Week 2: reality · quantum
The Schrödinger equation
Read the equation as a deterministic linear law on a wave function in Hilbert space.
In this lesson
- Read the core idea (3 min).
- Walk through one worked example.
- Take the 4-question quiz; pass with 4/4 or better.
Hook
Quantum mechanics has one fundamental dynamical law: the Schrödinger equation. Everything else — Born's rule, the uncertainty principle, the famous paradoxes — sits on top of it. Read literally, the equation says nothing mysterious. It says the wave function changes over time according to a perfectly deterministic, perfectly linear rule.
The weirdness comes from refusing to take the equation literally. Maxime Desalle's argument is that if we just took it seriously, much of the mystery would dissolve.