What the *Bleep* Do We Know?

[Ander]

My psychology teacher showed us this movie the other day in class, and I really thought it was a load of shit. I didn't catch it all because I fell asleep a few times but from what I understood it was typical religious garbage. I looked up the founder of the organization who made it and apparently she believes she is a medium who is possessed by a "Lemurian" warrior who led an army thousands of years ago. If that doesn't sound insane, then I don't know what does.

Now my teacher has assigned us to write an essay on what we thought about the movie. Has anyone else seen this, and what did you think? Could you also explain the main ideas a bit more, such as Quantum Physics/Mechanics/etc?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_Bleep_Do_We_Know%21%3F
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramtha

[liberationjunky]

I watched it in psychology too last year but I don't remember too much. I think it was a pretty good movie, some of the things I think we're completely BS though.

The whole movie is just questioning what reality is, and how its related with probability. It also, tries to find answers about how we observe life, how when we visualize an object and when we see an object very similar parts of the brain are stimulated. This leads to the idea that we actually create some of the things we consider to be objective reality.

I dont remember to much and am sure wikipedia has a much explaination so just look at that.

[which doctor]

The movie is available on video.google.com if anyone wants to see it.

I've seen bits and pieces of it.

It's very new-agey and metaphyical.

Interesting, but not necassairly reality.

[Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor]

I am a big fan of philosophy and critical thinking - even quantum mechanics interests me. The movie, however, I could not get through. Anyone with an interest in its topic has probably heard everything the movie hypes up as new and interesting. Either that or the realize that the scientists have a lack of philosophical knowledge - not realizing that evidence does not suggest proof or a lack of proof to the contrary. Many of the beliefs quantum mechanics has are refuted with epistemology, but, because science has a tendency to disagree other fields (especially the idea of them refuting science), no one thinks to question the scientific evidence.

Scientific evidence must be interpreted scientific, but, to interpret something scientifically, one should use philosophical and scientific methods of examination.

[Delta]

I've never seen it, but if you have any questions about quantum mechanics let me know :)

[RebelDog]

I've never seen it, but if you have any questions about quantum mechanics let me know

The entire physics community has a million questions about quantum mechanics!

[Cult of Reason]

I saw it a couple of months ago on obscuredtv.com (the only time that site has ever failed me) and was frankly bamboozled at how they connected some things to others. At the time however, my view was that I could not really comment as my knowledge of the subject is so small as yet (soon to be rectified :) ).

[ComradeRed]

Originally posted by The [email protected] 3 2006, 05:23 AM

I've never seen it, but if you have any questions about quantum mechanics let me know

The entire physics community has a million questions about quantum mechanics!
True, which is why I don't like the film. Everyone who's seen it that I know personally has an arrogant sense of "I know everything about QM there is to know."

:huh:

Drives me up the wall!

[bezdomni]

I haven't seen it, but I am pretty sure it (like most other films/books that try to make quantum physics into a metaphysical statement) tries to apply the events that occur on the micro-quantum level to the macro-level.

For example, I have heard people say "since you can't simultaneously know the position and the momentum of an electron, due to the electron changing its energy level when you observe it - then all of reality must be an observer-created reality!". This is false because it is applying something that is true on the microlevel and assuming (erroneously) that is is true on the macrolevel.

Schrodinger pointed this fallacy out with his famous thought expirment - it is absurd to assume that just because an electron can be both inside and outside of a closed environment that a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time.

Basically, don't take the movie seriously. It is an unscientific load of shit. In fact, most people who claim to know anything about Quantum Mechanics are full of shit (delta and comradered excluded).

"It has been said that only a few people actually understand relativity. I think this is an exagguration. However, I do not think it would be an exagguration to say that nobody understands quantum mechanics."
-Richard Feynman

[MrDoom]

Yeah, that movie was BS.