How accurate is the quantum physics sequence?

Paul Crowley

Prompted by Mitchell Porter, I asked on Physics StackExchange about the accuracy of the physics in the Quantum Physics sequence:

What errors would one learn from Eliezer Yudkowsky's introduction to quantum physics?

Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote an introduction to quantum physics from a strictly realist standpoint. However, he has no qualifications in the subject and it is not his specialty. Does it paint an accurate picture overall? What mistaken ideas about QM might someone who read only this introduction come away with?

I've had some interesting answers so far, including one from a friend that seems to point up a definite error, though AFAICT not a very consequential one: in Configurations and Amplitude, a multiplication factor of i is used for the mirrors where -1 is correct.

Physics StackExchange: What errors would one learn from Eliezer Yudkowsky's introduction to quantum physics?

Prompted by Mitchell Porter, I asked on Physics StackExchange about the accuracy of the physics in the Quantum Physics sequence:

What errors would one learn from Eliezer Yudkowsky's introduction to quantum physics?

Physics StackExchange: What errors would one learn from Eliezer Yudkowsky's introduction to quantum physics?

From the profile of the person whose answer is currently the most upvoted one:

I have no PhD, I am almost entirely self taught. I like physics, but I think the professionals are, for the most part, completely incompetent. I have a lot of my own personal theories about physics which I like to spread online. I am unemployed and not by choice. Despite this, I consider myself to be the next Isaac Newton.

I wonder if and how the answer of a professional physicist would differ.

I think that he basically nailed it.

EDIT: I suspect that what he means by positivism is actually postpositivism.

7Luke_A_Somers14y

Ron doesn't seem to appreciate that the audience of these posts isn't interested in what Ron wants them to learn (which is, the mathematics of quantum mechanics), and for this audience, taking your time is not a problem. It seems like he has unrealistically high expectations of people...

49Mark_Eichenlaub14y

I'm pretty familiar with Ron Maimon, since I use Physics.Stackexchange heavily. He seems to have other things going on in his life that prevent him from being accepted by the physics community at large, but in terms of pure knowledge of physics he's really, really good. Every time I've read an answer from him that I'm competent to judge, it's been right, or else if it has a mistake (which is rare) and someone points it out, he thanks them for noticing and corrects his answer. When crackpots answer physics questions, they consistently steer away from the topic towards whatever their crackpot ideas are. Ron doesn't do that. Crackpots tend to claim things that are pretty much known to be impossible, and display little depth of understanding or willingness to talk about anything other than their theories. Ron doesn't do that. He also doesn't claim that he's being repressed by the physics establishment. He'll call professional physicists idiots, but he doesn't say that they're trying to hide the truth or suppress his ideas. And when he sees a professional physicist who comes on the site and writes good answers, he generally treats them with respect. He leaves positive feedback on good answers of all sorts. None of this fits in with being a crackpot. He does get into fights with people about more advanced theoretical stuff that's over my head. But when he talks about physics that I know, he does it extremely well, and I've learned a lot from him. He's more knowledgeable and insightful than most professional physicists. The stuff other users mentioned about his bible interests and his profile description is ad hominem. Anyway, if you are interested in what a professional physicist would say, I'm quasi-professional in that I'm a graduate student. My opinion is that the sequence, so far as I read it, is fine. I haven't finished reading it, so I didn't offer a comment before, but so far I haven't found any significant mistakes (beyond those real but relatively minor ones

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How accurate is the quantum physics sequence?

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How accurate is the quantum physics sequence?

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