Related papers: The Observer Strikes Back
Recently, there has been a discussion on the origin of the quantum probability rules (Deutsch quant-ph/9906015, Polley quant-ph/9906124, Barnum et al. quant-ph/9907024, Finkelstein quant-ph/9907004). This contribution, which is a slightly…
In cosmology, the analysis of observational evidence is very important to test theoretical models of the Universe. Artificial neural networks are powerful and versatile computational tools for data modelling and are recently being…
Both statistics and quantum theory deal with prediction using probability. We will show that there can be established a connection between these two areas. This will at the same time suggest a new, less formalistic way of looking upon basic…
Observational astronomy is plagued with selection effects that must be taken into account when interpreting data from astronomical surveys. Because of the physical limitations of observing time and instrument sensitivity, datasets are…
A probabilistic propositional logic, endowed with an epistemic component for asserting (non-)compatibility of diagonizable and bounded observables, is presented and illustrated for reasoning about the random results of projective…
A quantum theory of the universe consists of a theory of its quantum dynamics and a theory of its quantum state The theory predicts quantum multiverses in the form of decoherent sets of alternative histories describing the evolution of the…
In this essay we discuss the difference in views of the Universe as seen by two different observers. While one of the observers follows a geodesic congruence defined by the geometry of the cosmological model, the other observer follows the…
Due to the absence of an external, classical time variable, the probabilistic predictions of covariant quantum theory are ambiguous when multiple measurements are considered. Here, we introduce an information theoretic framework to the…
Quantum gravity is sometimes considered as a kind of metaphysical speculation. In this review, we show that, although still extremely difficult to reach, observational signatures can in fact be expected. The early universe is an invaluable…
Interpretations of quantum theory have traditionally assumed a "Galilean" observer, a bare "point of view" implemented physically by a quantum system. This paper investigates the consequences of replacing such an…
We review the most recent progress in our understanding of quantum mechanical observables in cosmology in the perturbative regime. It relies on an approach that considers them directly as functions of the data at the space-like boundary at…
Problems with uniform probabilities on an infinite support show up in contemporary cosmology. This paper focuses on the context of inflation theory, where it complicates the assignment of a probability measure over pocket universes. The…
In this work, we consider a binary hypothesis testing problem involving a group of human decision-makers. Due to the nature of human behavior, each human decision-maker observes the phenomenon of interest sequentially up to a random length…
This article may be seen as a summary and a final discussion of the work that the author has done in recent years on the foundation of quantum theory. It is shown that quantum mechanics as a model follows under certain specific conditions…
I argue that the rules of unitary quantum mechanics imply that observers who will themselves be subject to measurements in a linear combination of macroscopic states (``cat" measurements) cannot make reliable predictions on the results of…
This paper defines what constitutes the Observed World in the Quantum Mechanical framework, based strictly on what is actually observed beyond doubt, instead of building observables on what is inferred from actual observations. Such…
Recent developments in the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics have brought the theory closer to that of classical probability and statistics. On the other hand, the unique character of quantum physics sets many of the questions…
Kolmogorov's foundation of probability takes measure spaces, $\sigma$-algebras, and probability measures as basic objects. It is, however, widely recognized that this classical framework is inadequate for random phenomena involving quantum…
The fundamental laws and constants of our universe seem to be finely tuned for life. The various multiverse hypotheses are popular explanations for the fine tuning. This paper reviews the four main suggestions on inference in the presence…
Within the framework of the new formalism of quantum theory - the quantum principle of least action - the initial state of the universe is determined, which is an analogue of the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary wave function. The quantum…