Probability, Physics, Plainview, iPhones and Forrests

In my previous post titled "What's the difference between probability and statistics?" on August 17th, I ended with the paragraph:

Probability also plays a big role in physics and quantum mechanics, which I find very interesting and will read about whenever I have some down time.  :-)  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probability_amplitude

I'd like to elaborate on that subject a bit further here.  And please bear with me, I will tie all 5 terms in the title together by the end of my post ...

Reading about physics is a hobby of mine, instilled in me by my terrific Plainview-Old Bethpage High School (POBHS) physics teacher by the name of Mr. Rubenstein.  Martin Rubenstein knew the subject well and he had a very funny and very subtle sense of humor.  Some of his best sayings were:

• Ladies and gentle-monsters ... I will now accept any questions.
• Do you *want* a punch in the mouth?
• I want it done ... immediately, if not sooner!
• Let's have a pig imitation ... Oink! Oink! ... Very profound! :-)
• You're a true scholar and a nice person.
• Mr Rigano ... or Miss Levy ... or Miss Stopeck ... or substitute Mr. Rubenstein's student of choice here ... You're *basically* a very nice person, *but* ...  :-)

Most of these sayings were quoted in the 1977 POBHS Yearbook in the Faculty / Science section, but I added a couple that I remember well at the end of the above list, which were not quoted in the Yearbook.

So, thanks to Mr. Rubenstein, I developed a life-long interest in physics.  And I *still* like to read books and articles about physics.  

Little did I know that one of my major fields of study in college, probability, would play such a large role in the most recent theories about physics and quantum mechanics.  In particular, I really enjoyed reading "Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics" some time around 1995, and "The Grand Design" in 2011.

First, I'll quote some background facts about Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics by Gary Zukav (Author), taken from http://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Wu-Li-Masters-Overview/dp/0060959681  The book was originally published in 1979 and its latest edition was published in late 2009.

Quoted verbatim from the above link on Amazon.com :

Amazon.com Review

At an Esalen Institute meeting in 1976, tai chi master Al Huang said that the Chinese word for physics is Wu Li, "patterns of organic energy." Journalist Gary Zukav and the others present developed the idea of physics as the dance of the Wu Li Masters--the teachers of physical essence. Zukav explains the concept further:

The Wu Li Master dances with his student. The Wu Li Master does not teach, but the student learns. The Wu Li Master always begins at the center, the heart of the matter.... This book deals not with knowledge, which is always past tense anyway, but with imagination, which is physics come alive, which is Wu Li.... Most people believe that physicists are explaining the world. Some physicists even believe that, but the Wu Li Masters know that they are only dancing with it.

The "new physics" of Zukav's 1979 book comprises quantum theory, particle physics, and relativity. Even as these theories age they haven't percolated all that far into the collective consciousness; they're too far removed from mundane human experience not to need introduction. The Dancing Wu Li Masters remains an engaging, accessible way to meet the most profound and mind-altering insights of 20th-century science. --Mary Ellen Curtin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The most exciting intellectual adventure I've been on since reading Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." -- -- Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

"This book is an extremely clear and easily understandable account of the latest developments in physics... -- --David Bohm, Professor of Physics, Birkbeck College, University of London, in Nature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

...

The Grand Design is a popular-science book written by physicists Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow and published by Bantam Books in 2010.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Design_%28book%29 and
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/77018/the-grand-design-by-stephen-hawking-and-leonard-mlodinow/

Quoted verbatim from the above link / reference:

About The Grand Design

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? What is the nature of reality? Is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion - or does science offer another explanation? In this startling and lavishly illustrated book, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow present the most recent scientific thinking about these and other abiding mysteries of the universe, in nontechnical language marked by brilliance and simplicity.

According to quantum theory, the cosmos does not have just a single existence or history. The authors explain that we ourselves are the product of quantum fluctuations in the early universe, and show how quantum theory predicts the “multiverse” - the idea that ours is just one of many universes that appeared spontaneously out of nothing, each with different laws of nature. They conclude with a riveting assessment of M-theory, an explanation of the laws governing our universe that is currently the only viable candidate for a “theory of everything”: the unified theory that Einstein was looking for, which, if confirmed, would represent the ultimate triumph of human reason.

Here are some good links that provide more details about the critical role of probability in physics:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_function
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probability_amplitude   

I don't pretend to understand all of this, but I do understand a decent amount of it.  More than enough to make it very interesting for me to read about!

But as my POBHS friends like to remind me and laugh about ... I was always pretty good at very complicated math and science, and "not so much" with "simple" things like following driving directions, replacing the wheels on my roller-hockey skates (back in the days where the ball bearings were not built into the new urethane wheels ... see http://www.skates.com/roller-skate-wheels-s/78.htm ), dancing of any kind without tripping over my own 2 feet, using *any* kinds of tools, or understanding or working on anything mechanical like cars, or smart phones, etc.  Thankfully, I've managed to become something "less than awful" in those "simple" activities over the years. Just ask my fellow Zumba classmates.   Seriously!

So that brings me full circle to the fourth term in the title on my post, iPhones!  Apple introduced the iPhone 5 to the public in late 2012.  See http://www.imore.com/iphone-5 for the details.  I first got an iPhone 5 for work purposes through my former employer, ion interactive, in early 2013 if I remember correctly.  I admit that I had "some" trouble getting comfortable with it.  :-)  I am a *bit* "old school" when it comes to technology and mechanical devices, as I mentioned above.  Aside from using it for work purposes, my main iPhone 5 activity during my off hours was to play Words With Friends!  :-)

I survived my childhood and a large portion of my adult life without using a GPS or a smart phone, believe it or not!!!  I only had an iPhone 5 between early 2013 and late 2014.  And I went "cold turkey" on smart phones for the past year, until I recently purchased my own iPhone 5s at the end of August, 2015.  What does an iPhone have to do with Probability or Physics?!?  I don't have a clue! But somehow, deep down, I know that there is a quantum-level relationship between the three topics.  It's just a gut feeling that I have.  See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBRKPoAPXEQ for a brief explanation of gut feeling ... and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X93u3anTco for a more detailed explanation! :-)

Which somehow reminds me of one of my all-time favorite actors and favorite movies, Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. ... Listen to Forrest in his infinite wisdom at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otm4RusESNU

And, as Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that!" :-)