Abstract
Several concepts stemming from three apparently divergent approaches to quantum mechanics—Bohmian Mechanics, QBism, and Time-Symmetric Quantum Mechanics—are interwoven in an information-theoretic Darwinian scheme applied to fundamental physical systems that might contribute to shed light on some long-standing quantum mechanical conundrums.
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- 1.
In more precise terms, following Mückenheim [2], these three principles would respectively read: (1) The principle of realism or the possibility of defining precisely an outside real world independently of the observer; (2) The principle of cause and effect or the existence of a definite direction for the arrow of time; and (3) The principle of locality (or separability) or the existence of a limit velocity for the propagation of any interaction. See Jaeger [3, 4] for a profound discussion on the meaning of these three concepts.
- 2.
See Jaeger [3] for an analysis of the role and main kinds of interpretation in quantum mechanics.
- 3.
In a deeper sense, these three so-called interpretations can be considered as three different approaches to quantum mechanics, not merely as interpretations—e.g., see Styer et al. [5] for a discussion on the term interpretation applied to the de Broglie-Bohm theory.
- 4.
Superdeterminism [9, 10] is a theory that profits from revising the concept of free will—in short, the freedom of observers to choose their particular experimental setup. This elusive concept was implicitly taken for granted in Bell’s theorem [11] which enables the circumvention of its implications by reconsidering free will. See Plotnitsky [12] for Bohr’s point of view about the notion of free will. See also O’Connor [13] and Baladrón [14] for an ampler discussion on the concept of free will and the difficulties related to the compatibility of free will and physical theories (compatibilism).
- 5.
In short, MWI [15] rejects the projection postulate of quantum mechanics. The wave function entirely evolves subject to the Schrödinger equation. Most conceptual difficulties of quantum mechanics disappear, but at the price of enlarging reality from the usual three-dimensional physical space to the configuration space in which the wave function is defined, since all the branches of the wave function now have a real existence supposedly in different mutually unobservable worlds—although, in principle, it can be argued that quantum interference is an indirect proof of their existence. A prescription on the way in which observations occur in every world has to be included.
- 6.
These carriers would convey information about the position of the emitter.
- 7.
According to Deutsch [23], based on the present knowledge of nature it is consistent to assert that quantum theory is compatible with the Church-Turing principle [23], i.e. that any finite physical system can be simulated by means of a quantum Turing machine. However, the kind of problems that a quantum Turing machine can solve are the same as those solved by a classical Turing machine, the only difference being the efficiency [24], i.e. the time needed for the computation to halt with a solution. DAQM aims to show that this efficiency might be supplied by Darwinian natural selection.
- 8.
These properties that characterize a generalized Darwinian system [25] can be succinctly defined in the following way: variation as the introduction of novelty in the system that in DAQM is supplied by a read-and-write operation error rate during the execution of the program on the Turing machine; selection as the increased rate of persistence or survival for certain systems in the population due to their improved behavioral capabilities through positive variations; and retention as the capacity of storing, preserving or passing on information about adaptations.
- 9.
Notice the quantum-like efficiency trait.
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Baladrón, C., Khrennikov, A. (2018). At the Crossroads of Three Seemingly Divergent Approaches to Quantum Mechanics. In: Khrennikov, A., Toni, B. (eds) Quantum Foundations, Probability and Information. STEAM-H: Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Mathematics & Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74971-6_2
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