> On 1 Aug 2018, at 07:49, Brent Meeker <meeke...@verizon.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> On 7/31/2018 10:19 PM, Jason Resch wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Jul 31, 2018 at 4:52 PM Brent Meeker <meeke...@verizon.net 
>> <mailto:meeke...@verizon.net>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> On 7/31/2018 2:38 PM, Jason Resch wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Tuesday, July 31, 2018, Brent Meeker <meeke...@verizon.net 
>>> <mailto:meeke...@verizon.net>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 7/31/2018 9:46 AM, Jason Resch wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Tue, Jul 31, 2018 at 1:11 AM Brent Meeker <meeke...@verizon.net 
>>>> <mailto:meeke...@verizon.net>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On 7/30/2018 9:21 PM, agrayson2...@gmail.com 
>>>> <mailto:agrayson2...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at 1:34:58 AM UTC, Brent wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 7/30/2018 4:40 PM, agrays...@gmail.com <> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Monday, July 30, 2018 at 7:50:47 PM UTC, Brent wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 7/30/2018 8:02 AM, Bruno Marchal wrote:
>>>>>>>> and claims the system being measured is physically in all eigenstates 
>>>>>>>> simultaneously before measurement.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Nobody claims that this is true. But most of us would I think agree 
>>>>>>> that this is what happens if you describe the couple “observer 
>>>>>>> particle” by QM, i.e by the quantum wave. It is a consequence of 
>>>>>>> elementary quantum mechanics (unless of                                 
>>>>>>>                   course you add the unintelligible collapse of the 
>>>>>>> wave, which for me just means that QM is false). 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> This talk of "being in eigenstates" is confused.  An eigenstate is 
>>>>>> relative to some operator.  The system can be in an eigenstate of an 
>>>>>> operator.  Ideal measurements are projection operators that leave the 
>>>>>> system in an eigenstate of that operator.  But ideal measurements are 
>>>>>> rare in QM.  All the measurements you're discussing in Young's slit 
>>>>>> examples are destructive measurements.  You can consider, as a 
>>>>>> mathematical convenience, using a complete set of commuting operators to 
>>>>>> define a set of eigenstates that will provide a basis...but remember 
>>>>>> that it's just mathematics, a certain choice of basis.  The system is 
>>>>>> always in just one state and the mathematics says there is some operator 
>>>>>> for which that is the eigenstate.  But in general we don't know what 
>>>>>> that operator is and we have no way of physically implementing it.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Brent
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I can only speak for myself, but when I write that a system in a 
>>>>>> superposition of states is in all component states simultaneously, I am 
>>>>>> assuming the existence of an operator with eigenstates that form a 
>>>>>> complete set and basis, that the wf is written as a sum using this 
>>>>>> basis, and that this representation corresponds to the state of the 
>>>>>> system before measurement. 
>>>>> 
>>>>> In general you need a set of operators to have the eigenstates form a 
>>>>> complete basis...but OK.
>>>>> 
>>>>>> I am also assuming that the interpretation of a quantum superposition is 
>>>>>> that before measurement, the system is in all eigenstates 
>>>>>> simultaneously, one of which represents the system after measurement. I 
>>>>>> do allow for situations where we write a superposition as a sum of 
>>>>>> eigenstates even if we don't know what the operator is, such as the Up + 
>>>>>> Dn state of a spin particle. In the case of the cat, using the 
>>>>>> hypothesis of superposition I argue against, we have two eigenstates, 
>>>>>> which if "occupied" by the system simultaneously, implies the cat is 
>>>>>> alive and dead simultaneously. AG 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Yes, you can write down the math for that.  But to realize that 
>>>>> physically would require that the cat be perfectly isolated and not even 
>>>>> radiate IR photons (c.f. C60 Bucky ball experiment).  So it is in fact 
>>>>> impossible to realize (which is why Schroedinger considered if absurd).
>>>>> 
>>>>> CMIIAW, but as I have argued, in decoherence theory it is assumed the cat 
>>>>> is initially isolated and decoheres in a fraction of a nano second. So, 
>>>>> IMO, the problem with the interpretation of superposition remains.
>>>> 
>>>> Why is that problematic?  You must realize that the cat dying takes at 
>>>> least several seconds, very long compared to decoherence times.  So the 
>>>> cat is always in a classical state between |alive> and |dead>. These are 
>>>> never in superposition. 
>>>> 
>>>>> It doesn't go away because the decoherence time is exceedingly short.
>>>> 
>>>> Yes is does go away.  Even light can't travel the length of a cat in a 
>>>> nano-second.  
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> What if the cat is on Pluto for this one hour?  Would it not be perfectly 
>>>> isolated from us on Earth, and thus remain in a superposition until the 
>>>> the several hours it takes for light to get to Earth from Pluto reaches us?
>>> 
>>> ?? Are you assuming that decoherence only occurs when humans (or 
>>> Earthlings) observe the event?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Brent
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  No, just that superposition is a relative, rather than objective notion.
>> 
>> OK.  Welcome to QBism.
>> 
>> After reading the wiki article on QBism I still can't say I understand what 
>> it is about, as it doesn't seem to offer any core positions.
>> 
>> I am an adherent of bayesianism, and believe it applies generally in all 
>> domains (being an agent having to make decisions/bets), so what does QBism 
>> add if one already accepts a general reliance on Bayes theorem?  It doesn't 
>> seem like QBism takes any strong position on any of the quantum paradoxes, 
>> nor offer any insights to addressing or explaining them.  In this it seems 
>> like a pretty empty             theory, with hints towards the 
>> "instrumentalist" and "shut up and calculate" mindsets--that only the 
>> probability matters.  To the extent that is true, I reject QBism.  While 
>> QBism might not put forward anything that is false, the attitude it conveys 
>> seems like it would stymie progress towards advancing our understanding of 
>> reality.
> 
> QBism says that QM is a theory for predicting personal beliefs.  The 
> "collapse" of the wave function is simply updating one's beliefs based on an 
> observation.


That leads to the many-worlds, or its "many-minds” variants (even closer to 
what mechanism enforce on the interpretation of the observable). ITSTM.

Bruno


> 
> Brent
> 
> 
>> 
>> That superposition is relative does not require observers or knowledge, it 
>> is a consequence of the postulates of QM. Either system A has interacted 
>> with system B and they are both part of the superposition together, or they 
>> have not interacted yet and system A will be in a superposition of various 
>> possible states to system B, and system B will be in a super position of 
>> various states to system A.
>> 
>> Jason
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