics experiments, high-energy collider experiments, and condensed matter systems leading to the empirical evidence. To me saying Quantum Mechanics could be BS is like someone saying evolution is BS because, well it's just a theory. Let's ignore all the facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment and pretend that "scientific theory" means the same thing as saying "it's just a theory".

by kapv89 10y ago

ZeroFries 10y ago

Everything you could possibly use to describe reality is a model. What else could it possibly be?

drdeca 10y ago
A model which is, in some sense "particularly appropriate" in addition to making good predictions?
kapv89 10y ago
A model you can talk about without mathematics. Which doesn't need mathematics to form an intuition about. STR and GTR are perfect examples of models which you can help even a layman develop an intuitive understanding of by just talking to them, without mathematics.
- nilkn 10y ago
  You can certainly explain even something as sophisticated as quantum field theory to laymen if you take the right approach. Feynman did just this in his lectures on QED, now available in book form. He didn't use any math, even though he talked about his own solution to the entirely mathematical problem of renormalization in QED.

naveen99 10y ago

Quantum mechanics (physics) makes lots of testable predictions and has many real world applications. Starting with black body radiation: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_catastrophe https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_catastrophe Double slit experiment, Solid state physics, semiconductors. Mathematical models are not bs. I think you will need some bs to be successful at sales, but I wouldn't try to use quantum mechanics in sales.

kapv89 10y ago
You can talk about GTR to someone without the use of mathematics and explain to them that time moves differently at different speeds, and that gravity effects time. You cannot do that with quantum mechanics without bringing in a "probability wave", or a hypothesis that "maybe energy levels of systems are discrete", which anyone would agree doesn't make any sense by itself.
- wodenokoto 10y ago
  That's a really poor argument. You can't demand that the universe works in easily comprehensible ways and discard a theory on how easy it is to explain without using math.
- dsmithatx 10y ago
  If you wanted to talk to someone about Quantum Mechanics you can start with black body radiation, the photoelectric effect and wave particle duality and the experiments that lead to these discoveries. Then let's move on to precision tests of quantum electrodynamics done with low-energy atomic physics experiments, high-energy collider experiments, and condensed matter systems leading to the empirical evidence. To me saying Quantum Mechanics could be BS is like someone saying evolution is BS because, well it's just a theory. Let's ignore all the facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment and pretend that "scientific theory" means the same thing as saying "it's just a theory".