Can we Predict Everything?
Order your MinutePhysics TSHIRT! http://dftba.com/minutephysics Einstein didn't like quantum mechanics because it wasn't able to make perfect predictions... but science is not about what you...
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In our everyday world, we're used to absolute, deterministic predictions: throw a ball inthe air, and it'll fall along an ellipse; leave your umbrella parked on the street,and when you come back, it's still there, just one umbrella.Quantum physics is not like this - because quantum mechanics doesn't allow us to makeabsolute predictions about the future. It only predicts the likelihoods of differentoutcomes to happen, and doesn't say anything about which one will happen. "Well," you mightsay, "that's the same with the weather - the weatherman only tells you what the chanceof rain is; he can't tell you whether or not it will rain."But maybe the weatherman just doesn't have...
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In our everyday world, we're used to absolute, deterministic predictions: throw a ball inthe air, and it'll fall along an ellipse; leave your umbrella parked on the street,and when you come back, it's still there, just one umbrella.Quantum physics is not like this - because quantum mechanics doesn't allow us to makeabsolute predictions about the future. It only predicts the likelihoods of differentoutcomes to happen, and doesn't say anything about which one will happen. "Well," you mightsay, "that's the same with the weather - the weatherman only tells you what the chanceof rain is; he can't tell you whether or not it will rain."But maybe the weatherman just doesn't have...
