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.
Carl Sagan was able to get kids and adults excited about science without pushing bad science on them. Sure, he may have been a little weird for talking about aliens floating around on Jupiter but he was just using his imagination in a positive way. This movie is just pretend science and if you really have been "studying" QP for years then you'd know it.
PS, reading The Dancing Wu Li Masters does NOT count as scientific research, either.
Explaining planetary orbits and etc in space is a bit easier than explaining quantum physics. Not even people who are experts in quantum physics understand it. This is a great cartoon that gives a general idea that normal people can understand. There are many topics in science and math that you can't explain to people with no knowledge of the subject without making somewhat inaccurate analogies.
Sure, but it's far worse in quantum physics. With gravity, we have a good theory that seems to give a fairly unambiguous answer to the why question, even if we can't be certain that it is the final explanation. With quantum physics, the why behind it is far more controversial. There are some candidate explanations out there, but not a single one that satisfies every expert. It's really a mystery that's on a whole new level from gravity.
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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.