Quantum mechanics is about quantum information
Quantum Physics
2009-11-10 v2
Abstract
I argue that quantum mechanics is fundamentally a theory about the representation and manipulation of information, not a theory about the mechanics of nonclassical waves or particles. The notion of quantum information is to be understood as a new physical primitive -- just as, following Einstein's special theory of relativity, a field is no longer regarded as the physical manifestation of vibrations in a mechanical medium, but recognized as a new physical primitive in its own right.
Cite
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/0408020,
title = {Quantum mechanics is about quantum information},
author = {Jeffrey Bub},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/0408020},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
17 pages, forthcoming in Foundations of Physics Festschrift issue for James Cushing. Revised version: some paragraphs have been added to the final section clarifying the argument, and various minor clarifying remarks have been added throughout the text