Dear Paul,About a decade ago you wrote that
>In recent years a number of key experiments have been performed to test
>this point [that quantum uncertainty is genuinely intrinsic to nature, and
>not merely the result of some hidden level of deterministic activity], and
>they have confirmed that uncertainty is indeed inherent in quantum
>systems. The universe really is indeterministic at its most basic level.
Such statements were quite common at the time, and they are still not at
all rare. Nonetheless they are demonstrably false. In fact, Bohmian
mechanics is a simple counterexample to such claims, as well as to a great
many others concerning the inevitability of various kinds of quantum
weirdness. A recognition of this fact could be expected to lead to a more
informed discussion of the possibilities that lie before us as we
consider the relationship between science and ultimate reality.
Shelly Goldstein
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Davies replies:
Dear Shelley,
I do indeed adopt the position that uncertainty is instrinsic to nature. I
am familiar with Bohm's interpretation of quantum mechanics, and the
subsequent work by Basil Hiley. I do think this work is of value. However, I
have never been satisfied that it can be made fully consistent with special
relativity. To comply with the Bell inequalities, the theory must involve
some sort of superluminal signalling, and although its effects might be
masked, they are still there. Thisis not only problematic for causality, it
is an obstacle to producing a mathematically cosnsistent relativistic
quantum field theory.
If I am laboring under a misconception, it would be good to know.
Sincerely,
Paul Davies
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