Uncomfortable Bedfellows: Objective Quantum Bayesianism and the von Neumann-Lueders Projection Postulate

Document Type

Presentation Abstract

Presentation Date

3-3-2011

Abstract

Recently attempts have been made to dissolve the measurement problem in standard quantum mechanics by arguing that the state of a quantum mechanical system is to be interpreted as a credence function of a rational agent instead of a representation of the underlying properties of a quantum system. Towards that end, there has been an attempt to prove that under certain rationality constraints, and agent must set their degrees of belief equal to quantum probability values. In this talk I criticize one of the assumptions of the proof, and ultimately argue that even if one accepts that assumption that there is a crucial flaw in the derivation that cannot be fixed. The result is that this approach to resolving the measurement problem in standard quantum mechanics is unacceptable.

Additional Details

Thursday, 3 March 2011
3:10 p.m. in Math 211
4:00 p.m. Refreshments in Math Lounge 109

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