In this publication, I address popular uses of the term 'retrocausation' in connection with quantum theory, and find that there is much that needs to be corrected and clarified. Much of the discussion in the literature on this topic involves inconsistencies and equivocation about what retrocausation really is, and about what it can do.  In … Continue reading A critical look at popular ‘retrocausation’ claims. Do they hold up? →

https://alonzipodcast.com/wp/2018/11/01/our-unseen-reality-the-relativistic-transactional-interpretation-of-quantum-mechanics-with-ruth-kastner/ Note correction: I should have said that a real photon goes FROM the emitter TO the absorber (said it backwards, LOL).

I had fun in Buenos Aires last summer with the great people in the Grupo de Filosofía de las Ciencias. Here is my talk on how to understand the emergence of classicality from the quantum level in the context of statistical approaches. https://youtu.be/kvXYmB2qj88

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 →