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Lately, I've been obsessively reading posts about quantum physics on the question and answer site Quora, where ordinary dullards such as myself ask questions like, "How is it possible for an electron to be in two places at the same time?" Legitimate physicists then try to answer. I care because I have the strong sense that the weird nature of the sub-microscopic world, if comprehended, would unlock. Or at least shed light upon the true nature of the macroscopic world we all inhabit.
We've all heard the rumblings: Light is both a particle and a wave, simultaneously. Particles are nowhere and everywhere—until some consciousness actually goes looking for them, at which point they magically coalesce into a distinct position—suggesting that to some degree our minds actually create reality, as opposed to merely observe it.
Also, if they are "entangled" at their creation, elementary particles can be light years apart and yet somehow "know" what novel condition their partner particle is in, and mimic it. These weird attributes of what's called the standard model of modern physics have been used to justify all sorts of woo-woo New Agey beliefs in everything from mind-reading to bizarre synchronicities to reincarnation—and anything else that defies rational explanation.
Therefore, all you seekers out there, I can save you a lot of time. After weeks, months, and years of reading every learned explanation I can find, desperately trying to develop an intuitive sense that I can apply to understanding our everyday world, I came upon something that really summed things up. It was from one of the most articulate stalwarts of the Quora physics space, Viktor Toth.
“Intuition is of little use here: the math works, our predictions are beautifully confirmed by experiment, but the moment you try to relate concepts to everyday experience through intuition, the essence of the theory is lost. Intuition, in my experience, is fundamentally incompatible with the quantum theory, so if you seek to understand the theory, the math is essential and intuition is, at best, irrelevant, but more likely an obstacle.”
