Re: Rovelli on EPR



Oh No wrote:

There is a lot of difference between saying "I don't know whether the
cat is alive or dead" and saying "The cat is some peculiar mixed state
of being alive or dead". I maintain that quantum mechanics is simply
saying the former.

I think it is a wrong way to think about quantum mechanics.
First, when you perform a measurement on the cat you can say with
full certainty whether it is dead or alive. The question is only
about the theoretical description. Can the theory (=quantum mechanics)
predict the result of the measurement before it is done? The answer is
'no'. In the "Schroedinger cat" situation, quantum mechanics does not
give you a definite answer. It only gives you the probabilities of
possible outcomes. You can say (together with Einstein) that this
means that quantum mechanics is not a complete theory. I can agree with
that. But this is the best theory we have.

The peculiar superposition "dead + alive" does not refer to the individual cat,
but to the ensemble of identically prepared cats in identical boxes.
If you keep in mind that the wavefunction provides you a description
of the ensemble rather that individual system, you can avoid all
kinds of paradoxes with the "wavefunction collapse" and with the role
of "mind" in this collapse.

Eugene.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Proof that macintosh is better than VMS
    ... I believe that reality does consist of probabilities, ... If you believe that Schrodinger's Cat was really both 1/2 alive and ... 1/2 dead, then you are welcome to that belief. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Superposed observers (was No new Einstein)
    ... has to do with quantum mechanics. ... he calls it a gravitational field instead of space, ... >>whether an LED is on or off, or whether a cat is alive or dead. ...
    (sci.physics.research)
  • Re: Superposed observers (was No new Einstein)
    ... >instances of Nick seeing the cat respectively dead and alive are the ... what the observer remembered or whether the cat was ... Whatever the result of the measurement to detect superposed ...
    (sci.physics.research)
  • Re: Superposed observers (was No new Einstein)
    ... >a measurement result to be a physical object. ... >>whether the cat is alive or dead. ... >Nick, but is not yet alive or dead relative to me. ...
    (sci.physics.research)
  • Re: Question for religious parents
    ... the cat MUST be simultaneously dead and alive. ... consequences of quantum theory, or were in a really big hurry to tell ... extension, since it looks like a contradiction is entailed, something ...
    (misc.kids)
Loading