Indeterminate Inversion [Microwave Bytes]

When I was quite young, I remember asking my physics teacher what an electron was made out of. We had been learning the basics of molecules, atoms, and the allegedly basic particles, and it seemed like a logical question. The teacher admitted this was a very good question (this was, I suppose the pre-quark era), and he would discuss it with his colleagues. The answer came back, that an electron was simply “a bundle of energy.” I will refrain from delving further into that particular (sorry) subject, because I am using it as an example of a more general class of questions that cannot be answered due to an erroneous assumption that has been taken on board by the questioner.