Anyone who can contemplate quantum mechanics without getting dizzy hasn't understood it.
Interpretation
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.
In practice
This quote can be used in a lecture to emphasize the challenges of teaching quantum physics.
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.'
An independant reality in the ordinary physical sense can neither be ascribed to the phenomenon nor to the agencies of observation.
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.
Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
When searching for harmony in life one must never forget that in the drama of existence we are ourselves both actors and spectators.
And anyone who thinks they can talk about quantum theory without feeling dizzy hasn't yet understood the first thing about it.
When, as we must often do, we fear science, we really fear ourselves.
My own experience of over 60 years in biomedical research amply demonstrated that without the use of animals and of human beings, it would have been impossible to acquire the important knowledge needed to prevent much suffering and premature death not only among humans but also among [other] animals.
There is no scientific reason to think that we, even with space travel, are going to survive as a species for ever, certainly not by biting off the hand that feeds us, which is exactly what we are doing.
It is better to have 100 functions operate on one data structure than to have 10 functions operate on 10 data structures.
Submit an agreement providing for the peaceful absorbtion of a celestial races in such a manner that our culture would remain intact with guarantee that their presence not be revealed." "One must consider the fact that mis-identification of these space craft for a intercontinental missile in a re-entry phase of flight could lead to accidental nuclear war with horrible consequences.
It is shameful that there are so few women in science. [...] In China there are many, many women in physics. There is a misconception in America that women scientists are all dowdy spinsters. This is the fault of men. In Chinese society, a woman is valued for what she is, and men encourage her to accomplishments yet she remains eternally feminine.
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