Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia; Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.
Post 125. June 27, 2022 continued . . . .
Quantum Weirdness
Fuzzy Logic . . . Fuzzy Physics
Another weird feature of quantum superposition is the uncertainty & unpredictability of the wavefunction prior to measurement. For most physical equations you can simply calculate the answer. But in QM, you have to do the exper-iment. To quote Forrest Gump : “it’s like a box of chocolates . . . . You never know what you’re gonna get”. Or, as Ball says, “the wavefunction contains all that can be known about the quantum system. So anything that can be measured is in there somewhere. . . . But how does ‘can be’ become ‘is’?” He goes on to say, “Quantum mechanics might seem ‘weird’, but it is not illogical. It’s just that it employs a new and unfamiliar logic”. Philosophically, we are used to two-value logic : it’s either True or False. But Fuzzy Logic²⁴ is multi-valued, and more like human intuition. As in digital information, the ‘correct’ value may be anywhere between 1 and 0 ; 100% true or completely false.
Perhaps the best way to understand quantum logic is to think in terms of Aristotle’s distinction between Actual & Potential forms²⁵. I view it as the difference between physical existence & metaphysical existence. For example, Plato’s Theory of Forms proposed an eternal source of Ideal Forms, that are like a menu for bread, and temporal instances of Real forms, that are like the baked loaf. You can’t eat the menu, but you can’t have the bread without following the directions. Plato also referred to that Ideal Source as Chaos²⁶, which was not chaotic in the modern sense, but merely amorphous, without physical form. Non-local quantum Potential does not exist in space-time. So, where is it? Physicists imagine that a potential particle exists in the holistic state of Superposition, which is merely a hypothetical non-physical un-real statistical abstraction, that can be metaphorically symbolized as a continuous ocean. From which an occasional fish (particle) can be pulled-out. And the hook is a mental measurement.
Even in their “real” physical form, quantum particles have some weird properties. Ball notes that “some properties appear at the microscale that don’t have any significance . . . in the macroworld”. So physicists came up with metaphorical rather than literal labels, such as “spin” & “color”. Regarding his discussion of such vague properties, he footnoted, “I’m being intentionally materialistic, and ignoring those qualities and abstractions that give the world human value. . . . Things which matter most to most of us.” Ironically, the things that ‘matter’ to a majority of humans are immaterial — what used to be called ‘spiritual’.
Another strange feature of Quantum non-mechanics is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Which Ball suggests would be better labeled the Unknowability Principle. In a footnote, he says, “Heisenberg of course used German words : . . . (Inexactness) . . . (Undeterminedness or vagueness) . . . Neils Bohr’s preferred term . . . (Doubtfulness or unsureness)”. Hence, the mystery of quantumness. . . . .
Blog Post 125 continued . . . .
SIDEBAR NOTES
24. Fuzzy Logic : It’s logic on a sliding scale. Academic Logic and digital Computers work with absolute differences like black or white, in numerical terms of 1s & 0s. But typical human reasoning deals with relative distinc-tions, and degrees of truth & falsity. Ironically, quantum superposition is more like human judgment, in that not-yet-real possibilities are taken into account.
25. Actual vs Potential : Actual things are real, but Potential things are yet to be realized. Actual has physical material existence, while Potential has only statistical or imaginary existence. Nature actualizes new things via Evolution. But humans realize their dreams via planning & technology.
“One of the misunder-standings of the quantum theory is, well, that it is about quanta. . . . In light of that, it is perhaps surprising how many things are not “quantized” in the sense of being packaged
into discrete chunks, quanta. Just take quantum electro-dynamics. A photon can have any energy: the
spectrum is continuous. A free electron can be anywhere: its position is not confined to a grid or otherwise quantized.” Victor Toth Physics Expert on Quora
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