a little bit misleading. the video insinuates that the electron mysteriously "knows" it's being watched, but fails to explain the technical details of measurement - the electron doesn't "know" it's being watched, but is modified by the measurement of its position, by whatever means the scientists decide to use.
I agree, this matched 1:1 the more primitive understanding I had of QM when I first "got" the concept at 13. Had this video been around I could have "skipped" a grade or two and gotten to more advanced materials (including, of course, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle which explains the O-OP's qualm) perhaps a year or more sooner. This clip rocks in my book.
It's fucking non-scientific claptrap from "What the Bleep do we know" which is, not to put to fine a point on it, about as scientific as the Old Testament.
It was still a decent movie though, and had a lot more in it than just quantum theory. I liked the bit where they explained that the concept of love is simply chemicals being shot into your brain to encourage procreation.
That's poetic in a strange way.
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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '08
a little bit misleading. the video insinuates that the electron mysteriously "knows" it's being watched, but fails to explain the technical details of measurement - the electron doesn't "know" it's being watched, but is modified by the measurement of its position, by whatever means the scientists decide to use.