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Related papers: Free Will and Quantum Mechanics: Much Ado about No…

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Conway and Kochen have presented a "free will theorem" (Notices of the AMS 56, pgs. 226-232 (2009)) which they claim shows that "if indeed we humans have free will, then [so do] elementary particles." In a more precise fashion, they claim…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-12-02 Sheldon Goldstein , Daniel V. Tausk , Roderich Tumulka , Nino Zanghi

We give a purely logical proof of the J. Conway and S. Kochen Free Will theorem concerning undeterminacy in Quantum Mechanics (Notices of the AMS, February 2009, Vol. 56/2, p. 226). The logical method seems to be very powerful.

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-08-24 Iegor Reznikoff

Conway and Kochen's Free Will Theory is examined as an important foundational element in a new area of activity in computer science - developing protocols for quantum computing

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2016-04-25 Ilyas Khan

The so-called "free will axiom" is an essential ingredient in many discussions concerning hidden variables in quantum mechanics. In this paper we argue that "free will" can be defined in different ways. The definition usually employed is…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Gerard 't Hooft

Since quantum mechanics (QM) was formulated, many voices have claimed this to be the basis of free will in the human beings. Basically, they argue that free will is possible because there is an ontological indeterminism in the natural laws,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-09-07 M. Lopez-Corredoira

In a previous paper (arXiv:1008.3661v1[quant-ph] 21 Aug 2010), we have given a purely logical proof of the Conway and Kochen Free Will theorem in QM: the freedom of the observer implies the freedom of the observed particle. Here we show…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-10-20 Iegor Reznikoff

From what is known today about the elementary particles of matter, and the forces that control their behavior, it may be observed that still a host of obstacles must be overcome that are standing in the way of further progress of our…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-09-20 Gerard 't Hooft

Physics has long lived with a schizophrenia that desires determinism for measured systems while demanding that experimenters decide what to measure on a whim. Intriguingly, such a free will assumption for experimenters has thwarted many…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2012-11-09 Joseph J. Bisognano

We present a brief non-technical introduction to the standing discussion on the relation between Quantum Mechanics and Determinism. Quantum Mechanics inherent randomness in the measurement process is sometimes presented as a door to explain…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2013-07-03 José I. Latorre

The title refers to the Free Will Theorem by Conway and Kochen whose flashy formulation is: if experimenters possess free will, then so do particles. In more modest terms, the theorem says that individual pairs of spacelike separated…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-04-14 Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov , Janne V. Kujala

Before Alan Turing made his crucial contributions to the theory of computation, he studied the question of whether quantum mechanics could throw light on the nature of free will. This article investigates the roles of quantum mechanics and…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-06-17 Seth Lloyd

In a recent paper, Conway and Kochen proposed what is now known as the "Free Will theorem" which, among other things, should prove the impossibility of combining GRW models with special relativity, i.e., of formulating relativistically…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 A. Bassi , G. C. Ghirardi

There are several important philosophical problems to which quantum mechanics is often said to have made significant contributions: - Determinism: quantum theory has been taken to refute determinism; -Free Will: in turn, this is thought to…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-10-29 Valia Allori

Bell's Theorem from 1964 and the (Strong) Free Will Theorem of Conway and Kochen from 2009 both exclude deterministic hidden variable theories (or, in modern parlance, `ontological models') that are compatible with some small fragment of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-06-18 Eric Cator , Klaas Landsman

Modal quantum theory (MQT) is a simplified cousin of ordinary Hilbert space quantum theory. We show that two important theorems of actual quantum theory, the Kochen-Specker theorem excluding non-contextual hidden variables and the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-10-27 Benjamin Schumacher , Michael D. Westmoreland

On the basis of three physical axioms, we prove that if the choice of a particular type of spin 1 experiment is not a function of the information accessible to the experimenters, then its outcome is equally not a function of the information…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2009-11-13 John Conway , Simon Kochen

We strengthen the Free Will Theorem, which proved the spontaneity of particles, based on the free will of the experimenter. The new result is unconditional, and does not require the experimenter's free will to prove the particles'…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-07-29 Simon Kochen

It is considered the study of determinism in the theories of physics. Based on fundamental postulates of physics, it is proved that the evolution of the universe is univocally determined, proving ultimately that free will does not exist. In…

General Physics · Physics 2014-07-08 Edgar Jose Candales Dugarte

We strengthen "The Free Will Theorem" [1] in several ways, by replacing the axiom FIN by a weaker axiom MIN, and also by allowing the particles' responses to depend on past half-spaces rather than on on past light cones. This change allows…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2008-07-22 John Conway , Simon Kochen

It is argued that the Strong Free Will Theorem (Conway-Kochen) does not prove nonlocal determinism wrong. This is done by the before-before (Suarez-Scarani) experiment, which is used here to prove the following General Free Will Theorem: If…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-06-15 Antoine Suarez
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