The Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

TitleThe Measurement Problem from the Perspective of an Information Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsBub, J
JournalEntropy
Volume17
Issue11
Pages7374-7386
Date Published10/28/2015
Abstract

The aim of this paper is to consider the consequences of an information-theoretic interpretation of quantum mechanics for the measurement problem. The motivating idea of the interpretation is that the relation between quantum mechanics and the structure of information is analogous to the relation between special relativity and the structure of space-time. Insofar as quantum mechanics deals with a class of probabilistic correlations that includes correlations structurally different from classical correlations, the theory is about the structure of information: the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information in a genuinely indeterministic quantum world in which measurement outcomes are intrinsically random are different than we thought. Part of the measurement problem is deflated as a pseudo-problem on this view, and the theory has the resources to deal with the remaining part, given certain idealizations in the treatment of macrosystems.

URLhttp://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/17/11/7374
DOI10.3390/e17117374