Log24

Peter Woit this afternoon on "The Terrifying Power of Mathematics" —

"… the quantum field theory of fields satisfying the Dirac equation.
Here there’s a standard apparatus of how to calculate given in
every quantum field theory textbook. These standard calculations
involving Dirac gamma-matrices fit well with Feynman’s 'physicists
finding they have the correct equations without understanding them
have been so terrified they give up trying to understand them'."

For a definition of these matrices, see . . .

Weisstein, Eric W. "Dirac Matrices."
From MathWorld — A Wolfram Web Resource.
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/DiracMatrices.html —

"The Dirac matrices are a class of 4×4 matrices which arise
in quantum electrodynamics. There are a variety of different
symbols used, and Dirac matrices are also known as
gamma matrices or Dirac gamma matrices."

For related religious remarks, see "Physics for Poets"
( Log24, April 20, 2022 ).