[2012-Jun-01] Quantum Leap

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carlaron
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[2012-Jun-01] Quantum Leap

Post by carlaron »

I've had people (my very intelligent but anal-retentive uncle for one) give me grief over the phrase "quantum leap" before, and I suppose that most of the time people don't really think about what they're saying when they use it, and they often use it to mean a large change.

However, I think the phrase has a meaning that is very close to the way people often use it.

A "quantum leap" originally referred to "Atomic electron transition" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_electron_transition

A quantum leap is a transition from one state to another, without passing through intervening states. Electron states are often visualized as "higher" or "lower" orbits, so in that sense, the leap is from one location to another.

So while a quantum leap is actually very small in a scalar sense, you could say that it represents a change with infinite slope, or a movement with infinite speed.

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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Oldrac the Chitinous »

Quantum Leap is a TV show, NERD.
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Salacious Schoolmate »

Surely a nerd would know about the tv show.

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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by DonRetrasado »

Oldrac the Chitinous wrote:Quantum Leap is a TV show, NERD.
The most significant television event in history...
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Kaharz
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Kaharz »

And one of the worst series finales ever.
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Kimra »

Kaharz wrote:And one of the worst series finales ever.
Clearly you haven't seen Evangelion, or Alf, or Twin Peaks... there are some doozies out there.

(Alf only gets a mention because I read a cracked article once telling me he ended up being caught by the cia/fbi and being experimented on forever more. Considering I hated him and his cat eating, I think this was actually a good end.)
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by DonRetrasado »

Kimra wrote:
Kaharz wrote:And one of the worst series finales ever.
Clearly you haven't seen Evangelion, or Alf, or Twin Peaks... there are some doozies out there.
The second season of Twin Peaks was riddled with problems from the start, though. I don't know if you can blame all of it on Lynch's reduced role but that's probably part of it. There were tons of side-plots that went no-where and a sudden focus on the supernatural that detracted from its excellent characters. They also revealed the killer early and abruptly, which killed the series. I really enjoyed Ben Horne as a confederate general (and his eventual redemption) though.
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Kimra »

It has been over 15 years since I have seen Twin Peaks. I think maybe I don't remember much of it anymore.

The end though? That lingers.
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Salacious Schoolmate »

I liked the Black Lodge and everything else, that was great.

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Kaharz
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Kaharz »

Kimra wrote:
Kaharz wrote:And one of the worst series finales ever.
Clearly you haven't seen Evangelion, or Alf, or Twin Peaks... there are some doozies out there.

(Alf only gets a mention because I read a cracked article once telling me he ended up being caught by the cia/fbi and being experimented on forever more. Considering I hated him and his cat eating, I think this was actually a good end.)
I just said "one of the worst." Those others are pretty bad, except for ALF. That was the way it should have ended in my opinion.

I remember reading at the time that the ending of the Quantum Leap was the terrible piece of crap it was because another network, had expressed interest in picking it up and continuing to make new episodes. Not sure if that is true or if I'm remembering it correctly since it has been 20 years.
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Well, I was expecting...

Post by Guest »

Quick! I need a term that actually means something very small, but which people thing means something large and significant!
(later):
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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by Salacious Schoolmate »

I don't know if there's any right way for this joke to be delivered, but this is not it.

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Re: [2012-June-1] Quantum Leap

Post by jnetos »

Yes a 'quantum' is a discrete unit. Quantum mechanics is the study of things that change discrete states, instead of continuous states. The saying is completely unrelated to quantum mechanics.

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