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Underlying any theory of physics is a layer of conceptual frames. They connect the mathematical structures used in theoretical models with physical phenomena, but they also constitute our fundamental assumptions about reality. Many of the…
Darwinian evolution requires (i) heritable records, (ii) repeatable copying with variation, and (iii) routine irreversibility. Categorical quantum mechanics (CQM) makes precise why ``copy'' and ``delete'' are not generic quantum operations:…
Observers restricted to the observation of pointer states of apparatus cannot conclusively demonstrate that the pointer of an apparatus A registers the state of a system of interest S without perturbing S. Observers cannot, therefore,…
We analyse an argument of Deutsch, which purports to show that the deterministic part of classical quantum theory together with deterministic axioms of classical decision theory, together imply that a rational decision maker behaves as if…
The interface between classical physics and quantum physics is explained from the point of view of quantum information theory (Feynman Processes). The interpretation depends on a hefty sacrifice: the classical determinism or the arrow of…
Quantum mechanics can seem like a departure from everyday experience of the physical world, but constructivist theories assert that learners build new ideas from their existing ones. To explore how students can navigate this tension, we…
We construct a descriptive toy model that considers quantum effects on biological evolution starting from Chaitin's classical framework. There are smart evolution scenarios in which a quantum world is as favorable as classical worlds for…
Unlike classical information, quantum knowledge is restricted to the outcome of measurements of maximal observables corresponding to single contexts.
The cognitive state of mind concerning a range of choices to be made can effectively be modelled in terms of an element of a high-dimensional Hilbert space. The dynamics of the state of mind resulting form information acquisition is…
Classical and quantum mechanical descriptions of physical world are seamlessly abridged within the framework of Lagrangian formalism which, besides revealing the essence of nonlocally correlated dynamic evolution, helps understanding abrupt…
Functional theories of consciousness, based on emergence of conscious experiences from the execution of a particular function by an insentient brain, face the hard problem of consciousness of explaining why the insentient brain should…
In quantum experiments the acquisition and representation of basic experimental information is governed by the multinomial probability distribution. There exist unique random variables, whose standard deviation becomes asymptotically…
In the context of theories of the connection between mind and brain, physicalism is the demand that all is basically purely physical. But the concept of "physical" embodied in this demand is characterized essentially by the properties of…
Amplification was regarded, since the early days of quantum theory, as a mysterious ingredient that endows quantum microstates with macroscopic consequences, key to the "collapse of the wavepacket", and a way to avoid embarrassing problems…
An attempt is made to give a heuristic explanation of the distinguished role of measurement in the quantum theory. We question the notion of "naive" reductionism by stressing the difference between an isolated quantum and classical object.…
Hidden-variable models aim to reproduce the results of quantum theory and to satisfy our classical intuition. Their refutation is usually based on deriving predictions that are different from those of quantum mechanics. Here instead we…
The quantum formalism is a ``measurement'' formalism--a phenomenological formalism describing certain macroscopic regularities. We argue that it can be regarded, and best be understood, as arising from Bohmian mechanics, which is what…
Quantum mechanics is derived from the principle that the universe contain as much variety as possible, in the sense of maximizing the distinctiveness of each subsystem. The quantum state of a microscopic system is defined to correspond to…
Dynamics of a particle is formulated from classical principles that are amended by the uncertainty principle. Two best known quantum effects: interference and tunneling are discussed from these principles. It is shown that identical to…
Two classically identical expressions for the mutual information generally differ when the two systems involved are quantum. We investigate this difference -- quantum discord -- and show that it can be used as a criterion for the…