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Physics World

Name and shame

S. L. Altmann

Published Jul 1, 2003• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In his review of Peter Pesic's book on individuality in physics (April p42), Jean-Marc Lévy-Leblond makes an astonishing remark. Asserting, as the book does, that the term "particle" is misleading in describing, say, an electron, Lévy-Leblond quotes Pesic as saying "No human language has an adequate word for their [a quantum particle's] condition."

DOI
10.1088/2058-7058/16/7/24

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In his review of Peter Pesic's book on individuality in physics (April p42), Jean-Marc Lévy-Leblond makes an astonishing remark. Asserting, as the book does, that the term "particle" is misleading in describing, say, an electron, Lévy-Leblond quotes Pesic as saying "No human language has an adequate word for their [a quantum particle's] condition."
In 1976, a conference called "Fifty Years of Quantum Mechanics" was held at the University of Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg. It was attended by more than a dozen physicists, including a young French scientist, Jean Marc Levy-Leblond. Wheeler's presentation was called, "Include the Observer in the Wave Function?'' Wheeler had a history of vacillating on Everett's theory, but now, 20 years after he had endorsed it in Reviews of Modern Physics, he rejected Everett's inclusion of the observer in the wave function, essentially upholding the Copenhagen interpretation. In 1977, Jean Marc Levy-Leblond wrote a letter to Everett, including a copy of a paper he had presented at the conference that compared DeWitt's and Everett's views. Everett responded by agreeing with Levy-Leblond's analysis of the differences between the two views. Everett especially liked the short spoof of foundational writing in physics (on "zipperdynamics'') that LeBlond had tacked onto the end of his paper. This document is the cover letter that Levy-Leblond sent with his paper.
In 1976, a conference called "Fifty Years of Quantum Mechanics" was held at the University of Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg. It was attended by more than a dozen physicists, including a young French scientist, Jean Marc Levy-Leblond. Wheeler's presentation was called, "Include the Observer in the Wave Function?'' Wheeler had a history of vacillating on Everett's theory, but now, 20 years after he had endorsed it in Reviews of Modern Physics, he rejected Everett's inclusion of the observer in the wave function, essentially upholding the Copenhagen interpretation. In 1977, Jean Marc Levy-Leblond wrote a letter to Everett, including a copy of a paper he had presented at the conference that compared DeWitt's and Everett's views. Everett responded by agreeing with Levy-Leblond's analysis of the differences between the two views. Everett especially liked the short spoof of foundational writing in physics (on "zipperdynamics'') that LeBlond had tacked onto the end of his paper. This document is Everett's reply to Levy-Leblond, including an earlier rough draft.
In 1976, a conference called "Fifty Years of Quantum Mechanics" was held at the University of Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg. It was attended by more than a dozen physicists, including a young French scientist, Jean Marc Levy-Leblond. Wheeler's presentation was called, `"Include the Observer in the Wave Function?'' Wheeler had a history of vacillating on Everett's theory, but now, 20 years after he had endorsed it in Reviews of Modern Physics, he rejected Everett's inclusion of the observer in the wave function, essentially upholding the Copenhagen interpretation. In 1977, Jean Marc Levy-Leblond wrote a letter to Everett, including a copy of a paper he had presented at the conference that compared DeWitt's and Everett's views. Everett responded by agreeing with Levy-Leblond's analysis of the differences between the two views. Everett especially liked the short spoof of foundational writing in physics (on "zipperdynamics'') that LeBlond had tacked onto the end of his paper. This document is the published version of Levy-Leblond's paper, which appeared in the journal Dialectica 30 (2/3) in 1976.