Related papers: Consciousness: The rules of engagement
The concept of {\em complexity} (as a quantity) has been plagued by numerous contradictory and confusing definitions. By explicitly recognising a role for the observer of a system, an observer that attaches meaning to data about the system,…
A conceptual replication of the Hall-experiment to test the 'subjective reduction' interpretation of the measurement problem in Quantum Physics is reported. Two improvements are introduced. First the delay between pre-observation and final…
This paper proposes an experiment designed to distinguish between competing interpretations of quantum mechanics: those that involve wave function collapse and those that assume purely unitary evolution. The experiment tests whether an…
It has been suggested that consciousness plays an important role in quantum mechanics as it is necessary for the collapse of wave function during the measurement. Furthermore, this idea has spawned a symmetrical proposal: a possibility that…
We study the process of observation (measurement), within the framework of a `perspectival' (`relational', `relative state') version of the modal interpretation of quantum mechanics. We show that if we assume certain features of…
The problem of measurement in quantum mechanics is reanalyzed within a general, strictly probabilistic framework (without reduction postulate). Based on a novel comprehensive definition of measurement the natural emergence of objective…
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…
A realist description of our universe requires a twofold concept of locality. On one hand, there are the strictly Einstein-local interactions which generate the time evolution. On the other hand, the quantum state space calls for a…
Interpretations of quantum measurement theory have been plagued by two questions, one concerning the role of observer consciousness and the other the entanglement phenomenon arising from the superposition of quantum states. We emphasize…
Decompositions of the world into systems have typically been regarded as arbitrary extra-theoretical assumptions in discussions of quantum measurement. One can instead regard decompositions as part of the theory, and ask what conditions…
Many observers can simultaneously measure different parts of an environment of a quantum system in order to find out its state. To study this problem we generalize the formalism of conditional master equations to the multiple observer case.…
A functional analysis of the task of observing multiple macroscopic quantum systems over an extended period of time and then reporting the accumulated results is used to investigate the information that must be encoded in the "ready" state…
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…
A state selected at random from the Hilbert space of a many-body system is overwhelmingly likely to exhibit highly non-classical correlations. For these typical states, half of the environment must be measured by an observer to determine…
An analysis has been performed of the theories and postulates advanced by von Neumann, London and Bauer, and Wigner, concerning the role that consciousness might play in the collapse of the wave function, which has become known as the…
The way we view the reality of nature, including ourselves, depend on consciousness.It also defines the identity of the person, since we know people in terms of their experiences. In general, consciousness defines human existence in this…
This is an attempt to create a consistent and non-trivial extension of quantum theory, describing in detail the quantum measurement process. A tentative but concrete model is presented, based on the concept of multiple…
Measurements take a singular role in quantum theory. While they are often idealized as an instantaneous process, this is in conflict with all other physical processes in nature. In this Letter, we adopt a standpoint where the interaction…
Founding our analysis on the Geneva-Brussels approach to the foundations of physics, we provide a clarification and classification of the key concept of observation. An entity can be observed with or without a scope. In the second case, the…
Standard quantum mechanics makes use of four auxiliary rules that allow the Schrodinger solutions to be related to laboratory experience, such as the Born rule that connects square modulus to probability. These rules (here called the…