Robert Crease observes at Physicsworld that the upcoming James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, is only one of many instances - some inaccurate or misleading - of "quantum" in our cultural discourse. To explain the ubiquity of the word, Crease invokes James Clerk Maxwell's observation that "the most absurd opinions may become current, provided they are expressed in language, the sound of which recalls some well-known scientific phrase."
More here.
Via 3 quarks daily.
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