dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics: An overview
| Authors | Ulrich Mohrhoff |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0412182 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0412182 |
| DOI | 10.1007/BF02704872 |
| Journal | Pramana 64 (2), 171-185 (2005) |
Abstract
An overview of the Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics is presented. This interpretation proceeds from the recognition that the fundamental theoretical framework of physics is a probability algorithm, which serves to describe an objective fuzziness (the literal meaning of Heisenberg's term "Unschaerfe," usually mistranslated as "uncertainty") by assigning objective probabilities to the possible outcomes of unperformed measurements. Although it rejects attempts to construe quantum states as evolving ontological states, it arrives at an objective description of the quantum world that owes nothing to observers or the goings-on in physics laboratories. In fact, unless such attempts are rejected, quantum theory's true ontological implications cannot be seen. Among these are the radically relational nature of space, the numerical identity of the corresponding relata, the incomplete spatiotemporal differentiation of the physical world, and the consequent top-down structure of reality, which defies attempts to model it from the bottom up, whether on the basis of an intrinsically differentiated spacetime manifold or out of a multitude of individual building blocks.
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"abstract": "An overview of the Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics is\npresented. This interpretation proceeds from the recognition that the\nfundamental theoretical framework of physics is a probability algorithm, which\nserves to describe an objective fuzziness (the literal meaning of Heisenberg\u0027s\nterm \"Unschaerfe,\" usually mistranslated as \"uncertainty\") by assigning\nobjective probabilities to the possible outcomes of unperformed measurements.\nAlthough it rejects attempts to construe quantum states as evolving ontological\nstates, it arrives at an objective description of the quantum world that owes\nnothing to observers or the goings-on in physics laboratories. In fact, unless\nsuch attempts are rejected, quantum theory\u0027s true ontological implications\ncannot be seen. Among these are the radically relational nature of space, the\nnumerical identity of the corresponding relata, the incomplete spatiotemporal\ndifferentiation of the physical world, and the consequent top-down structure of\nreality, which defies attempts to model it from the bottom up, whether on the\nbasis of an intrinsically differentiated spacetime manifold or out of a\nmultitude of individual building blocks.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0412182",
"authors": [
"Ulrich Mohrhoff"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1007/BF02704872",
"journal_ref": "Pramana 64 (2), 171-185 (2005)",
"title": "The Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics: An overview",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0412182"
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