In Quantum Mechanics the professors of my University consistently confused the terms Tensor-Product and Direct-Product. They all taught in lecture that the Tensor-Product was called "Direct-Product". In Mathematics this is just wrong. The definitions about what is what has been clear for about 100 years...
I called them out on that. The end result was, that the professor offered a bet in front of audience that he was right. The thing was simple - you just have to look up the definitions in any mathematical book. But nobody did this... Next lecture the professor declared himself the winner of the bet. The audience collected money. And on the next big student event they presented him a bottle of some nice alcohol as a price for his win. (They stopped Music for the party and made a big event about handing him the bottle)...
I learned that in University people aren't even able to look up a mathematical definition in a book... Nobody cares, especially those students that like to organise things don't - they surely meanwhile have made career as big heads in University councils...
Solution of the confusion I think was that in the beginning of QM the terms in mathematics were not so well defined yet. In 1910 Physics people most likely copied some wrong terminology - and some of it most likely can still be found in footnotes somewhere in physics - or in some oral tradition of local groups of professors.
Well, I did.. But that didn't matter. Nobody else did... And authority just declared himself as the winner. When they collected money I wrote a note and attached it to the "call for collection"-letter. I think there was some kind of group-psychology thing going on... I talked to a few people, but they just shrugged.
I learned from this that once group psychology kicks in most people aren't even able to look up mathematical definitions in a book to decide something. I wasn't interested in winning alcohol, so I didn't fight more.
Later I successfully corrected another professor, when I saw him making the same mistake... The only difference between the two cases was my tone and voice how I confronted the professors with their mistake. (For the first I was friendly - "Maybe check your terminology" - that didn't help. For the second I was more dominant and just told him that his terminology is wrong - that one worked).
Although I still wonder if the last guy really looked up anything in a book. Maybe with the right kind of authority in my voice I could have sold him any name for the Tensor-Product...
In Quantum Mechanics the professors of my University consistently confused the terms Tensor-Product and Direct-Product. They all taught in lecture that the Tensor-Product was called "Direct-Product". In Mathematics this is just wrong. The definitions about what is what has been clear for about 100 years...
I called them out on that. The end result was, that the professor offered a bet in front of audience that he was right. The thing was simple - you just have to look up the definitions in any mathematical book. But nobody did this... Next lecture the professor declared himself the winner of the bet. The audience collected money. And on the next big student event they presented him a bottle of some nice alcohol as a price for his win. (They stopped Music for the party and made a big event about handing him the bottle)...
I learned that in University people aren't even able to look up a mathematical definition in a book... Nobody cares, especially those students that like to organise things don't - they surely meanwhile have made career as big heads in University councils...
Solution of the confusion I think was that in the beginning of QM the terms in mathematics were not so well defined yet. In 1910 Physics people most likely copied some wrong terminology - and some of it most likely can still be found in footnotes somewhere in physics - or in some oral tradition of local groups of professors.