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On the consistency of relative facts

Lawrence et al. have presented an argument purporting to show that “relative facts do not exist” and, consequently, “Relational Quantum Mechanics is incompatible with quantum mechanics”. The argument is based on a GHZ-like contradiction between constraints satisfied by measurement outcomes in an ext...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Cavalcanti, Eric G., Di Biagio, Andrea, Rovelli, Carlo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Netherlands 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665455/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38028813
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13194-023-00551-8
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author Cavalcanti, Eric G.
Di Biagio, Andrea
Rovelli, Carlo
author_facet Cavalcanti, Eric G.
Di Biagio, Andrea
Rovelli, Carlo
author_sort Cavalcanti, Eric G.
collection PubMed
description Lawrence et al. have presented an argument purporting to show that “relative facts do not exist” and, consequently, “Relational Quantum Mechanics is incompatible with quantum mechanics”. The argument is based on a GHZ-like contradiction between constraints satisfied by measurement outcomes in an extended Wigner’s friend scenario. Here we present a strengthened version of the argument, and show why, contrary to the claim by Lawrence et al., these arguments do not contradict the consistency of a theory of relative facts. Rather, considering this argument helps clarify how one should not think about a theory of relative facts, like RQM.
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spelling pubmed-106654552023-11-22 On the consistency of relative facts Cavalcanti, Eric G. Di Biagio, Andrea Rovelli, Carlo Eur J Philos Sci Paper in Philosophy of the Natural Sciences Lawrence et al. have presented an argument purporting to show that “relative facts do not exist” and, consequently, “Relational Quantum Mechanics is incompatible with quantum mechanics”. The argument is based on a GHZ-like contradiction between constraints satisfied by measurement outcomes in an extended Wigner’s friend scenario. Here we present a strengthened version of the argument, and show why, contrary to the claim by Lawrence et al., these arguments do not contradict the consistency of a theory of relative facts. Rather, considering this argument helps clarify how one should not think about a theory of relative facts, like RQM. Springer Netherlands 2023-11-22 2023 /pmc/articles/PMC10665455/ /pubmed/38028813 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13194-023-00551-8 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Paper in Philosophy of the Natural Sciences
Cavalcanti, Eric G.
Di Biagio, Andrea
Rovelli, Carlo
On the consistency of relative facts
title On the consistency of relative facts
title_full On the consistency of relative facts
title_fullStr On the consistency of relative facts
title_full_unstemmed On the consistency of relative facts
title_short On the consistency of relative facts
title_sort on the consistency of relative facts
topic Paper in Philosophy of the Natural Sciences
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665455/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38028813
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13194-023-00551-8
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