Is What the Bleep Do We Know? Scientifically Accurate?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the scientific accuracy of the documentary "What the Bleep Do We Know?" Participants question specific claims made in the film, particularly regarding the double slit experiment and concepts related to quantum mechanics, such as the uncertainty principle.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses skepticism about the documentary, labeling it as filled with nonsense and questioning the accuracy of the cartoon scene depicting the double slit experiment.
  • Another participant asserts that while the documentary is largely inaccurate, it does contain some correct elements, specifically mentioning that a photon can be considered to go through both slits simultaneously in the double slit experiment.
  • This second participant notes that when a photon or electron is detected, it appears in only one location, and the interference pattern emerges over time as more particles are detected.
  • A participant mentions the uncertainty principle in relation to the basketball analogy presented in the film, questioning its validity even if the effects are minimal.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the documentary contains inaccuracies, but there is no consensus on the specific claims being discussed, particularly regarding the double slit experiment and the uncertainty principle.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes references to specific interpretations of quantum mechanics that may depend on definitions and assumptions not fully explored in the thread.

Dav333
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What the Bleep do we know!? Doco

Ive read that this video is filled with nonsense.

Is the cartoon scene with the oldguy explaining the double slit experiement correct?
What was that guy talking about how you can take a photo of something being in multiply (3000) places at once?
They talk about uncertainty principle with bouncing basketballs being in several places at once, is this true even if the effect is so small.

thanks
 
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Yes, the movie is mostly crap and yes, they do get a few things right. I don't know about the specific part, but for the double slit experiment, there are two things to note:

1. For all intents and purposes, a photon goes through both slits at the same time.
2. When it hits the wall/detector, it only hits in one place and the pattern builds up over time. This is evident from experiments firing single photons or electrons at a time.

All of this is discussed in the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment
 


thank you
 

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