this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 289 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

It's hard to explain quantum mechanics when you don't understand them.

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 220 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

It's hard to explain quantum mechanics even when you understand them.

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 125 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's a superposition of knowledge and ignorance.

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 91 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

The more you know the less you know

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 54 points 2 weeks ago

Congratulations, you’ve successfully explained quantum mechanics.

[–] BeanGoblin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This isn't even a joke, it's literally true in quantum mechanics.

[–] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 44 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Thank you for explaining the joke, I now know less.

[–] Klear@quokk.au 16 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

You know nothing, but you know precisely about what you know nothing.

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[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sometimes I get the sense that I have a clear picture of quantum mechanics. But when I look closer, it gets all blurry.

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[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 61 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

There’s an old joke about quantum mechanics professors starting their first lecture with something along the lines of “right now, some of you probably understand quantum mechanics. By the end of the semester, if I did my job right, none of us will understand it.”

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Iirc, it's a youtube video of an actual class

Edit: https://youtube.com/shorts/X4pehLRhFhI

[–] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If they're lucky they might understand kubernetes though.

[–] veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Or as the professionals call it, k8s

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[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 42 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I understand them! They perform oil changes on the quantum

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

They're so good they fix your car on the quantum level!

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Thats the joke!

[–] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 39 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

No one understands quantum mechanics

[–] hateisreality@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

You both understand and don't understand quantum mechanics at the same time... It's that simple, that is until such a point at which becomes known as to whether or not you understand or don't understand quantum physics and then some kind of quantum tunnel collapses?

No habla English

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[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That was the point, right?

[–] PartyAt15thAndSummit@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 weeks ago

It's hard to explain jokes when you don't understand them.

[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 72 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.

If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics.

Both quotes attributed to Richard Feynman.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 week ago (10 children)

I can do (some of) the maths, but I definitely can't explain why any of it is like that, or how it works.

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[–] pcalau12i@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The "weirdness" of QM all stems from a belief in "value indefiniteness," which is the idea that particles have no real properties when you are not looking at them, but suddenly acquire real properties when you look. If you believe that, then the question naturally arises, at what point do they acquire real properties precisely? What does "look" even rigorously mean? This issue was first brought up by John Bell in his article "Against 'Measurement'". The "answers" to this always fall into one of three categories:

  1. "Look" just means you become aware of it. This devolves into solipsism, because other people are also made up of particles, so they would have no real properties either until you become aware of them.
  2. "Look" is more of a specific physical process that measuring devices do. But this is vague without rigorously and mathematically defining what this physical process is, and if you do define it, then it's provable that no definition can be consistent with the mathematics of quantum mechanics. If we agree with the premise that "quantum mechanics is correct," then such an approach is trivially ruled out.
  3. There is no "look," systems never acquire real, observable properties at all. But then you run into Wittgenstein's rule-following problem. If the mathematical model never predicts that a system acquires real properties, then you can never tie it back to any real-world observation.

The "weirdness" stems from starting with an assumption that is not logically possible to make consistent in the first place and then developing dozens of "interpretations" trying to make it consistent, but none of the major interpretations are ultimately logically consistent if we agree that (1) objective reality exists and (2) quantum mechanics is correct (some may be argued to be consistent but only because they openly admit they're dropping off #1 or #2).

Feynman's belief in "value indefiniteness" stems from an argument he made here regarding the double-slit experiment and how probabilities should add together. I made a video here explaining why his argument does not work, but you can also read John Bell's paper here because von Neumann made a similar flawed argument and Bell gave a similar rebuttal to it.

If you just drop off "value indefiniteness" as an assumption, which has no justification for it in the academic literature, then all the quantum woo around quantum mechanics disappears, and the arguments over interpretations like Copenhagen or Many Worlds or QBism simply become superfluous.

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[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 69 points 2 weeks ago

Cropped so I get the authentic glaucoma experience.

[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 22 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

A delightful character arc.

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[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Fuck Reddit and Fuck Spez.

[–] locahosr443@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

We know, but it's getting a bit cringe now

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[–] Artisian@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago
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[–] blitzen@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 week ago (5 children)

My grandfather didn't die in Korea so that people could fight online like this.

[–] BoosBeau@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Oh same, my grandpa didn't die in Korea either. Twins!

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[–] tinfoilhat@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Every time my wife walks in on me peeing she just stares at my pecker and asks me "so how does it come out?"

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[–] slappyfuck@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I’ve read this like ten times and I think the joke might be that quantum mechanics are difficult to explain to everyone, of which women are obviously a subset. But maybe I’m doling out too much credit lol

[–] qarbone@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

The joke is that quantum mechanics are difficult to understand, so the commenter doubts their ability to properly explain it (to women). The replier assumed it was a dig at women's intelligence, not a reflection of the original commenter's intelligence and ability to explain.

I.e. a stupid person would have difficulty explaining anything to women.

[–] abysmalpoptart@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

To be fair, the original question did not clearly state it needed to be easy to explain to men. The only requirement was to be difficult to explain to women. So, technically, this answers the question as written.

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 week ago

And we all know that technically correct is the best kind of correct.

[–] IrritableOcelot@beehaw.org 7 points 1 week ago

No thats definitely the joke.

[–] Cypher@aussie.zone 7 points 1 week ago

Redditor failed the litmus test for misandrists

[–] JuliaSuraez@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

This is peak my phone is fighting for its life energy 😂

[–] Elentirmo@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago

I pretty sure magic is involved

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