Over the years, I've intermittently attempted to understand the meaning of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics (don't we all?). I have no idea why, but for some reason, I really wanna get it. I wasn't a physics major, so it's hard to explain the curiosity. But not harder than explaining QM. I've asked all kinds of scientists and engineers to explain them in "layman's terms," but they can't do it. I think their brains are just too large and mine too apt for a pinhead.
Anyway, I finally came up with my own general simplifier: relativity is a way of looking at things when, from our perspective, they're way too large (universe, planets, etc.) and QM is a way of looking at things when they're way too small.
Yesterday, in between classes at SPU, I was recalling all this to a classmate. When we sat down in class, our professor had us watch a film on string theory (so named because after thinking about it you'll feel really strung out, and without drugs). In the movie, the narrator spent the first 30 minutes explaining relativity and QM with almost the exact same words I had used with my classmate.
I will need a new theory to explain how it is I could feel so proud of myself and even a little ingenious about something I don't even understand.
I need to take my brain out now and go soak it...
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Are you familiar with "QED (Quantum Electro-Dynamics)" by Richard Feynman? It's a book recording his attempt in a lecture to describe QM to a lay audience. If you're still seeking to grasp QM, and haven't read it, you might wish to take a look. Einstein's own "Relativity" has been acclaimed as understandable, but I don't have the personal experience with it that I do with QED.
Best Regards,
Pat Morrison, South Florida Church of Christ
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