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"The wavefunction is a real physical object after all, say researchers." Mathematics is just a representation of reality, not the reality itself. No single la
by protez 15y ago
"The wavefunction is a real physical object after all, say researchers."
Mathematics is just a representation of reality, not the reality itself.
No single law in all scientific fields can state that the law itself is the physical object, or a part of the Universe. One may assert that General Relativity can explain lots of observations we can make about this universe. However, even if the observations match the way the universe seems moving 100%, it doesn't indicate that the universe itself is GR. GR is just a successful model of reality that can assert some important relationships among macroscopic observations in this universe.
Assume that someone forged a ultimate theory that can integrate every possible physical observation we can make about this universe. Even if that's the case, he can't assert that "this universe IS the theory." It's merely the theory is a successful model of reality, but not that reality is model itself.
No one can dare to claim that a set of mathematical description of observation equals reality. No wavefunction can be a physical object. That's simply idiotic.
- protez 15y agoI can sympathize the side claiming that the differentiation between interpretative probability and physical probability can be a huge thing, so that "wavefunction is a real physical object" makes a lot sense. Yes, finding the inconsistency from interpretative model is great, but insisting that the alternative model is itself a physical reality is another issue. All probabilitic objects derive its existential validity from the identity of indiscernible. We employ probabilistic tools from the belief that what we observe in quantum level are indeed identicals. However, the indiscernibility isn't equal to identity, even if the tools based on the assumption succeed in many aspects of how the supposed identities interact. We would never know each fundamental physical unit is truly identical unless we uncover the fundamental totality of quantum particles. Before we grasp the totality of the physical fundamentals, no probability is physical yet. And I think humanity would never know it. There's a limit in our knowledge and the true identity is beyond our reach.
- wcoenen 15y agoNot everybody is convinced that reality deserves to be on a pedestal separate from mathematics. Perhaps the only thing distinguishing our reality from mathematical structures is that we are part of it. All mathematical structures with self-aware substructures (such as ourselves) appear to be "reality" from the point of view of its inhabitants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_ensemble http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_ensemble http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_realism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_realism
- protez 15y agoPresented in the criticism sections of your mentioned Wikipedia articles, Gödel's incompleteness theorem is there as a strong rejection to mathematics = reality argument. No mathematics is self-contained, which means it's incomplete to describe the totality of reality. We shouldn't forget that mathematics is an invention of mortal human beings. For the dwellers in quantum space, the mathematical fundamental might be totally different from our one.