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Why The Quantum State Only Exists In Our Mind

2025-06-06 Education
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Essentia Foundation
Essentia Foundation
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Description

Dr. David Schmid, Dr. Lídia Del Rio and Hans Busstra explore a metaphysical shift that’s happening in the foundations of physics: the wave function is no longer regarded as something real, but just as a description of what we know about the world. In philosophical terms: the wave function is not ontic, but epistemic. And in more popular terms: the multiverse is science fiction, resting on a too-literal interpretation of a piece of mathematics called the Schrödinger equation. Our previous video with Dr. Del Rio on the Frauchiger-Renner thought experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7kxWT_zI60 Three other 'epistemicists', who’ve just been awarded a prestigious prize in the foundations of physics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnAj66Z1kNQ Chapters marks 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:30 — When did it dawn on you that QM is weird? 00:05:54 — The quantum phenomena that still scare David 00:07:53 — How to account for non-locality 00:12:19 — "What are the symbols representing?" 00:15:34 — What is the wavefunction really? 00:17:00 — "The standard view we are taught in the classroom..." 00:19:23 — Classically explaining quantum 00:20:23 — On Wheeler's delayed choice experiment 00:28:38 — How to interpret the delayed choice experiment 00:32:56 — How can a single particle 'know' what's going on at both paths? 00:36:41 — Quantum phenomena that remain weird: contextuality 00:44:38 — What are the viable ontological explanations we have? 00:48:26 — Is there evidence for an epistemic interpretation? 00:52:56 — Understanding epistemic interpretations 00:57:28 — Are we in a new era of physics? 01:00:43 — Lídia on what constitutes measurement 01:04:36 — How relevant are these recent theoretical findings? 01:07:36 — Experiments with AI as an observer? 01:08:36 — David and Lídia on what consciousness is 01:13:51 — Closing thoughts Links to relevant scientific work of Schmid and Del Rio: Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory L Catani, M Leifer, D Schmid, RW Spekkens Quantum 7, 1119 A review and analysis of six extended Wigner's friend arguments D Schmid, Y Yīng, M Leifer arXiv preprint arXiv:2308.16220 Guiding our interpretation of quantum theory by principles of causation and inference D Schmid, Thesis, University of Waterloo https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/items/7aed8173-684a-40af-bff5-e625f29fe810 Thought experiments in a quantum computer, Nuriya Nurgalieva, Simon Mathis, Lídia del Rio, Renato Renner: https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.06236 All music licensed under Storyblocks and Soundstripe Stock footage licensed under Storyblocks Images from 'Oppenheimer' under fair use policy. Interview content copyright by Essentia Foundation, 2025 www.essentiafoundation.org

Top Comments (10)

@mujaku 2025-06-06

I have had no problem with using QM terms to describe what's going on in Buddhism especially Yogācāra. Nonlocality works well as does locality. But Yogācāra understands that the six senses are incapable of having a handshake with nonlocal reality—something a kin to Schrödinger's one-mind singulare tantum. This is not to say that a handshake is impossible, it's not. You just can't go about it by assuming that the six senses are going to get you there. By the way the 6th sense in Buddhism is imagination. If we permit the use of the six senses our efforts are repelled by nonlocal reality. The six senses are not bridges to nonlocal reality. Instead, they are interference patterns. They project a dualizing grid of consciousness (vijñāna) over reality, creating a false world of "this" and "that." The six senses don't fail because they're broken—they fail because they measure. And measurement, in this metaphysics, is limitation.

99 15 replies
@art3nem 2025-06-06

„The vacuum carrying information“ is the same concept like the Vedic akashic records. All the eastern philosophies talk about quantum mechanics and universal principles. I wonder how long it will take till the first western scientist starts to apply the ancient descriptions on quantum physics. From my point of view we are heading towards a huge paradigm shift and a quantum leap of our consciousness and our understanding of reality itself.

52 8 replies
@lukeskywalker7461 2025-06-07

When will the "for Dummies" version come out?

49 7 replies
@secretfornow8895 2025-06-10

It's nice to know there are people way, way, way smarter than me out there.

27 3 replies
@mellafuri8451 2025-06-06

So, you're telling me something like "math is a metaphor of reality?"

26 18 replies
@DaveTerrasidio 2025-06-06

I have come to love this channel and you guys' amazing ability to help me understand what your talking about despite my being an arty type with **severe** cases of both Aspergers and ADHD; I mean I know I am **very** good at, like, strategic thinking and think "in systems" as it were; having a lot of time on my hands to think than most...but anyway. Seriously You have helped give me confidence, I guess. I still struggle with trying to find words despite being fascinated by language, like, just theoretically. I can definately be described as having many, what seem like big contradictions, but they arent, what I would call 'negative' contradictions certainly, or even really 'positive' either, really; but...'helpful' like that help me see things differently, like **very differently** ... lol anyway, Love you guys! Thanks! : P

23
@okoduwaernest2189 2025-06-06

To find a classical explanation for quantum state, we may have to treat the phenomenon as conscious rather than as physical or local.

21 13 replies
@joe-the-joe 2025-06-06

I like the way Lídia explains things in a sort of figurative way.

16 1 replies
@AmigosdeEster1 2025-07-05

- Has this been confirmed experimentally? - Yes. *5 seconds of silence, staring intently at each other* 😂😂😂

13
@EarthboundJenna 2025-07-23

I think it's long overdue that Physics and Philosophy just get in a room and kiss already lol

4

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