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I am in a philosophy club where we meet to discuss a topic each month. Next month I have undertaken to kick off a discussion on the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. I expect interpretations of QM, especially things like MWI, to be a significant part of that.
I need to find some material such as web-sites and book suggestions to list for people that want to do preparation. The trouble is that I'm the only person with a technical understanding of QM, so the material needs to be non-technical.
I would be grateful for any suggestions of books that explain aspects of QM that non-technical people would find weird and awe-inspiring. Also any web-sites. With a bit of Googling I've come across several references to Heisenberg's books "Philosophical problems of quantum physics" and "Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science". Does anybody know if they are suitable for a non-technical philosophical discussion? Is he an engaging writer?
By the way, some of the things I was thinking of covering were:
quantum tunnelling, quantum suicide, appearance of virtual particles 'out of nowhere', Hawking radiation, Bose-Einstein condensates, superfluids, zero point energy, double-slit experiment, delayed-choice quantum eraser, non-locality (EPR, Bell), non-existence of particle locations and paths between observations (at least in some interpretations), Schrodinger's cat and the measurement problem, indistinguishable particles.
Any suggestions for other weird things to throw in there would be much appreciated too.
I need to find some material such as web-sites and book suggestions to list for people that want to do preparation. The trouble is that I'm the only person with a technical understanding of QM, so the material needs to be non-technical.
I would be grateful for any suggestions of books that explain aspects of QM that non-technical people would find weird and awe-inspiring. Also any web-sites. With a bit of Googling I've come across several references to Heisenberg's books "Philosophical problems of quantum physics" and "Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science". Does anybody know if they are suitable for a non-technical philosophical discussion? Is he an engaging writer?
By the way, some of the things I was thinking of covering were:
quantum tunnelling, quantum suicide, appearance of virtual particles 'out of nowhere', Hawking radiation, Bose-Einstein condensates, superfluids, zero point energy, double-slit experiment, delayed-choice quantum eraser, non-locality (EPR, Bell), non-existence of particle locations and paths between observations (at least in some interpretations), Schrodinger's cat and the measurement problem, indistinguishable particles.
Any suggestions for other weird things to throw in there would be much appreciated too.