Related papers: Speakable and unspeakable after John Bell
Feyerabend frequently discussed physics. He also referred to the history of the subject when motivating his philosophy of science. Alas, as some examples show, his understanding of physics remained superficial. In this respect, Feyerabend…
John Bell once argued that one ought to select, out of the 'observables' of quantum theory, some subset of 'beables' that can be consistently ascribed determinate values. Moreover, this subset should be selected so as to guarantee (among…
In quantum physics the term `contextual' can be used in more than one way. One usage, here called `Bell contextual' since the idea goes back to Bell, is that if $A$, $B$ and $C$ are three quantum observables, with $A$ compatible (i.e.,…
What do we do when cosmology raises questions it cannot answer? These include the existence of a multiverse and the universality of the laws of physics. We cannot settle any of these issues by experiment, and this is where philosophers…
Bell inequalities are a consequence of measurement incompatibility (not, as generally thought, of nonlocality). In classical terms, this is equivalent to contextuality -- measurement devices do have a significant effect. Contextual models…
John St. Bell was a physicist working most of his time at CERN and contributing intensively and sustainably to the development of Particle Physics and Collider Physics. As a hobby he worked on so-called "foundations of quantum theory", that…
In 1976, I met John Bell several times in CERN and we talked about a possible violation of optical theorem, purity tests, EPR paradox, Bell inequalities and their violation. I review our discussions, and explain how they were related to my…
In light of a recent reformulation of Bell's theorem from causal principles by Howard Wiseman and the author, I argue that the conflict between quantum theory and relativity brought up by Bell's work can be softened by a revision of our…
In the first part of this thesis Bell's theorem is revisited. It points at a difference between the quantum and the classical world. This difference is often behind the advantages of solutions using quantum mechanics. New and more general…
This chapter is based on a talk given at the Science and Ultimate Reality meeting in March, 2002, in honour of John Archibald Wheeler. In it, I discuss some questions related to what can and cannot be said about the history of a quantum…
While it is widely agreed that Bell's theorem is an important result in the foundations of quantum physics, there is much disagreement about what exactly Bell's theorem shows. It is agreed that Bell derived a contradiction with experimental…
A generalized view of Duality is offered as a bridge between physical sciences and the more abstract philosophical dimensions bordering on mysticism. To that end several examples of duality are first cited from from conventional physics…
Although skeptical of the prohibitive power of no-hidden-variables theorems, John Bell was himself responsible for the two most important ones. I describe some recent versions of the lesser known of the two (familar to experts as the…
Jaynes' criticism of Bell's theorem is examined. It is found that Bell's reasoning leading to his theorem is sound when properly interpreted. The nature of physical influence and logical inference in quantum mechanics, and its relationship…
One of the most important problems in Physics is how to reconcile Quantum Mechanics with General Relativity. Some authors have suggested that this may be realized at the expense of having to drop the quantum formalism in favor of a more…
The extravagances of quantum mechanics never fail to enrich daily the debate around natural philosophy. Entanglement, non-locality, collapse, many worlds, many minds, and subjectivism have challenged generations of thinkers. Its approach…
Some notes about quantum physics, an interpretation if one wishes, are put forward, insisting on `closely following the mathematics/formalism, the `nuts and bolts of what quantum physics says'. These, basically well-known, issues seem to…
Bell's theorem has fascinated physicists and philosophers since his 1964 paper, which was written in response to the 1935 paper of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen. Bell's theorem and its many extensions have led to the claim that quantum…
Measurement is an important scientific activity. In most of science, including classical physics, is may be understood as a way of finding out about the physical world and representing the results numerically. No-go theorems show that…
According to Bell's theorem, local realism is incompatible with quantum theory. However, it depends on an implied assumption about quantum measurement. We suggest that the assumption might be removed by a detailed quantum analysis of the…