- #36
DennisN
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marcus said:Some 2014 Edge links:
Gefter http://www.edge.org/response-detail/25513 (retire *the* universe, i.e. a unique account of reality)
Zeilinger quantums is too about real stuff! http://www.edge.org/response-detail/25548
Rovelli retire geometry-as-the-description-of-physical-space http://www.edge.org/response-detail/25345
Giddings retire spacetime-as-fundamental http://www.edge.org/response-detail/25477
Some comments from me on the interesting essays:
Gefter on "The Universe":
Gefter on "The Universe": said:In light of the universe's retirement, this all looks slightly less miraculous. After all, superpositions are really superpositions of reference frames. In any single reference frame, an animal's vitals are well defined. Cats are only alive and dead when you try to piece together multiple frames under the false assumption that they're all part of the same universe. (my bolding)
I don't get this at all. Is this the Many-Worlds Interpretation in disguise? If so, why didn't she just say MWI? And I would be very interested to hear what the frame of reference of a photon looks like... Nah, I don't think the Universe is close to retirement just yet. We need more observational/experimental data that support multi-hypotheses, I think .
Anton Zeilinger on "Reality":
I liked his essay.
Anton Zeilinger on "Reality": said:But you don't have to go so far. It is enough to assume that quantum mechanics just describes probabilities of possible measurement results. Then making an observation turns potentiality into actuality and, in our case, the position of the particle becomes a quantity one can talk reasonably about. But, whether it has a well-defined position or not, the buckyball very well exists. It is real in the double-slit experiment, even when it is impossible to assign its position a well-defined value. (my bolding)
It's hard to argue against that.
Rovelli on "Geometry": I don't know enough about it to comment on it.
Giddings on "Spacetime":
Giddings on "Spacetime": said:The problem with fundamental spacetime is even more strongly hinted at from multiple developing perspectives. Notable among these hints is the physics of black holes, where it appears that evolution that respects quantum principles must violate the classical spacetime dictum that information does not propagate faster than the speed of light. (my bolding)
I don't understand/know anything about this. Anyone know what he is referring to?
marcus said:In the debate at this year's FQXI conference (Jan 5-10, Puerto Rico) Raphael Bousso argued for Loop Quantum Gravity and skillfully attacked String Theory. His debate adversary, Carlo Rovelli, stubbornly defended String Theory and criticized LQG with zeal and gusto.
Very funny, thanks!
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