Quantum mechanics is a branch of science that Ken Wheeler views as his mortal enemy. Find out why the Angry Photographer doesn’t understand subatomic matter and energy and why his notions about these topics don’t contain a particle of truth.
Quantum mechanics is the study of matter and energy at the smallest, or subatomic, scale. Its involves at least three key principles.
Science shows that elementary particles, particularly electrons and photons, have both wavelike and particle-like properties. Experiments with elementary particles show both interference patterns like waves and discrete particle actions in measurements.
Secondly, scientists predict outcomes in quantum mechanics based on probability instead of certainty. Although they can’t foresee individual results, probability forecasts of multiple quantum events are eerily accurate.
Quantum Uncertainty Principle
The third essential quantum principle is the uncertainty principle. There are certain pairs of particle properties, especially position and momentum, that scientists can’t measure at once.
These principles are counterintuitive, yet they’re also incredibly accurate and sound. That’s what Richard Feynman meant when he lightheartedly said, “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.:”
Ken Wheeler has profound personal issues with quantum mechanics. He insists “there is nothing in nature that we could refer to as quantum.”
Quantum is a Quantity of Energy, Not a Unit of Measure
The Angry Photographer claims that scientists define quantum as “a quantity of energy. The actual definition of quantum, that physicists use in their work, comes from the Latin word “quantus” and it means “the smallest discrete unit of any physical property.”
The Theoria Apophasis host’s definition assumes that quanta are units of measure, like metres or grams. They’re not; they’re discrete physical units, like particles.
Based on his flawed understanding of what quantum means, Kentucky Ken proceeds to apply his definition to his fundamentally flawed explanation for all the forces of nature. He insists that quanta are merely measurements of ether perturbation modalities.
Michelson-Morley Experiment Disproved the Ether in 1887
As we explain in detail under Field Theory – Why Ken’s Wrong, the Michelson-Morley experiment disproved the ether’s existence in 1887. Something that doesn’t exist can’t have perturbations, modalities or even measurements.
The Angry Photographer constantly raises the point that quantum mechanics arose from the study of light. As we discuss in more detail under Light – Why Ken’s Wrong, he rejects the existence of the photon particles on which quantum mechanics is based.
According to the Theoria Apophasis host, light is also an ether perturbation modality. He claims that light isn’t a particle; it’s a wave in the ether.
Ken Insists That All Waves Are Mechanical
As such, in Kentucky Ken’s fantasy world, light contains no photons. He insists that all waves are mechanical; they’re “what something does, not what something is.”
Ken Wheeler reveres Charles Proteus Steinmetz as one of the “gods of field theory.” Steinmetz had this to say about the ether’s existence.
“The mistake which led to the hypothesis of the ether was that wave motions were the only waves known at the time when the wave theory of light was proposed, and so the question was asked ‘what moves in the light wave?’ And this moving thing was called ether.
“Light Waves Are Electromagnetic Waves” – Steinmetz
We have become familiar with waves which are not wave motions, but merely periodic phenomena The radio waves and light waves are electromagnetic waves, that is, periodic variations of the electromagnetic field in space.”
So, not all waves are mechanical disturbances in a medium. Electromagnetic waves don’t require a medium, and they consist of the fundamental elementary particles called photons.
Extending his false premise that quantum refers to a unit of measure, rather than a physical phenomenon, the Angry Photographer claims quantum mechanics arose from a contemporary scientific obsession with mathematics.
“Das Liquant” Means “the Liquid,” Not Quantum
Ken Wheeler incorrectly argues that the term “quantum mechanics” comes from the German “das liquant.” That would be German for “the liquid” and it has nothing to do with particle physics or measuring things.
The truth is that all quantum mechanical principles come from objective, scientific experiments. These include the famous double-slit experiment, the photoelectric experiment, the Stern-Gerlach angular momentum experiment, Bell’s quantum entanglement experiment and the quantum tunnelling experiment, many of which won the Nobel Prize in physics.
So, quantum mechanics isn’t some sort of mathematical formalism. Its equations come from sound, repeatable experimentation based on the traditional scientific method.
Quantum Mechanics Predicts Unanticipated Phenomena
More to the point, those results also predict phenomena their originators couldn’t have anticipated. More recent experimental findings align exactly with the mathematical principles behind quantum mechanics.
Because of its experimental verification and its dependable predictive power, quantum mechanics is the most successful theory in scientific history. It may be counterintuitive, but it works – again and again and again.
The YouTuber behind Theoria Apophasis raises another objection, denying that elementary particles could exhibit both wavelike and particle-like properties. According to Ken Wheeler, this is a “duality,” and “there are no dualities in nature.”
Nature Under No Obligation to Conform to Ken’s Expectations
Nature is under no obligation to conform to Ken Wheeler’s expectations. Quantum mechanics comes from direct observations of nature, and it predicts other natural phenomena, so its conclusions are sound.
Besides, many natural entities have multiple properties. Nature contains all sorts of dualities, including light and darkness, male and female, predator and prey, DNA’s double helix, action and reaction, matter and antimatter.
The real reason the Theoria Apophasis producer opposes quantum mechanics is his personal metaphysical beliefs. In ancient Greece, Plato believed in the ether as well as in reincarnation.
Atomists Didn’t Happen to Believe in Afterlife
Some of Plato’s rivals like Democritus and Epicurus, believed that matter consisted of atoms. As it happened, these “atomists” also didn’t happen to believe in an afterlife.
Readers may wonder what this has to do with contemporary particle physics. They’d be absolutely right in concluding that these ideas are completely unrelated.
Despite this, because he’s hopelessly devoted to Team Plato, Ken Wheeler has convinced himself that quantum mechanics = atomism = atheism = nihilism = evil. This is a leap of logic even Superman couldn’t manage.
Quantum Mechanics Founder a Devout Lutheran
For what its worth, the founder of quantum mechanics, Max Planck, was a devout Lutheran and not one of the Angry Photographer’s nefarious nihilists. Not that nihilists or atheists are evil in the first place.
It’s important that anyone interested in science disregard the Theoria Apophasis host’s misinterpretation of quantum mechanics. Anyone naive enough to follow Ken Wheeler’s pseudoscientific notions will have to unlearn them all to understand genuine particle physics.
After all, Ken Wheeler’s suppositions don’t contain a particle of truth.
Learn more:
What is QUANTUM? Honestly
CAN YOU SEE IT? Defunct Natural Order
Ken Wheeler is Wrong 