I have a math background, no physics. Whenever I try educating myself about this stuff I get hung up on the contradictions and can't/don't want to just take certain concepts as given in order to understand more advanced concepts.<p>For example (from the pdf of the intro to this course, <a href="https://courses.edx.org/c4x/BerkeleyX/CS-191x/asset/chap1.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://courses.edx.org/c4x/BerkeleyX/CS-191x/asset/chap1.pd...</a>):<p>"Logically, we can ask which slit the photon went through, and try to measure it. Thus, we might construct a double slit experiment where we put a photodetector at each slit, so that each time a photon comes through
the experiment we see which slit it went through and where it hits on the screen. But when such an experiment is performed, the interference pattern gets completely washed out! The very fact that we know which slit the photon goes through makes the interference pattern go away."<p>I read that and say, really? The fact that we <i>know</i> about it? How does the photon know that we know about it?
I always feel like this is just a layman's way of describing what happens, but there is actually a more rigorous understanding among physicists. Is that the case? Because after reading that sentence I want to stop right there and redo that experiment until we figure out what's really going on.