If you’ve heard or read about quantum mechanics, you may have seen it described as “weird.” Even the great Albert Einstein—one of the founders of quantum mechanics—called certain aspects of the theory “spooky.”

With its wave-like particles and particle-like waves, quantum mechanics certainly challenges our intuitions about how the world works. But accepting what’s counterintuitive to us—while striving to learn more—is an important part of science.

Quantum can seem intimidating because it deals with the granular and fuzzy nature of the universe and the physical behavior of its tiniest particles—ones we can’t see with our eyes. Just because we haven’t experienced the world of quantum the way we can see the effects of gravity doesn’t mean quantum has to be “weird” or “spooky.” 

The founders of quantum mechanics may have thought it was weird because it was different from the physics they were used to. But that was more than 100 years ago. Quantum just is the way it is!

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