Dear Dr. Harris: At one point in your comments to Dr. Chopra (in "The Future of God" debate), you stated that one will never see a theoretical physicist make a categorical, dogmatic assertion. But I have often seen physicists (and philosophers of physics) do just that. One example is the often-dogmatic assertion that 'physics implies … Continue reading A call for nuance in the ‘science/religion’ discussion–open letter to Dr. Sam Harris
Author: rekastner
My interview with Deepak Chopra
I recently had a conversation with Deepak Chopra about the ideas in my new book, Understanding Our Unseen Reality: Solving Quantum Riddles. A preview is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLj3hWNGkYQ&feature=youtu.be Full interview is here: https://app.curiositystream.com/#/collection/162/916
What are ‘weak measurements’ and what do they tell us about quantum systems? Less than is often claimed.
The idea of 'weak measurements' has been much discussed recently in the popular science presses as well as in physics journals. This post aims to demystify some of the claims made about quantum systems based on weak measurements. As illustration of the basic idea of weak measurement, consider the following analogy. A quantum shoe factory … Continue reading What are ‘weak measurements’ and what do they tell us about quantum systems? Less than is often claimed.
My interview with Zain Khan, Glow TV
A brief introduction to the puzzles of quantum theory and why we should try to understand its message about reality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuUC5aGrKdo
Dr. Quantum on my new book (http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/p993)
Fred Alan Wolf (aka 'Dr. Quantum') is a best-selling author of philosophically-oriented books on modern physics for the general reader. He recently offered this review of my new book, Understanding Our Unseen Reality: Solving Quantum Riddles (Imperial College Press): "Ruth Kastner is emerging as one of the latest new interpreters of the mysteries of quantum … Continue reading Dr. Quantum on my new book (http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/p993)
A Unified Account of Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Quantum Theory
The non-technical presentation of this material is available in my new book for the general reader, available here and as a Kindle version here. The Possibilist Transactional Interpretation: A Unified Account of Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Quantum Theory that Solves the Problem of Measurement Ruth E. Kastner 17 February 2015 1 Introduction The transactional interpretation of … Continue reading A Unified Account of Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Quantum Theory
Free Will Part II: No need to be disillusioned
Last week I argued that agents making free choices do not in fact have to violate any physical law, in view of quantum indeterminism. Rather than being a ‘slave’ to the quantum statistics, as some philosophers have argued (e.g. Ted Sider, 2005), a choosing agent can be governed by quantum propensities while still having enough … Continue reading Free Will Part II: No need to be disillusioned
Free Will: Why We Should be Skeptical of the Skeptics
It has become quite popular lately to view the notion of free will as a misconception to be ‘debunked.’ To be sure, if we really do not have free will, we should be prepared to face that fact. But is it really a fact? I will argue here that key arguments against robust free will … Continue reading Free Will: Why We Should be Skeptical of the Skeptics
Why the World Cannot Really Split in the Many-Worlds Interpretation
I updated this post to be easier to access, and clarified some of the language.
Reply to Physics Today article and arxiv.org post re ‘Quantum Darwinism’
Comment on “Quantum Darwinism, Decoherence, and the Randomness of Quantum Jumps,” arxiv:1412.5206 R. E. Kastner University of Maryland, College Park December 18, 2014 This brief note points out an extant rebuttal in the literature to the claims made in a recent publication by Zurek [1]. In [1], it is stated that “Decoherence selects preferred pointer … Continue reading Reply to Physics Today article and arxiv.org post re ‘Quantum Darwinism’
Transactional Interpretation 