A child knows that there are monsters under his bed; a literal believer in Bible knows that God created the Earth on September 17, 3928 B.C.; a Christian fundamentalist knows that blowing up an abortion clinic will send his soul to heaven after his death; Fritjof Capra wants to make you know that reality is untouchable, unseeable, unknowable, and therefore, unreal. . . . Once you step outside the domain of science, fantasy and reality become indistinguishable.

The E of E = mc^2 is always the energy of two or more real particles (with or without mass) that can either produce the m of the equation by binding themselves together, or be produced by the m as it decays into two or more real particles. There is no instance in nature in which mass transforms into energy (or vice versa) without some real observable particles carrying that energy. There is no connection between soul-matter equivalence of Eastern mysticism and energy-mass transformation of modern physics.

“Holistic approach” has become a trendy expression among New Agers and pop-spiritualists. Perhaps because of the homonymy of the first four letters of the phrase and the revered word “holy,” anything holistic has instilled in the collective mind of the public a sense of reverence matched only by religious devotion. Some people experience an almost divine connection with holistic medicine, holistic treatment, holistic clinic, and holistic food. Some scientists even speak of the oxymoronic phrase "holistic science." However, it is crucial to realize that the antipode of holistic method, reductionism, has been indispensable in the growth of science in all human history.

The will of the scientifically challenged masses gives a democratic power to nonsense that far outweighs the autocratic power of the Church in the Dark Ages.

Forced by a highly abstract mathematical idea, a theorist predicts a particle
that should exist in nature. He gives all the necessary properties of the particle so that experimenters learn how to look for it . . . They do, and they eventually find it. How could this be? How can mathematics, especially the mathematics of Lie groups, which is after all the product of the human mind, find its way into the workings of nature. It is a mystery that Einstein pondered about and Wigner called “the unreasonable efficacy of mathematics.” It is a mystery that we may never solve. But one thing appears to emerge from the history of physics: the language of nature is mathematics, and the deeper we dig into the unknown, the more abstract the mathematics becomes.

To the disappointment of my readers, I have to insist on the inseparability of physics and mathematics; and I hope the preceding excerpt eases that disappointment. I can soothe your desire to learn physics by saying “you don’t really need math to understand physics” – as do many physics enthusiasts, New Age gurus, and unfortunately, professional physicists – but I’ll be dishonest with you. And I’d rather tell you the truth, as sour and discouraging as it may be, than make you feel good.

"This book deconstructs and debunks the lucrative and widespread marriage of quantum physics with pop-spirituality while tracing this pernicious strain of pseudoscience to its source: the founders of quantum theory themselves. The “spookiness” of quantum properties like uncertainty and entanglement has proven fertile ground for new-age mystics and alternative medicine advocates who saw a way to put a scientific veneer on their claims. In the early days, the founders, having a rapport with Eastern thought, accused quantum physics of having an affair with consciousness. Later, Taoism and Wu Li were quantized. Then ancient Indian medicine, Ayurveda, morphed into “quantum healing.” The climax came when The Oprah Winfrey Show told its viewers: think about losing weight, making more money, and falling in love, and you’ll become thin, wealthy, and happily married . . . all based on quantum physics. Criticism of the pseudoscientific misappropriation of quantum physics has been widespread but inadequate; thus far, the scientific community has failed to account for its own role in the propagation of quantum mysticism. As well as thoroughly exploring and debunking quantum mysticism, this book traces its development and pulls no punches in exposing the unwitting role of quantum theory’s founders in propagating quantum mysticism."

Philosophy is the opinion of the philosopher,

The back cover text:

Objectivity is alive and well.

Quanta in Distress does not disprove, degrade, or attack any belief system. It respects the freedom of an individual to practice Christianity, Judaism, Islam, shamanism, yoga, meditation, voodooism, or any other article of faith. Its purpose is to lay bare the falsehood that quantum physics is somehow associated with Far Eastern theosophy and pop-spirituality. "But why single out Eastern thought? Why haven't you picked on Islam, Judaism, or Christianity in the book?", you may ask. The answer is simple: I have not seen or heard of a book titled The Torah of Physics, or Quantum Hadith, at the same time that there are hundreds of titles linking quantum physics with Eastern theosophy.