The virus.
Every person has value. We know this because Jesus, during Holy Week, which is what this is, washed his disciples’ feet. If it hadn’t been for this we would never have realised that every person has value. So thank the temporarily visible third of the Invisible Magic Friend for Holy Week.
Deeply relational. Key workers. The elderly. Ups and downs. Haves and have nots. Others.
The virus.
One of the longest serving presidents of the NSS, Barabara Smoker has died of cancer.
Barbara Smoker achieved a great deal in her long life. So it doesn’t surprise me that one little incident is omitted from the above link. At the end of WWII she was serving in the far east. On hearing of the Japanese surrender, acting on her own initiative, she informed British ships in the region of the news. She probably saved thousands of lives as a result.
Although I only met her a couple of times, I would very much like to have attended her funeral. That probably won’t be allowed at the moment. She sounded like a very remarkable woman.
There’s a virus, not created by the Invisible Magic Friend, about.
Which brings me to Holy Week. Has anyone mentioned Holy Week? I thought I’d mention Holy Week because it’s Holy Week. Holy Week is usually one of our biggest money spinners. Holy Week brings in big crowds and big Holy Week collection plates. This year we’ve got to do Holy Week in empty churches because of the virus, which has nothing to do with the Invisible Magic Friend.
Happy Holy Week everyone!
The Prime Minister is very ill. Which is exactly like Holy Week. I wasn’t going to mention Holy Week, but Holy Week is just so relevant to what’s going on. I bet everyone’s talking about Holy Week.
Normally we have to pretend to grieve during Holy Week. But for Holy Week this year thousands of extra families really are grieving during Holy Week. It just adds that extra bit of authenticity to this year’s Holy Week, making it an even better Holy Week even than most other Holy Weeks.
I better not sound too enthusiastic about Holy Week and how important Holy Week is. That’s why I’m delivering it in this slow, sombre voice, which is very appropriate for Holy Week.
Click to access maths_qm_v3.pdf
This is the third version of my short paper that tries to act as an alternative introduction to Quantum Mechanics (QM).
I’ve changed the title to the more provocative “Why Quantum Mechanics is (mostly) Obvious” in the hope of actually getting someone to read it. I’m keen to get it out there now in case I catch the covid-19 virus. (I have several high risk comorbidities and don’t fancy my chances if I do catch it).
I consider this paper to be, by far, the most important thing I’ve ever written. That may seem odd, since I also claim that there’s nothing actually new in it. All it does is set out the argument for QM in a different order from normal.
Almost without exception, QM is taught in something like the following order.
1. The failures of classical physics are introduced.
2. Some hand wavy justifications for QM are suggested.
3. The full mathematical structure of QM is then introduced as a series of assumptions.
4. It’s interpretation as a theory of probability is justified.
5. QM is applied to a wide range of problems.
This paper completely turns this on its head. It starts out with examples of simple random variables, such as the roll of a die or the spin of a coin, and shows how the mathematical structure of QM inevitably flows from them. The actual physical content that distinguishes quantum mechanics from classical mechanics is actually very small. Most of what I think most people regard as unique to QM is really just the mathematical model that surrounds this.
I’ve tried to make the paper accessible to final year school students or first year university students. In other words, to the very people who might be just about to embark on a first course on QM.
Comments are, of course, very welcome.
Platitude of the Day 