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arXiv:1903.08673

Against "Reality" in Physics

S. P. Boughn

Published Mar 20, 2019• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The concept of "reality" is often raised in the context of philosophical foundations of physics or interpretations of quantum mechanics. When this term is so raised, it is a warning to me that I am about to be led down a rabbit hole. Such diversions usually lead nowhere unless you consider endless discussions of Schrodinger's cat, wave function collapse, quantum non-locality, and parallel universes to be useful. A prime example is the famous Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen paper wherein they concluded that the quantum wave function cannot provide a complete description of physical reality. In this essay I suggest that, in physics discourse, the term "reality" should be avoided at all costs.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1903.08673

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The concept of "reality" is often raised in the context of philosophical foundations of physics or interpretations of quantum mechanics. When this term is so raised, it is a warning to me that I am about to be led down a rabbit hole. Such diversions usually lead nowhere unless you consider endless discussions of Schrodinger's cat, wave function collapse, quantum non-locality, and parallel universes to be useful. A prime example is the famous Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen paper wherein they concluded that the quantum wave function cannot provide a complete description of physical reality. In this essay I suggest that, in physics discourse, the term "reality" should be avoided at all costs.
The concept of the physical state of a system is ubiquitous in physics but is usually presented in terms of specific cases. For example, the state of a point particle of mass m is completely characterized by its position and momentum. There is a tendency to consider such states as "real", i.e., as physical properties of a system. This rarely causes problems in classical physics but the notion of real quantum states has contributed mightily to the philosophical conundrums associated with quantum mechanics. The Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky paradox is a prime example. In fact, quantum states are not physical properties of a system but rather subjective descriptions that depend on the information available to a particular observer. This realization goes a long way toward resolving such dilemmas as Schrödinger's cat, wave function collapse, quantum non-locality, and parallel universes.
We always have had a great deal of difficulty in understanding the world view that quantum mechanics represents. At least I do, because I'm an old enough man that I haven't got to the point that this stuff is obvious to me … It has not yet become obvious to me that there is no real problem. I cannot define the real problem, therefore I suspect there is no real problem, but I'm not sure there's no real problem. Richard Feynman Max Born and quantum probabilities In this chapter, we will take a short break from our survey of successful applications of quantum mechanics to take a closer look at the foundations of this great edifice of modern physics. In a sense, we are now disobeying Feynman's warning about the results of the double slit experiment of chapter 1. We shall now ask Feynman's ‘forbidden’ question ‘But how can it be like that?’ Nobody disputes that quantum mechanics has been magnificently successful, enabling us to make correct quantitative calculations of atomic and nuclear effects. But there is a great divergence of opinion about the implications of quantum mechanics for the nature of matter, and indeed, of reality itself. To avoid becoming embroiled in a purely philosophical mire, we will focus on two famous paradoxes. The first of these is the ‘Einstein–Podolsky-Rosen’ paradox, named after its originators Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, and usually abbreviated by the initials ‘EPR’. The second paradox is named after ‘Schrödinger's cat’.
This research aimed to achieve 2 primary objectives: 1) To study Schrödinger's cat theory and the concept of multiverses, 2) to analyze the interpretations of Schrödinger's cat theory and the concept of multiverses. The data analysis is descriptive.The research results were as follows:1. Schrödinger's cat theory and the Multiverse concept have shown that Schrödinger's Cat theory is a thought experiment in quantum mechanics proposed by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger. It describes the simultaneous multiple states of an atom or entity until it is observed or measured. For instance, in the famous cat-in-a-box experiment, before measurement, the cat exists in a state of both being alive and dead simultaneously, leading to a complex reality in its state. Physicist Hugh Everett later introduced the Many-Worlds Interpretation to address the complexities, giving rise to the concept of parallel universes and the Multiverse.2. When interpreting Schrödinger's cat theory and the multiverse concept, it was discovered that within the framework of Western physics, they involve deductive reasoning and fall into the category of quantity and approximation. However, when interpreted within the framework of Indian metaphysical philosophy, they are associated with inductive reasoning and belong to the category of inference and approximation. This contrast highlights how Schrödinger's Cat theory can be a valuable philosophical tool for discussing ideas related to parallel universes and the Multiverse, especially when considering different approaches to interpretation.These findings shed light on the significance of Schrödinger's Cat theory as a philosophical instrument for exploring the concepts of parallel universes and the Multiverse and for considering the possibilities of diverse states for events occurring simultaneously, even when we only observe a fraction of them.