On Friday, January 24, 2020 at 1:56:02 AM UTC-7, Philip Thrift wrote: > > > > On Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 4:15:16 PM UTC-6, Brent wrote: >> >> >> Carroll was pointing out the fallacy of the Platonist idea that we >> achieve true knowledge by pure contemplation, i.e. mathematics and >> philosophy, and are only deceived by the senses. >> >> Brent >> >> >> > *Carroll echoes Everett in contending that the key mathematical expression > in quantum physics, known as the wave function, should be taken seriously. > If the wave function contains multiple possible realities, then all those > possibilities must actually exist. As Carroll argues, the wave function is > “ontic” — a direct representation of reality — rather than “epistemic,” a > merely useful measure of our knowledge about reality for use in calculating > experimental expectations. In epistemic interpretations, “the wave function > isn’t a physical thing at all, but simply a way of characterizing what we > know about reality.”* > > > https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sean-carroll-something-deeply-hidden-quantum-physics-many-worlds > > > *When Weinberg promotes a “realist” interpretation of quantum mechanics, > in which “the wave function is the representative of physical reality,” he > is implying that the artifacts theorists include in their models, such as > quantum fields, are the ultimate ingredients of reality -- thus expressing > a platonic view of reality commonly held by many theoretical physicists and > mathematicians.* > > *Many physicists have uncritically adopted platonic realism as their > personal interpretation of the meaning of physics. This not inconsequential > because it associates a reality that lies beyond the senses with the > cognitive tools humans use to describe observations.* > > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/physicists-are-philosophers-too/ > > @philipthrift >
I don't get it. If Weinberg asserts that quantum fields are ultimate ingredients of reality, what has this to do with platonic realism? AG -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/a3f56db6-8d20-4cf0-830f-c6af2866cd72%40googlegroups.com.
