36 | David Albert on Quantum Measurement and the Problems with Many-Worlds

36 | David Albert on Quantum Measurement and the Problems with Many-Worlds

Quantum mechanics is our best theory of how reality works at a fundamental level, yet physicists still can't agree on what the theory actually says. At the heart of the puzzle is the "measurement problem": what actually happens when we observe a quantum system, and why do we apparently need separate rules when it happens? David Albert is one of the leading figures in the foundations of quantum mechanics today, and we discuss the measurement problem and why it's so puzzling. Then we dive into the Many-Worlds version of quantum mechanics, which is my favorite (as I explain in my forthcoming book Something Deeply Hidden). It is not David's favorite, so he presents the case as to why you should be skeptical of Many-Worlds. (The philosophically respectable case, that is, not a vague unease at all those other universes.) Support Mindscape on Patreon or Paypal. David Albert received his Ph.D. in physics from Rockefeller University. He is currently the Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. His research involves a number of topics within the foundations of physics, including the arrow of time (coining the phrase "Past Hypothesis" for the low-entropy state of the early universe) and quantum mechanics. He is the author of a number of books, including Time and Chance, Quantum Mechanics and Experience, and After Physics. Columbia web page Publications at PhilPapers Wikipedia page Videos at Closer to Truth BigThink interview

Episoder(419)

26 | Ge Wang on Artful Design, Computers, and Music

26 | Ge Wang on Artful Design, Computers, and Music

Everywhere around us are things that serve functions. We live in houses, sit on chairs, drive in cars. But these things don't only serve functions, they also come in particular forms, which may be emo...

10 Des 20181h 10min

25 | David Chalmers on Consciousness, the Hard Problem, and Living in a Simulation

25 | David Chalmers on Consciousness, the Hard Problem, and Living in a Simulation

The "Easy Problems" of consciousness have to do with how the brain takes in information, thinks about it, and turns it into action. The "Hard Problem," on the other hand, is the task of explaining our...

3 Des 20181h 22min

24 | Kip Thorne on Gravitational Waves, Time Travel, and Interstellar

24 | Kip Thorne on Gravitational Waves, Time Travel, and Interstellar

I remember vividly hosting a colloquium speaker, about fifteen years ago, who talked about the LIGO gravitational-wave observatory, which had just started taking data. Comparing where they were to whe...

26 Nov 20181h 19min

23 | Lisa Aziz-Zadeh on Embodied Cognition, Mirror Neurons, and Empathy

23 | Lisa Aziz-Zadeh on Embodied Cognition, Mirror Neurons, and Empathy

Brains are important things; they're where thinking happens. Or are they? The theory of "embodied cognition" posits that it's better to think of thinking as something that takes place in the body as a...

19 Nov 20181h 7min

22 | Joe Walston on Conservation, Urbanization, and the Way We Live on Earth

22 | Joe Walston on Conservation, Urbanization, and the Way We Live on Earth

There's no question that human activity is causing enormous changes on our planet's environment, from deforestation to mass extinction to climate change. But perhaps there is a tiny cause for optimism...

12 Nov 20181h 28min

21 | Alex Rosenberg on Naturalism, History, and Theory of Mind

21 | Alex Rosenberg on Naturalism, History, and Theory of Mind

We humans love to tell ourselves stories about why things happened the way they did; if the stories are sufficiently serious, we label this activity "history." Part of getting history right is simply ...

5 Nov 20181h 20min

20 | Scott Derrickson on Cinema, Blockbusters, Horror, and Mystery

20 | Scott Derrickson on Cinema, Blockbusters, Horror, and Mystery

Special Halloween edition? Scott Derrickson is a film-lover first and a director second, but he's been quite successful at the latter -- you may know him as the director and co-writer of Marvel's Doct...

29 Okt 20181h 23min

19 | Tyler Cowen on Maximizing Growth and Thinking for the Future

19 | Tyler Cowen on Maximizing Growth and Thinking for the Future

Economics, like other sciences (social and otherwise), is about what the world does; but it's natural for economists to occasionally wander out into the question of what we should do as we live in the...

22 Okt 201859min

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