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Anyone who can contemplate quantum mechanics without getting dizzy hasn't understood it.
Niels Bohr
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Understanding quantum mechanics challenges our conventional thinking and can be overwhelming.

The quote by Niels Bohr humorously suggests that quantum mechanics is inherently complex and perplexing. It implies that if one can fully grasp its intricacies without feeling disoriented, they may have missed the true essence of its bewildering nature. This highlights the difficulty of comprehending concepts that defy everyday experiences and logical reasoning.

Themes

QuantumMechanicsUnderstandingComplexityScience

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a lecture to emphasize the challenges of teaching quantum physics.

More from Niels Bohr

When asked ... [about] an underlying quantum world, Bohr would answer, 'There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about Nature.'
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An independant reality in the ordinary physical sense can neither be ascribed to the phenomenon nor to the agencies of observation.
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An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.
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Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
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When searching for harmony in life one must never forget that in the drama of existence we are ourselves both actors and spectators.
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And anyone who thinks they can talk about quantum theory without feeling dizzy hasn't yet understood the first thing about it.
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