[Fis] The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
A paper by my former graduate advisor, Jeff Bub, who was a student of David Bohm's. http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/17/11/7374 The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics The aim of this paper is to consider the consequences of an information-theoretic interpretation of quantum mechanics for the measurement problem. The motivating idea of the interpretation is that the relation between quantum mechanics and the structure of information is analogous to the relation between special relativity and the structure of space-time. Insofar as quantum mechanics deals with a class of probabilistic correlations that includes correlations structurally different from classical correlations, the theory is about the structure of information: the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information in a genuinely indeterministic quantum world in which measurement outcomes are intrinsically random are different than we thought. Part of the measurement problem is deflated as a pseudo-problem on this view, and the theory has the resources to deal with the remaining part, given certain idealizations in the treatment of macrosystems. John Collier Senior Research Associate and Professor Emeritus, Philosophy, University of KwaZulu-Natal http://web.ncf.ca/collier ___ Fis mailing list Fis@listas.unizar.es http://listas.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
Re: [Fis] The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
Dear John and All, I have read this paper, but it seems to me that the word 'idealization' has a key place in it. Thus, the statement that 'quantum mechanics is about the structure of information' begs the question of what information is being discussed. Is it not conceivable, in the 'macroworld', that the elements of the processes of energy transfer/transformation involved in information do not commute and require a non-Boolean algebra? I thus am unable, given my lack of knowledge of quantum mechanics, to see the implications of the paper for the 'structure of information in a genuinely partly deterministic world' such as the one (I think) we live in.' If there are such implications, I would be sincerely interested in knowing them. If there are no such implications, the paper gives a useful picture of the cut. Best regards, Joseph - Original Message - From: John Collier To: fis Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2015 8:28 PM Subject: [Fis] The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics A paper by my former graduate advisor, Jeff Bub, who was a student of David Bohm’s. http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/17/11/7374 The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics The aim of this paper is to consider the consequences of an information-theoretic interpretation of quantum mechanics for the measurement problem. The motivating idea of the interpretation is that the relation between quantum mechanics and the structure of information is analogous to the relation between special relativity and the structure of space-time. Insofar as quantum mechanics deals with a class of probabilistic correlations that includes correlations structurally different from classical correlations, the theory is about the structure of information: the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information in a genuinely indeterministic quantum world in which measurement outcomes are intrinsically random are different than we thought. Part of the measurement problem is deflated as a pseudo-problem on this view, and the theory has the resources to deal with the remaining part, given certain idealizations in the treatment of macrosystems. John Collier Senior Research Associate and Professor Emeritus, Philosophy, University of KwaZulu-Natal http://web.ncf.ca/collier -- ___ Fis mailing list Fis@listas.unizar.es http://listas.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis ___ Fis mailing list Fis@listas.unizar.es http://listas.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
Re: [Fis] The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
At 4:28 AM 11/27/2015, John C. wrote: A paper by my former graduate advisor, Jeff Bub, who was a student of David Bohm's. http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/17/11/7374 The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics Yes, Bub's insistence on the absolute randomness would remain invincible as far as third-person probabilities are taken for granted from the outset in comprehending what messages would QM convey to us. On the other hand, once one may happen to feel at ease with the first-person probabilities (see, for instance, James Hartle's "Living in a superposition" http://arXiv.org/abs/1511.01550 ), the first-person probability of the occurrence of such an agent assuming the first-person status would come to approach unity even within the framework of the decoherent-histories interpretation of QM. Koichiro ___ Fis mailing list Fis@listas.unizar.es http://listas.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
