Abstract
Quantum characteristics like superposition, entanglement, wave-particle duality, nonlocality, contextuality are difficult to reconcile with our everyday intuition. I survey some aspects of quantum foundations and discuss intriguing connections with the foundations of mathematics.
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Notes
- 1.
I’m grateful to Prof. I. Pârvu for bringing to my attention Mac Lane’s article (Mac Lane, 1981) which shares a similar view of mathematical concepts.
- 2.
Kochen’s distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic properties is different from the more well-known one discussed in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/intrinsic-extrinsic/.
- 3.
Due to the finite experimental precision, the outcome of a measurement is always a rational number. However, it is generally assumed that the underlying physical property is continuous and takes values in a subset of \(\mathbb{R}\).
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I am grateful to Ilie Pârvu, Cristi Stoica and Iulian Toader for discussions and critical comments of the manuscript.
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Ionicioiu, R. (2015). Quantum Mechanics: Knocking at the Gates of Mathematical Foundations. In: Pȃrvu, I., Sandu, G., Toader, I. (eds) Romanian Studies in Philosophy of Science. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 313. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16655-1_11
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