Perturbation theory Memes

Finding a Hermitian operator that commutes with the Hamiltonian is like striking quantum gold—it gives you those sweet, sweet conserved quantities. But the moment you're dealing with degenerate states, you start eyeing that operator like it's your ex who just texted "we need to talk." Suddenly, perturbation theory looks mighty attractive. For the uninitiated: Hermitian operators represent physical observables in quantum mechanics. When one commutes with the Hamiltonian (H), it means you can measure both properties simultaneously—a rare luxury in the quantum world. Degenerate states, however, are quantum mechanics' way of saying "it's complicated."

Why create a new theory when you can just patch the old one? Quantum physicists don't want elegant solutions—they want mathematical chaos! Instead of developing a clean, complete theory of quantum particles (boring!), they'd rather slap on another 15 terms to the Standard Model Lagrangian and call it a day. It's like fixing your car with duct tape when it needs a new engine. "Is your theory breaking down at high energies? Just add more variables and perturbation terms until the math works!" The academic equivalent of solving problems by making them more complicated. Pure genius or pure madness? You decide!