Misunderstanding Quantum Physics at a Deeper Level

It’s quite common in physics to hear that no one understands quantum mechanics and that the only possible way to teach it can be summed up by the phrase “shut up and calculate.” Among the general public, there are a number of misleading metaphors circulating, the best known of which is Schrödinger’s cat, but sometimes also the uncertainty principle, Heisenberg’s microscope, or Wigner’s friend. In this presentation, we will make a modest attempt to distinguish between what can be understood in quantum physics and what remains unknown. We will see that quantum mechanics occupies a very special place halfway between philosophy and physics—a realm where concepts such as knowledge, determinism, reality, and the role of the experimenter must be defined in order to begin to glimpse an explanation for the strange phenomena that quantum physics manages to predict with disconcerting ease.

This event is open to the general public and does not require registration (but please note that our seating is limited). The event will be followed by a reception in the Piano Lounge, Graham House.

Co-organized with the French Embassy in Canada.

Dr Anthony Ayari is a senior researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), based in the Physics Department of the University of Lyon at the Light and Matter Institute. His research explores the behaviour of matter and electrons at the atomic scale, where classical and quantum physics intersect. He earned his PhD in Physics from Université Grenoble Alpes, France, with a focus on exotic electronic states in cryogenic environments. Following his doctoral studies, Dr Ayari joined the Nanoscience Group in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland (USA) as a research associate, where he conducted pioneering work on ultrathin transistors. In Lyon, his research on vacuum electron sources achieved record-high-temperature quantum emission and enabled the creation of highly coherent electromechanical devices, leading to multiple patents and collaboration with industrial partners. Dr Ayari serves on the scientific steering committee of the Center for Nanoscience and previously chaired the NanoElectroMechanical Systems committee at the Observatory for Micro and Nanotechnology.

Dr Ayari will be in residence at Green College for three months, beginning in early September 2026. During this time, he will be working in collaboration with Dr Alireza Nojeh, in UBC’s Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute. His residency is in partnership with the French Embassy in Canada.