Outbound Link Summary:
18 years ago
p3k dots

"The world is full of specialists nowadays, and there aren't that many people any more who try to understand large fractions of what physics is about. So it is going to take time for people to realize this is a much simpler way to teach physics, and that they can grasp a lot more of it than by today’s method. And some people have said, 'This is great—it never made any sense to me, which is why I quit being a physicist.'" – excerpt from an interview with carver mead (american spectator vol. 34, issue 7).

strange, in my mind i replaced physics with programming and physicist with programmer...

anyway, obviously here's a great and honest mind speaking. one of my favourite parts is about desconstructing the myth of schrodinger's cat (which in fact i totally digged as a young one):

"The idea that the observation of some event makes it somehow more 'real' became entrenched in the philosophy of quantum mechanics, and, like the other misconceptions, is said to be confirmed by experiment. Even the slightest reflection will show how silly it is. An observer is an assembly of atoms. What is different about the observer’s atoms from those of any other object? What if the data are taken by computer? Do the events not happen until the scientist gets home from vacation and looks at the printout? It is ludicrous!"

via the amazing ever-growing tinytalk.

btw. i linked to another version of the interview, hosted by caroline thompson who tries to explain "what is wrong with fundamental physics" and also collects references to people and ideas which "seem to have the right approach, that of asking new theories to explain rather than just predict, rejecting out of hand anything illogical".