MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Abstract: In this article, I examine three misconceptions in popular understanding of physics: the meaning of “quantum”, the role of Higgs boson, and the “zero gravity” environment in space. Aims at popular readers who are interested in physics and help them to avoid misconceptions in the future. The trending usage of “quantum” in advertising descriptions and other situations leaves many people impressed and confused at the same time. I’ll show how awkward some of these situations can be with the actual meaning of “quantum”. The discovery of Higgs boson sparked huge public interest but many media reports failed to explain the actual role and significance of Higgs boson. I’ll explain why its nickname “God particle” is a joke. Media reports related to space flights often mention the “zero gravity” environment. I’ll explain why zero gravity does not actually exist. With these examples in mind, I’ll offer a few suggestions to help readers avoid similar misconceptions in the future.

Reader Profile: I imagine that a difficult reader may have had a misconception for a while, in which case they can feel overwhelmed by my explanations.

Reader Response: I’ve always been reading from the media including CNN that the Higgs boson gives mass to everything, so I’m really surprised when you explain that’s not the case. How can these people from CNN and other news agencies call themselves journalists when they don’t even check their facts?! Maybe Noam Chomsky is right that the mainstream media does more to help control the population than to inform the population.

B -- these are three excellent cases. I might ask you to include "entanglement" under quantum. Can you look at that concept also? I hear that some people are using entanglement to explain the odd but persistent idea of homeopathy works because of the memory of water. Let me know.

Since you brought up Chomsky, you may want to know about one of his colleagues: Marshall McLuhan.

Do you find you can do this without math? Will this be natural language citation? You can use LaTex if you want to, including the numbers/Chicago citation. I think this might be useful to build credibility, including with your physics "eavesdroppers."