On Thu, 24 Mar 2005 05:43:56 -0500 "jack syme" <drsyme@cablespeed.com>
writes:
> To me the most fascinating aspect of quantum mechanics, is the
> effects on
> the system by the presence of an observer. And it just made sense
> to think
> that the only way this could work is if both the observer and the
> system are
> part of the same deterministic universe.
>
> And apparently yes that is the case, deBroglie-Bohmian mechanics
> does
> explain this quantum weirdness.
>
> http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm-bohm/#2s
>
First, the scientific observer or observation has to be physical. So this
claim has nothing to do with the possibility of nonphysical observation.
It merely reflects the impossibility of detecting spirit with scientific
methods.
Second, you have given no evidence for the assumption that the universe
is strictly deterministic. As I noted earlier, the claim is
self-stultifying.
Third, I'd be more impressed if there were a proof that every one of the
infinite number of equivalent scientific theories gave the same
connection. In 1905 Henri Poincare used a proof by Koenigs, a provincial
engineer, to conclude that every set of data subject to the least action
principle falls under an infinite number of equally good theories. This
applies by extension to all scientific theory construction. By way of
illustration, Whitehead produced al alternate theory of relativity using
Euclidean geometry because he didn't like Riemannian. Eddington showed it
to be equivalent to Einstein's in the four matters then recognized as
relevant. It failed later. It may be three decades back that an article
in /Scientific American/ discussed a number of such theories. Given the
complexity of the theory, I'm surprised that there are any alternatives.
More recently, if I understood the matter correctly, two versions of
string theory were shown to be equivalent.
The guy who insists that Jack, the other respondents, and he are
self-determined, AKA having free will,
Dave
Received on Thu Mar 24 16:05:50 2005
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