You Think You've Got Problems?Try Troubleshooting Quantum Mechanics

I'm currently reading (and would recommend) a beautifully written book that tells the story of the great physicists who produced the foundational theories of Quantum Mechanics. Faust in Copenhagen, by Gino Claudio Segrè, provides an intimate picture of the relationships and collaborative work of Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, Leise Meitner, Max Delbrück, Wolfgang Paulie, and Arnold Sommerfeld.

I wanted to take a minute to share a paragraph that resonated with me, and will likely serve as a reference and example for me as I continue to develop in my career. If you are working on solving some complicated problem, I think you will appreciate this situation and the approach to troubleshoot for a solution.

The situation was this: Werner Heisenberg was working on how to solve the problem that electrons should actually not be interpreted as orbiting around a nucleus; rather, that they "radiated" around the nucleus. He recognized that the elliptical path of the electron could not be "traced" as one may trace the path of a planet's orbit.

"Not having made progress in doing away with the orbit picture, Heisenberg decided to try looking at a simpler problem, thinking it might show him the way to proceed; a sort of test run before the big race. The problem he settled on was akin to the motion of electrons oscillating back and forth along a line, rather than on the more realistic and also more complicated elliptical paths they were thought to trace out. If he could find the means of describing the radiation in his model without explicit knowledge of the electron trajectory, he hoped it might suggest to him how to do away altogether with orbits."

My takeaway: As technologists, we are often faced with troubleshooting a problem that appears insurmountable. When you are struggling to figure something out, try breaking it down into smaller pieces. Simplify the concepts and attempt to solve for a smaller portion, which may lead to further clarification, rather than trying to identify the answer right away.

Remember: nobody said being brilliant (and you are brilliant!) would make things easier for you! The smarter you are, the more complicated your work will be (but of course!). So take a tip from some of the greatest minds: carve that elephant into some tiny bites, and maybe push those pieces around on your plate for a little while before you take on another portion. Most importantly, don't try to solve the big problems on your own! Collaborate with other great minds!

Good luck, Friend! Wishing you great insight and breakthroughs in your problem-solving endeavors this week!