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Constructor theory of probability
Unitary quantum theory, having no Born Rule, is non-probabilistic. Hence the notorious problem of reconciling it with the unpredictability and appearance of stochasticity in quantum measurements. Generalizing and improving upon the so-called ‘decision-theoretic approach’, I shall recast that problem...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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The Royal Society
2016
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5014099/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27616914 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2015.0883 |
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author | Marletto, Chiara |
author_facet | Marletto, Chiara |
author_sort | Marletto, Chiara |
collection | PubMed |
description | Unitary quantum theory, having no Born Rule, is non-probabilistic. Hence the notorious problem of reconciling it with the unpredictability and appearance of stochasticity in quantum measurements. Generalizing and improving upon the so-called ‘decision-theoretic approach’, I shall recast that problem in the recently proposed constructor theory of information—where quantum theory is represented as one of a class of superinformation theories, which are local, non-probabilistic theories conforming to certain constructor-theoretic conditions. I prove that the unpredictability of measurement outcomes (to which constructor theory gives an exact meaning) necessarily arises in superinformation theories. Then I explain how the appearance of stochasticity in (finitely many) repeated measurements can arise under superinformation theories. And I establish sufficient conditions for a superinformation theory to inform decisions (made under it) as if it were probabilistic, via a Deutsch–Wallace-type argument—thus defining a class of decision-supporting superinformation theories. This broadens the domain of applicability of that argument to cover constructor-theory compliant theories. In addition, in this version some of the argument's assumptions, previously construed as merely decision-theoretic, follow from physical properties expressed by constructor-theoretic principles. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5014099 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | The Royal Society |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-50140992016-09-09 Constructor theory of probability Marletto, Chiara Proc Math Phys Eng Sci Research Articles Unitary quantum theory, having no Born Rule, is non-probabilistic. Hence the notorious problem of reconciling it with the unpredictability and appearance of stochasticity in quantum measurements. Generalizing and improving upon the so-called ‘decision-theoretic approach’, I shall recast that problem in the recently proposed constructor theory of information—where quantum theory is represented as one of a class of superinformation theories, which are local, non-probabilistic theories conforming to certain constructor-theoretic conditions. I prove that the unpredictability of measurement outcomes (to which constructor theory gives an exact meaning) necessarily arises in superinformation theories. Then I explain how the appearance of stochasticity in (finitely many) repeated measurements can arise under superinformation theories. And I establish sufficient conditions for a superinformation theory to inform decisions (made under it) as if it were probabilistic, via a Deutsch–Wallace-type argument—thus defining a class of decision-supporting superinformation theories. This broadens the domain of applicability of that argument to cover constructor-theory compliant theories. In addition, in this version some of the argument's assumptions, previously construed as merely decision-theoretic, follow from physical properties expressed by constructor-theoretic principles. The Royal Society 2016-08 /pmc/articles/PMC5014099/ /pubmed/27616914 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2015.0883 Text en © 2016 The Authors. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Articles Marletto, Chiara Constructor theory of probability |
title | Constructor theory of probability |
title_full | Constructor theory of probability |
title_fullStr | Constructor theory of probability |
title_full_unstemmed | Constructor theory of probability |
title_short | Constructor theory of probability |
title_sort | constructor theory of probability |
topic | Research Articles |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5014099/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27616914 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2015.0883 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT marlettochiara constructortheoryofprobability |