  Mermin's "shut up and calculate!" somehow summarizes the most widely accepted
view on quantum mechanics. This conception has led to a rather constraining way
to think and understand the quantum world. Nonetheless, a closer look at the
principles and formal body of this theory shows that, beyond longstanding
prejudices, there is still room enough for alternative tools. This is the case,
for example, of Bohmian mechanics. As it is discussed here, there is nothing
contradictory or wrong with this hydrodynamical representation, which enhances
the dynamical role of the quantum phase to the detriment (to some extent) of
the probability density. The possibility to describe the evolution of quantum
systems in terms of trajectories or streamlines is just a direct consequence of
the fact that Bohmian mechanics (quantum hydrodynamics) is just a way to recast
quantum mechanics in the more general language of the theory of
characteristics. Misconceptions concerning Bohmian mechanics typically come
from the fact that many times it is taken out of context and considered as an
alternative theory to quantum mechanics, which is not the case. On the
contrary, an appropriate contextualization shows that Bohmian mechanics
constitutes a serious and useful representation of quantum mechanics, at the
same level as any other quantum picture, such as Schr\"odinger's, Heisenberg's,
Dirac's, or Feynman's, for instance. To illustrate its versatility, two
phenomena will be briefly considered, namely dissipation and light
interference.
