Chapter 226: Dictionary and Poetry

Heisenberg’s paper, published in the commemorative special issue of “The Journal of Magical Theory,” did not immediately ignite the passion of the academic world.

What greeted it was a week-long argumentative silence.

Subsequently, this silence transformed into a wave of confusion and anger that swept through the entire royal capital.

***

In the library of the National Magic Academy, several young apprentices sat around a long table, the brand-new issue of “The Journal of Magical Theory” spread out in the center.

“Just what on earth is this supposed to be?” one apprentice asked, clutching his hair in agony.

“Position is a matrix? Momentum is also a matrix? So, is the force of a kick I deliver nothing more than a table filled with numbers?”

“Don’t ask me; I couldn’t understand a thing starting from the very first formula on the first page.” Another apprentice pointed at the paper.

“This p times q not being equal to q times p… was the person who wrote this taught math by a necromancer?”

“I heard the author, Heisenberg, is a senior about to graduate from our academy.”

“For real? Then he must have suffered some kind of trauma from his graduation thesis and gone mad.”

Similar scenes played out in every mage tower and every research lab in the capital.

The vast majority of mages spent their entire lives dealing with a visual, intuitive physical world.

The fireballs they conjured were spherical, the lightning they released moved in lines, and the shields they constructed had clear boundaries.

Now, a paper was telling them that the underlying microscopic particles constituting all of this—their position and momentum—were actually abstract matrices that didn’t even obey the commutative law of multiplication.

This was beyond their scope of understanding.

How could physics not have an image?

How could it be reduced to nothing but pure mathematical operations?

***

A week later, the first to launch an attack were the two reviewers who had initially given negative evaluations.

Master Albin of the Royal Academy of Sciences published an article in “The Truth,” with a provocatively titled piece: “Matrices, or Witchcraft? — A Critique of a Dangerous Mathematical Game.”

In the article, he scathingly denounced Heisenberg’s theory as a “betrayal of physics.”

He argued that a theory which abandoned all physical intuition in favor of a pile of mathematical symbols was no different from the “Digital Divination” banned by the Magic Association three hundred years ago.

The other reviewer, Master Lorentz, was even more direct.

He stated publicly, “I cannot imagine how we are supposed to aim at an enemy using a matrix.”

“Perhaps Mister Heisenberg can do it, but I cannot.”

“I suggest he pays a visit to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries; they always have beds ready for those with disordered thoughts.”

The declarations of the two masters immediately provided a vent for the confused and angry mages.

For a time, the academic circles of the capital were filled with denunciations of Heisenberg and his “matrix mechanics.”

The Editor-in-Chief of “The Journal of Magical Theory” came under immense pressure.

Many senior mages signed a joint letter demanding he retract the paper and issue a public apology, accusing him of irresponsibly publishing the “ravings of a madman” for the sake of a commemorative gimmick.

Faced with the surging tide of public opinion, the twenty-two-year-old Heisenberg was pushed to the center of the storm.

To quell the controversy and provide him with an opportunity to defend his theory, the Royal Magic Academy organized a public academic report session.

On the day of the session, the academy’s largest lecture hall was packed to capacity.

The aisles and doorways were crowded, and there were even several high-ranking mages using spells to suspend themselves outside the windows.

Among them were curious students and puzzled scholars, but even more were opponents who had come with scrutiny and malice.

Master Albin and Master Lorentz sat squarely in the middle of the first row.

Heisenberg, wearing a faded academic robe, stepped onto the podium looking slightly nervous.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

He began to explain his theory, starting from the experimental data of atomic spectra, moving to the failure of classical theory, and then to how he was inspired by Professor Lia Farrien to try and construct a theory based on “observables.”

Soon, the blackboard was covered with dense matrix formulas.

The expressions of the audience shifted from initial seriousness to bewilderment, and finally to impatience.

“Mister Heisenberg,” Master Albin stood up after the core commutation relation was explained, interrupting him.

“Please use the language of physics, not mathematical symbols, to tell us: when an electron transitions from one orbit to another, where exactly is it during that interval?”

Heisenberg froze.

“Master, according to my theory, the concept of an ‘orbit’ does not exist for an electron, let alone a ‘transition process.’ It simply jumps from one stationary state to another; the process is instantaneous.”

“Instantaneous?” Master Albin raised his voice.

“You mean to say it’s there one moment, and then appears out of thin air the next? Without passing through any space in between? Is this physics, or is it teleportation magic?”

A wave of suppressed laughter broke out in the hall.

Heisenberg’s face flushed red as he tried to explain, “We cannot use macroscopic concepts to understand the microscopic world…”

“Fine, then let’s talk about your matrices.” Master Lorentz also stood up.

“You say position ‘q’ is a matrix. Then tell me, what is the physical meaning represented by the first element of this matrix? What about the second element?”

“And why did you choose to use matrices instead of some other mathematical tool? Like octonions?”

This question was even sharper, striking directly at the foundation of the theory.

Heisenberg could not answer.

He had simply found that the tool of matrices happened to align with experimental results.

“It’s just the way it is…?” Master Lorentz gave a cold sneer.

“Young man, that is not the attitude a physicist should have.”

“Physics seeks the ‘why,’ yet all you have given us is an unintelligible mathematical ledger!”

“Exactly! This isn’t physics!”

“Give us back our physics!”

The crowd below began to stir, with voices of doubt rising one after another.

Heisenberg stood on the podium, looking at the mocking or angry faces below, feeling as if the world were spinning.

He had prepared detailed mathematical deductions, but he was unprepared for how to handle these philosophical interrogations based on old concepts.

The report session ultimately ended in chaos.

Heisenberg practically fled the scene.

The former genius had become the laughingstock of the entire academic world overnight.

***

At the top of the mage tower, Lia put down the copy of “The Truth” which reported on the “disastrous” state of Heisenberg’s session in detail.

“They are in too much of a hurry,” Klein said, standing by the window with a cup of red tea.

“A new theory always needs time to be digested. Especially one that so thoroughly subverts perception.”

“The problem isn’t time,” Lia shook her head. “It’s the method.”

“Heisenberg gave them a dictionary, but he didn’t teach them how to use that dictionary to write poetry.”

Klein looked at her. “A dictionary?”

“Matrices are too abstract, too cold. They may be correct, but they lack a human touch,” Lia explained.

“People cannot accept a physical world that they can neither see nor touch. They need a picture they can imagine, even if that picture is blurry.”

“Can you give them that picture?” Curiosity sparkled in Klein’s blue eyes.

“I cannot give them a true picture, because one simply doesn’t exist,” Lia said.

“But I can give them a ‘metaphor,’ one that can connect with their existing knowledge systems.”

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