English

Von Neumann Was Not a Quantum Bayesian

History and Philosophy of Physics 2016-04-19 v3 Physics Education Quantum Physics

Abstract

Wikipedia has claimed for over three years now that John von Neumann was the "first quantum Bayesian." In context, this reads as stating that von Neumann inaugurated QBism, the approach to quantum theory promoted by Fuchs, Mermin and Schack. This essay explores how such a claim is, historically speaking, unsupported.

Cite

@article{arxiv.1412.2409,
  title  = {Von Neumann Was Not a Quantum Bayesian},
  author = {Blake C. Stacey},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.2409},
  year   = {2016}
}

Comments

25 pages, written in response to 1 sentence on Wikipedia. v3: journal version, plus deleted scenes

R2 v1 2026-06-22T07:22:57.163Z