Beyond Weird
Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different
- Contents
- Review Quotes

No one can say what quantum mechanics means (and this is a book about it)
Quantum mechanics is not really about the quantum
Quantum objects are neither wave nor particle (but sometimes they might as well be)
Quantum particles aren’t in two states at once (but sometimes they might as well be)
What ‘happens’ depends on what we find out about it
There are many ways of interpreting quantum theory (and none of them quite makes sense)
Whatever the question, the answer is ‘Yes’ (unless it’s ‘No’)
Not everything is knowable at once
The properties of quantum objects don’t have to be contained within the objects
There is no ‘spooky action at a distance’
The everyday world is what quantum becomes at human scales
Everything you experience is a (partial) copy of what causes it
Schrödinger’s cat has had kittens
Quantum mechanics can be harnessed for technology
Quantum computers don’t necessarily perform ‘many calculations at once’
There is no other ‘quantum’ you
Things could be even more ‘quantum’ than they are (so why aren’t they)?
The fundamental laws of quantum mechanics might be simpler than we imagine
Can we ever get to the bottom of it?
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index
"The intention of Beyond Weird, though, is not simply to provide a dummy’s guide to the theory, but to explore its underlying meaning. We know that the equations work, but what sort of world do they really represent? To tackle the question, he weighs up the competing interpretations, and the misconceptions, that have attached themselves to quantum theory in its 100-year history, finishing with more recent attempts to rebuild the theory 'from scratch', and new ideas that offer tantalising glimpses beyond. . . . [A] laudable achievement."
Physical Sciences: History and Philosophy of Physical Sciences | Physics and Astronomy | Physics--Popular Books | Theoretical Physics
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