In the Einstein-Bohr debate, Einstein considered quantum mechanics incomplete and disagreed with Born's probabilistic interpretation of wave-functions, which collapse abruptly once measurements are performed on the corresponding microscopic objects. Inspired by Einstein, Bell and his followers intended to complete quantum mechanics within the framework of local realism. Regrettably, the deterministic correlation between distant components of a separable system in Einstein's local-realist description of the world is mistaken for the so-called non-locality or "nonlocal-interaction" in the world described by Bell's theorem, which leads to the questionable interpretation of the experimental results obtained by testing Bell inequalities. This article introduces a new principle, the general principle of measurements, which is proved as a mathematical theorem and allows quantum mechanics to be completed within the framework of local realism while keeping the formal axiomatic definition of a general Hilbert space essentially unchanged. Using disjunction ("or") as the logical relation between orthonormal vectors spanning a given Hilbert space, the completed quantum theory precludes inexplicable collapses of wave-functions and is intuitively comprehensible, thus alleviating much difficulty in understanding quantum mechanics. Among various world views, Einstein's local-realist world view is correct.
In the Einstein-Bohr debate, Einstein considered quantum mechanics incomplete and disagreed with Born's probabilistic interpretation of wave-functions, which collapse abruptly once measurements are performed on the corresponding microscopic objects. Inspired by Einstein, Bell and his followers intended to complete quantum mechanics within the framework of local realism. Regrettably, the deterministic correlation between distant components of a separable system in Einstein's local-realist description of the world is mistaken for the so-called non-locality or "nonlocal-interaction" in the world described by Bell's theorem, which leads to the questionable interpretation of the experimental results obtained by testing Bell inequalities. This article introduces a new principle, the general principle of measurements, which is proved as a mathematical theorem and allows quantum mechanics to be completed within the framework of local realism while keeping the formal axiomatic definition of a general Hilbert space essentially unchanged. Using disjunction ("or") as the logical relation between orthonormal vectors spanning a given Hilbert space, the completed quantum theory precludes inexplicable collapses of wave-functions and is intuitively comprehensible, thus alleviating much difficulty in understanding quantum mechanics. Among various world views, Einstein's local-realist world view is correct.
As we all know, Einstein disagreed with Born's probabilistic interpretation of wave-functions, which collapse abruptly once measurements are performed on the corresponding systems. In the Einstein-Bohr debate, Einstein considered quantum mechanics incomplete. Inspired by Einstein, Bell and his followers intended to complete quantum mechanics within the framework of local realism. Regrettably, deterministic correlations in Einstein's local-realist description of the world are mistaken for "nonlocal-interactions" (non-locality) in the world described by Bell's theorem, which leads to the questionable interpretation of the experimental results obtained by testing Bell inequalities. This article introduces a new principle, the general principle of measurements, which is proved as a mathematical theorem and allows quantum mechanics to be completed within the framework of local realism while keeping the axiomatic definition of a general Hilbert space essentially unchanged. Using disjunction ("or") as the logical relation between orthonormal vectors spanning a given Hilbert space, the completed quantum theory precludes inexplicable collapses of wave-functions and is intuitively comprehensible, thus alleviating much difficulty in understanding quantum mechanics. Among various world views, Einstein's local-realist world view is correct.
As we all know, Einstein disagreed with Born's probabilistic interpretation of wave-functions, which collapse abruptly once measurements are performed on the corresponding systems. In the Einstein-Bohr debate, Einstein considered quantum mechanics incomplete. Inspired by Einstein, Bell and his followers intended to complete quantum mechanics within the framework of local realism. Regrettably, deterministic correlations in Einstein's local-realist description of the world are mistaken for "nonlocal-interactions" (non-locality) in the world described by Bell's theorem, which leads to the questionable interpretation of the experimental results obtained by testing Bell inequalities. This article introduces a new principle, the general principle of measurements, which is proved as a mathematical theorem and allows quantum mechanics to be completed within the framework of local realism while keeping the axiomatic definition of a general Hilbert space essentially unchanged. Using disjunction ("or") as the logical relation between orthonormal vectors spanning a given Hilbert space, the completed quantum theory precludes inexplicable collapses of wave-functions and is intuitively comprehensible, thus alleviating much difficulty in understanding quantum mechanics. Among various world views, Einstein's local-realist world view is correct.
In the Einstein-Bohr debate, Einstein considered quantum mechanics incomplete and disagreed with Born's probabilistic interpretation of wave-functions. Observers in the axioms of the theory also bothered Einstein. Inspired by Einstein, Bell and his followers intended to complete quantum mechanics within the framework of local realism. Regrettably, the deterministic correlation between distant components of a separable system in Einstein's local-realist description of the world is mistaken for non-locality in the world described by Bell's theorem, which interprets the experimental results of testing Bell inequalities incorrectly. This article introduces a new principle, the general principle of measurements, which is proved as a mathematical theorem, allowing quantum mechanics to be completed within the framework of local realism while keeping the definition of a general Hilbert space unchanged. Using disjunction (``or'') as the logical relation between superposed orthonormal vectors, the completed quantum theory provides the same probabilistic predictions of empirical results as those provided by the current version of the theory, precludes inexplicable collapses of wave-functions, eliminates observers from the axioms of quantum mechanics, and is intuitively comprehensible, thus alleviating much difficulty experienced by many people in understanding the theory in its present form. Among various world views, Einstein's local-realist world view is correct.
In the Einstein-Bohr debate, Einstein considered quantum mechanics incomplete and disagreed with Born’s probabilistic interpretation of wave-functions. Observers in the axioms of quantum mechanics also bothered Einstein. Inspired by Einstein, Bell and his followers intended to complete quantum mechanics within the framework of local realism. Regrettably, the deterministic correlation between distant components of a separable system in Einstein’s local-realist description of the world is mistaken for non-locality in the world described by Bell’s theorem, leading to incorrect interpretations of experimental results obtained by testing Bell inequalities. This article introduces a new principle, the general principle of measurements, which is proved as a mathematical theorem and allows quantum mechanics to be completed within the framework of local realism while keeping the formal axiomatic definition of a general Hilbert space unchanged. The completed theory can provide the same probabilistic predictions of empirical results as those provided by the current theory. Using disjunction (“or”) as the logical relation between superposed orthonormal vectors, the completed theory precludes observers in the axioms of the current theory and inexplicable collapses of wave-functions, thus it is intuitively comprehensible and alleviates much difficulty in understanding quantum mechanics. Among various world views, Einstein’s local-realist world view is correct.
The Copenhagen interpretation presumes the legitimacy of quantum superpositions, attaches ``the probabilistic nature'' to quantum mechanics, brings observers into axioms of the theory, and claims that quantum mechanics is already a complete theory. Einstein disagreed with this interpretation; he argued against the legitimacy of quantum superpositions, worried about observers in the axioms, and considered quantum mechanics incomplete. Inspired by Einstein, Bell and his followers intended to complete quantum mechanics within the framework of local realism. They derived Bell inequalities, tested them by experiments, and proved Bell's theorem to interpret the experimental results. Regrettably, the experimental results are misinterpreted. This article introduces a new principle, the general principle of measurements, and provides its mathematical proof. Based on this principle, quantum mechanics can be completed within the framework of local realism by using disjunction (``or'') as the logical relation between orthonormal vectors spanning any given Hilbert space while keeping its general definition unchanged. Probabilistic predictions given by the completed theory and the current theory are exactly the same. Furthermore, by eliminating observers from the axioms and precluding inexplicable collapses of wave-functions, the completed theory alleviates much difficulty in understanding quantum mechanics and is intuitively comprehensible. In conclusion, Einstein's local-realist world-view is correct.
Lying at the heart of quantum mechanics, the notion of quantum superposition causes enormous difficulty in understanding the problem of quantum measurement, which concerns the Einstein-Bohr debate on the conceptual foundations of the quantum theory. According to Bell’s theorem, Einstein’s viewpoint in his debate with Bohr seems to be wrong. In the present paper, a new principle (referred to as the general principle of measurements) is introduced and proved as a mathematical theorem. Based on this principle, various forms of quantum superposition (including quantum entanglement) and the corresponding experiments are scrutinized. The main findings are as follows. (a) Einstein’s viewpoint is correct and Bell’s theorem is problematic. (b) Measurement outcomes of any actual experiment with individual microscopic objects described in a form of quantum superposition, in particular, the experimental results of testing Bell inequalities, are all erroneously explained. (c) Bell inequalities failed to capture the essence of the Einstein-Bohr debate, i.e., whether quantum superposition is legitimate for describing individual microscopic objects. (d) All kinds of quantum superposition violate the general principle of measurements and hence are illegitimate. (e) Quantum mechanics can be completed by using disjunction (“or”) as the logical relation between the orthonormal vectors that span an arbitrarily given Hilbert space for describing a single microscopic object, and the mathematical setting will remain essentially unchanged; hidden-variable theories are irrelevant to the real world. (f) After completing quantum mechanics as above, the difficulty in understanding the problem of quantum measurement disappears naturally. Implications of the findings are also discussed.