PIRSA:21100017

Can reality depend on the observer? Lessons from QBism and Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM)

Pienaar, J. (2021). Can reality depend on the observer? Lessons from QBism and Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM). Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/21100017

Pienaar, Jacques. Can reality depend on the observer? Lessons from QBism and Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM). Perimeter Institute, Oct. 08, 2021, https://pirsa.org/21100017 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:21100017,
            doi = {10.48660/21100017},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/21100017},
            author = {Pienaar, Jacques},
            keywords = {Quantum Foundations},
            language = {en},
            title = {Can reality depend on the observer? Lessons from QBism and Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM)},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2021},
            month = {oct},
            note = {PIRSA:21100017 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Jacques Pienaar

University of Massachusetts Boston

Talk number
PIRSA:21100017
Collection
Talk Type
Subject
Abstract

There are many different interpretations of quantum mechanics. Among them, QBism and Rovelli's Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) are special because they both propose that reality itself is produced relative to "observers". For QBism, observers are defined as rational decision-making "agents", while in RQM any physical system can be an observer. But both interpretations agree that reality is shaped by what happens when observers encounter the world external to themselves. In this talk I will try to understand what these interpretations imply for the ongoing problem of defining an ontological model of quantum mechanics.