Mullin, WJBlaylock, G2024-04-262024-04-262003-01-01https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/40969This is the pre-published version which is collected from arXiv. The published version is at http://ajp.aapt.org/resource/1/ajpias/v71/i12/p1223_s1Physicists often claim that there is an effective repulsion between fermions, implied by the Pauli principle, and a corresponding effective attraction between bosons. We examine the origins and validity of such exchange force ideas and the areas where they are highly misleading. We propose that explanations of quantum statistics should avoid the idea of an effective force completely, and replace it with more appropriate physical insights, some of which are suggested here.Physicsarticle