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James_Miller comments on The Correct Contrarian Cluster - Less Wrong
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The math isn't actually -that- hard. It would be far better to apply yourself to learning it.
I have been told by physicists that it is.
But even if I could understand it, do you really think someone with an IQ below 100 could? Trust me, as a college professor I know that you need an above average IQ to have a good understanding of even calculus. So I can't imagine that the math behind quantum physics is accessible to over 50% of humanity.
C.f. above: You need an above-average IQ to learn calculus in spite of the American educational system. We have no idea what genetic IQ is required to learn calculus.
I've personally lowered the IQ needed to understand Bayes's Theorem by browsing online, and if I rewrote the page today I bet I could drop it another 10 points.
Please do.
From what I've seen of the actual math, if you can understand the content of a typical Calc 3 course (which covers multivariable calculus), you can understand the math of quantum mechanics. If you can get an engineering degree (which is not an easy feat, but it's something an awful lot of people manage to do), you should be smart enough to do quantum mechanics calculations.
Electrical engineering occasionally relies on quantum mechanical properties of semiconductors and other materials in their products. Then again, EE is one of the hardest engineering disciplines (or so I hear).
In many cases, engineers can get by with relatively simple empirical models to describe devices that depend on quantum mechanics to actually work. (Case in point: permanent magnets, which, according to classical electrodynamics, really shouldn't be able to exist.)
Consider the signaling incentives they have. Do physicists look better or worse if the math they do is seen as harder or as easier?
Contrariwise, I (like many people here) associate mostly with very smart people, so greatly overestimate average intelligence.