Re: "Naive Realism" and QM

From: <kurtleegod.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 16:28:38 -0400

 Hi Serafino,
 I did not even mention probabilities and you are very right
 that they do not operate under the same algebraic rules
 as classical probabilities.

 My point, if I can break it down a bit, is that the amplitudes
 correspond, not to "things" but to processes and that what
 the amplitudes let you compute are relative probabilities for
 the occurrences of such processes.

 QM by itself does not describe the world in terms of "things"
 i.e. distinct separable objects such as the ones we see and
 manipulate with in our everyday.

 Godfrey Kurtz
 (New Brunswick, NJ)

 -----Original Message-----
 From: scerir <scerir.domain.name.hidden>
 To: everything-list.domain.name.hidden
 Sent: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 22:15:14 +0200
 Subject: Re: "Naive Realism" and QM

 Godfrey writes:
> [...] "at the basis of QM there are amplitudes
> that add, multiply and square". Notice the absence
> of "things"! It is the "things" that ain't there!!!

 Not sure I understand. But the usual rule of addition
 of probabilities does not apply to quantum probabilities.
 This does not mean that the usual rule is wrong.
 It means (or it might mean) that quantum systems evolve
 via transitions through indeterminate states,
 which are different from occurrences of events.
 Regards,
 serafino





________________________________________________________________________
Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and
industry-leading spam and email virus protection.
Received on Thu Aug 18 2005 - 16:31:23 PDT