Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Bryce DeWitt letter to John Wheeler, 19-September-1979

Bryce Seligman DeWitt

Published Sep 19, 1979• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

As Hugh Everett's interpretation gained more notoriety in the wake of the DeWitt-Graham anthology, Wheeler began to distance himself from his former student. Here, DeWitt and Wheeler have reversed their earlier positions: DeWitt finds himself defending Everett's interpretation against Wheeler, who seems to have taken Bohr's side in a previous letter to DeWitt.

Related papers

John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 16-May-1957

John A. Wheeler

Hugh Everett's thesis was ultimately published in September 1957 in a special issue of Reviews of Modern Physics, guest edited by Bryce DeWitt. In mid-May, 1957, Everett's thesis was already finished and he had passed the oral examination. The paper was already scheduled for publication, but John Wheeler apparently had some last minute changes to recommend.

•May 16, 1957•0 citations

Bryce DeWitt letter to John Wheeler 20-April-1967

Bryce Seligman DeWitt

In 1967, Bryce DeWitt published a three part essay, called "Quantum Theory of Gravitation." He sent a preprint of the first part to Wheeler for his comments. This is DeWitt's reply to Wheeler's comments. It is notable because DeWitt mentions Everett, Bohr, Rosenfeld, and Wheeler's companion to Everett's paper.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations

Bryce S. DeWitt letter to John Wheeler, Wheeler's copy, 07-May-1957

Bryce Seligman DeWitt

As a close friend and collaborator of John Wheeler's, Bryce DeWitt was one of the first people to see a draft of the short version of Hugh Everett's thesis (he did not read the longer version until much later, as is evidenced by some of the complaints in this letter). In May 1957, DeWitt wrote a long and thoughtful letter to Wheeler about how Everett's theory had conceptual parallels with Einstein's theory of general relativity. Wheeler promptly forwarded a copy of the letter to Everett. DeWitt was unhappy with both wave function collapse and the Copenhagen Interpretation. He wrote that Everett's formalistic argument for pure wave mechanics was "beautifully consistent''. But he could not accept the ontological ramifications of the theory because, "I simply do not branch.'' This document is the original letter, as saved by Wheeler. It includes several sentences on the bottom of page 4 that were cut off when Wheeler's secretary reproduced the letter for Everett.

•May 7, 1957•0 citations

Hugh Everett handwritten draft letter to Bryce S. DeWitt, 31-May-1957

Everett, Hugh

As a close friend and collaborator of J.A. Wheeler's, Bryce S. DeWitt was one of the first people to see a draft of the short version of Hugh Everett's thesis (he did not read the longer version until much later, as is evidenced by some of the complaints in this letter). In May 1957, DeWitt wrote a long and thoughtful letter to Wheeler about how Everett's theory had conceptual parallels with Einstein's theory of general relativity. At the end of that month, Everett sent his reply. This document is a handwritten draft/outline of the letter that Everett ultimately sent.

•May 31, 1957•0 citations

John Wheeler letter to Hugh Everett, 21-September-1955

John A. Wheeler

Before writing the long thesis, Hugh Everett wrote three short papers on topics that would ultimately be discussed in the thesis. Here John Wheeler responds to those. Wheeler expresses his belief that one of the papers is essentially publishable already; a second, though, he thinks need to be toned down before he shows it to Bohr.

•Sep 21, 1955•0 citations

Hugh Everett letter to Bryce S. DeWitt, 31-May-1957

Hugh Everett

As a close friend and collaborator of Wheeler's, DeWitt was one of the first people to see a draft of the short version of Everett's thesis (he did not read the longer version until much later, as is evidenced by some of the complaints in this letter). In May 1957, DeWitt wrote a long and thoughtful letter to Wheeler about how Everett's theory had conceptual parallels with Einstein's theory of general relativity. At the end of that month, Everett sent his reply. This document is a copy of the letter that Everett sent. In response to DeWitt's insistence that he has direct introspective evidence that he does not split, Everett draws an analogy with anti-Copernicans, who argued that they had direct evidence that the world did not move. Based on much later remarks, it seems that DeWitt was convinced by Everett's rejoinder.

•May 19, 2011•0 citations
As Hugh Everett's interpretation gained more notoriety in the wake of the DeWitt-Graham anthology, Wheeler began to distance himself from his former student. Here, DeWitt and Wheeler have reversed their earlier positions: DeWitt finds himself defending Everett's interpretation against Wheeler, who seems to have taken Bohr's side in a previous letter to DeWitt.
As a close friend and collaborator of John Wheeler's, Bryce DeWitt was one of the first people to see a draft of the short version of Hugh Everett's thesis (he did not read the longer version until much later, as is evidenced by some of the complaints in this letter). In May 1957, DeWitt wrote a long and thoughtful letter to Wheeler about how Everett's theory had conceptual parallels with Einstein's theory of general relativity. Wheeler promptly forwarded a copy of the letter to Everett. DeWitt was unhappy with both wave function collapse and the Copenhagen Interpretation. He wrote that Everett's formalistic argument for pure wave mechanics was "beautifully consistent''. But he could not accept the ontological ramifications of the theory because, "I simply do not branch.'' This document is the original letter, as saved by Wheeler. It includes several sentences on the bottom of page 4 that were cut off when Wheeler's secretary reproduced the letter for Everett.
As a close friend and collaborator of J.A. Wheeler's, Bryce S. DeWitt was one of the first people to see a draft of the short version of Hugh Everett's thesis (he did not read the longer version until much later, as is evidenced by some of the complaints in this letter). In May 1957, DeWitt wrote a long and thoughtful letter to Wheeler about how Everett's theory had conceptual parallels with Einstein's theory of general relativity. At the end of that month, Everett sent his reply. This document is a handwritten draft/outline of the letter that Everett ultimately sent.
As a close friend and collaborator of Wheeler's, DeWitt was one of the first people to see a draft of the short version of Everett's thesis (he did not read the longer version until much later, as is evidenced by some of the complaints in this letter). In May 1957, DeWitt wrote a long and thoughtful letter to Wheeler about how Everett's theory had conceptual parallels with Einstein's theory of general relativity. At the end of that month, Everett sent his reply. This document is a copy of the letter that Everett sent. In response to DeWitt's insistence that he has direct introspective evidence that he does not split, Everett draws an analogy with anti-Copernicans, who argued that they had direct evidence that the world did not move. Based on much later remarks, it seems that DeWitt was convinced by Everett's rejoinder.