Welcome! Here you will find information about the latest, relativistic version of the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics, 'RTI', blog posts, and an opportunity for informal discussion. The transactional interpretation (TI) is a new way of understanding what's behind the formalism of quantum physics. I have just completed the follow-up book to Understanding Our Unseen … Continue reading Welcome!
This post points out a little-known but powerful and important argument from Joe Henson regarding a proposed interpretation of quantum theory known as "Qbism". Qbism is currently advocated primarily by Fuchs, Mermin, and Schack. Henson's argument discloses a crucial fallacy in Qbism's claim to demonstrate that quantum mechanics is a local theory, where a 'local' … Continue reading Why “making sense of quantum theory” by denying that theories are about the world does not really work
via A quantum myth for our times
A talk given at the University of Buenos Aires in June 2017 on the difference between classical systems and quantum ones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvXYmB2qj88&feature=youtu.be (Note: Some of the slides were missing text here and there due to a compatibility issue; the correct version is provided here: Baires 2017 slides)
This is a preprint version of this paper: AIP Conference Proceedings 1841, 020002 (2017) R. E. Kastner Abstract. Time-symmetric interpretations of quantum theory are often presented as featuring "retrocausal" effects in addition to the usual forward notion of causation. This paper examines the ontological implications of certain time- symmetric theories, and finds that no dynamical notion … Continue reading Is There Really “Retrocausation” in Time-Symmetric Approaches to Quantum Mechanics?
I recently co-authored a paper with Transactional Interpretation (TI) originator John G. Cramer, which derives the Born Rule (quantum probability rule) for radiative processes (emission and absorption) in a simple and transparent way, based on the Wheeler-Feynman-Davies'absorber' theory of radiation. It also shows that absorption is indeed perfectly well-defined in TI (contrary to skeptical claims … Continue reading Paper with John Cramer on Absorption in TI
Tom Siegfried, Editor-at-Large and Blogger for Science News, on my recent paper with Stuart Kauffman and Michael Epperson: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/context/quantum-mysteries-dissolve-if-possibilities-are-realities
In a nutshell, the measurement problem (MP) is this: given an interaction among quantum systems (such as an unstable atom, atoms comprising a Geiger Counter, atoms comprising a vial of gas, a cat, a friend of Wigner, etc.), which of those interactions constitutes ‘measurement,’ and why? During the past several decades, worries about the MP … Continue reading On the Status of the Measurement Problem: Recalling the Relativistic Transactional Interpretation
