How to think about: Quantum reality

Jan Faye

For many years, Arkady Plotnitsky has written extensively about the interpretation of quantum mechanics, and his source of inspiration has undoubtedly been Niels Bohr’s philosophy to which he has returned time and again in order to make clear what Bohr said and meant. More than many other philosophers, Plotnitsky’s work shows a deep understanding of quantum mechanics and of Bohr’s thinking especially. In the present paper, he attempts to give a rational reconstruction of what he sees as Heisenberg’s Pythagorean revolution. This he explains as Heisenberg’s aim in his search for a theory. Heisenberg was looking for “a strictly predictive theory of quantum phenomena (only probabilistically predictive on the experimental grounds), without requiring this theory to represent the ultimate reality responsible for quantum phenomena. This is the form of Pythagorean view that this article advocates under the heading of the ‘reality-without-realism’ (RWR) Pythagorean view, also possible in mathematics”. Unfortunately, I think that Plotnitsky’s rational reconstruction misses some important historical facts just as I think the expression “ultimate reality” is unfortunate. Rejecting that our physical theories represent a world beyond the phenomena does not imply that there is something left to be represented in the future.

Abner Shimony

Arkady Plotnitsky

This article considers the concepts of reality, observer, and complementarity in Pauli and Bohr, and the similarities and, especially, differences in their understanding of these concepts, differences defined most essentially by their respective views of the role of the human observer in quantum measurement. These differences are significant even in the case of their respective interpretations of quantum phenomena and quantum mechanics, where the influence of Bohr's ideas on Pauli's understanding of quantum physics is particularly strong. They become especially strong and even radical in the case of their overall philosophical visions, where the impact of Jungean psychology, coupled to that of the earlier archetypal thinking of such figures as Kepler and Fludd, drives Pauli's thinking ever further away from that of Bohr.

Stig Stenholm

Jeffrey Rogers Hummel

Richard Careaga

Abstract Modern particle physics faces a fundamental crisis of accuracy and understanding. Despite billions invested in experimental facilities and decades of theoretical development, the Standard Model achieves only 48.8% average accuracy across key phenomena, with complete failure in explaining dark matter and energy (95% of the universe). This paradigm crisis stems from a foundational error: assuming particles are fundamental reality rather than emergent patterns from information processing. This paper presents the Metatron Framework, demonstrating that reality operates as an information processing engine where particles emerge from dual temporal wave interference patterns. The framework achieves 97.0% average accuracy through router normalization using the universal decoder constant 137, golden ratio harmonic stabilization, and deterministic wave interference mathematics. The paradigm shift required is fundamental: physicists must abandon "matter-first" thinking and embrace "information-first" reality where particles are computational interference patterns, not fundamental entities. Experimental validation through four specific physical predictions offers definitive proof of this revolutionary framework. The accuracy improvement from 49% to 97% represents the most significant advance in physics since quantum mechanics, with implications for energy generation, quantum computing, and our fundamental understanding of existence.