626 research outputs found
Quantum Mechanics on Spacetime I: Spacetime State Realism
No full textWhat ontology does realism about the quantum state suggest? The main extant view in contemporary philosophy of physics is wave-function realism. We elaborate the sense in which wave-function realism does provide an ontological picture; and defend it from certain objections that have been raised against it. However, there are good reasons to be dissatisfied with wave-function realism, as we go on to elaborate. This motivates the development of an opposing picture: what we call spacetime state realism; a view which takes the states associated to spacetime regions as fundamental. This approach enjoys a number of beneficial features, although, unlike wave-function realism, it involves non-separability at the level of fundamental ontology. We investigate the pros and cons of this non-separability, arguing that it is a quite acceptable feature; even one which proves fruitful in the context of relativistic covariance. A companion paper discusses the prospects for combining a spacetime-based ontology with separability, along lines suggested by Deutsch and Hayde
Life and loves of a landscape artist: biography of Gordon Crossley
No full textAt the time of publishing this book Gordon Crossley is 86 years young and still painting the great outdoors; especially wonderful skies from his studio and incredible trees at his beloved Hatfield Forest.
Gordon studied at Wimbledon College of Art; exhibited 16 times at the Royal Academy; was employed as an artist in the RAF; worked as Group Art Director in the advertising industry and taught art and graphics at Barking College in Essex.
Two of his paintings are exhibited at the Chelmsford & Essex Museum; and this book contains over 60 examples of his works spanning some 60 plus years. Gordon has four children and eight grandchildren; but sadly his wife Jo and very recently his son Matthew both died prematurely; and this book is dedicated to their memory.
Gordon met the author of this biography at High Roding Tea Rooms and they have formed a dear friendship ever since.
The book is written as a testimony to how one artist has spent his life revealing God’s creation in his work; and his love for his family and friends, church and community.
All proceeds from the book will go to help a disadvantaged youngster, with promise, to attend art college; to ‘learn how to draw properly’ Gordon would say
Quantum Bayesianism: a study
No full textThe Bayesian approach to quantum mechanics of Caves, Fuchs and Schack is presented. Its conjunction of realism about physics along with anti-realism about much of the structure of quantum theory is elaborated; and the position defended from common objections: that it is solipsist; that it is too instrumentalist; that it cannot deal with Wigner's friend scenarios. Three more substantive problems are raised: Can a reasonable ontology be found for the approach? Can it account for explanation in quantum theory? Are subjective probabilities on their own adequate in the quantum domain? The first question is answered in the affirmative, drawing on elements from Nancy Cartwright's philosophy of science. The second two are not: it is argued that these present outstanding difficulties for the project. A quantum Bayesian version of Moore's paradox is developed to illustrate difficulties with the subjectivist account of pure state assignments
Quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics
No full textThis thesis is a contribution to the debate on the implications of quantum information theory for the foundational problems of quantum mechanics. In Part I an attempt is made to shed some light on the nature of information and quantum information theory. It is emphasized that the everyday notion of information is to be firmly distinguished from the technical notions arising in information theory; however it is maintained that in both settings ‘information’ functions as an abstract noun, hence does not refer to a particular or substance. The popular claim ‘Information is Physical’ is assessed and it is argued that this proposition faces a destructive dilemma. Accordingly, the slogan may not be understood as an ontological claim, but at best, as a methodological one. A novel argument is provided against Dretske’s (1981) attempt to base a semantic notion of information on ideas from information theory. The function of various measures of information content for quantum systems is explored and the applicability of the Shannon information in the quantum context maintained against the challenge of Brukner and Zeilinger (2001). The phenomenon of quantum teleportation is then explored as a case study serving to emphasize the value of recognising the logical status of ‘information’ as an abstract noun: it is argued that the conceptual puzzles often associated with this phenomenon result from the familiar error of hypostatizing an abstract noun. The approach of Deutsch and Hayden (2000) to the questions of locality and information flow in entangled quantum systems is assessed. It is suggested that the approach suffers from an equivocation between a conservative and an ontological reading; and the differing implications of each is examined. Some results are presented on the characterization of entanglement in the Deutsch-Hayden formalism. Part I closes with a discussion of some philosophical aspects of quantum computation. In particular, it is argued against Deutsch that the Church-Turing hypothesis is not underwritten by a physical principle, the Turing Principle. Some general morals are drawn concerning the nature of quantum information theory. In Part II, attention turns to the question of the implications of quantum information theory for our understanding of the meaning of the quantum formalism. Following some preliminary remarks, two particular information-theoretic approaches to the foundations of quantum mechanics are assessed in detail. It is argued that Zeilinger’s (1999) Foundational Principle is unsuccessful as a foundational principle for quantum mechanics. The information-theoretic characterization theorem of Clifton, Bub and Halvorson (2003) is assessed more favourably, but the generality of the approach is questioned and it is argued that the implications of the theorem for the traditional foundational problems in quantum mechanics remains obscure
Dual Auteurs?: The Case Study of Gordon Hessler and Christopher Wicking
No full textThis thesis examines the four American International Pictures horror movies, The Oblong Box (1969), Scream and Scream Again (1970), Cry of the Banshee (1970) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971), directed by Gordon Hessler and written by Christopher Wicking between 1969 and 1971, in an effort to discover whether the director and writer were the dual auteurs of these works. The study adopts the philosophy and methodology of the auteur theory as described by Andrew Sarris in his essay, “Some Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962” (Sarris 2008: 35-45) and modified by Richard Corliss to include his “Synthesis: The Multiple Auteur” in his 1974 book, Talking Pictures (Corliss 1972: xxvii-xxviii). Various drafts of the screenplays for the four movies by Hessler and Wicking have been studied and compared, along with various cuts of the films, interviews, contemporary reviews and critical evaluations. In this way, the author discovers the commercial and artistic evolution of each project in the context of the themes and concerns of the creative team of Hessler and Wicking, discerning whether the writer and director were indeed equal authors of the finished products. This thesis asserts that the movies were not only unique works signalling the end of the world-wide resurgence of gothic cinema in the 1950s and 60s, but personal responses to the genre and the era. The four movies are analysed as the body of work of the writer and director team and compared and contrasted to the films of the other artists who influenced them. The study examines the genre conventions as well as the original innovations of each movie. The author concludes that, despite the comparative critical neglect of these films, they emerge as an important achievement distinguished by an original cinematic style and a unifying vision of the genre and the turbulent times in which they were made
The Craig Lecture 2010: Design in the Fourth Dimension
No full textCSSD’s Craig Lecture, now in its second year, is given in honour of leading 20th Century Modernist Edward Gordon Craig, author of The Art of Theatre, and director of Stanislavski’s epoch-defining production of Hamlet. This year’s speaker, Christopher Oram, explores what technology and interactivity can bring to theatre, and how theatre, not film, should be leading the way.
This event took place at Central School of Speech & Drama on 5 July 2010, and was presented in association with the Society for Theatre Research
On the Supposed Conceptual Inadequacy of the Shannon Information
No full textIn Phys. Rev. A 63 022113 (2001), Brukner and Zeilinger claim that the Shannon information is not well defined as a measure of information in quantum mechanics, adducing arguments that seek to show that it is inextricably tied to classical notions of measurement. It is shown here that these arguments do not succeed: the Shannon information does not have problematic ties to classical concepts. In a further argument, Brukner and Zeilinger compare the Shannon information unfavourably to their preferred information measure, I(p), with regard to the definition of a notion of `total information content'. This argument is found unconvincing and the relationship betwen measures of information and notions of `total information content' investigated
The Grammar of Teleportation
No full textWhilst a straightforward consequence of the formalism of non-relativistic quantum mechanics, the phenomenon of quantum teleportation has given rise to considerable puzzlement. In this paper, the teleportation protocol is reviewed and these puzzles dispelled. It is suggested that they arise from two primary sources: 1) the familiar error of hypostatizing an abstract noun (in this case, `information') and 2) failure to differentiate interpretation dependent from interpretation independent features of quantum mechanics. A subsidiary source of error, the simulation fallacy, is also identified. The resolution presented of the puzzles of teleportation illustrates the benefits of paying due attention to the logical status of `information' as an abstract noun
Nonlocality and information flow: The approach of Deutsch and Hayden
No full textDeutsch and Hayden claim to have provided an account of quantum mechanics which is particularly local, and which clarifies the nature of information transmission in entangled quantum systems. In this paper, a perspicuous description of their formalism is offered and their claim assessed. It proves essential to distinguish, as Deutsch and Hayden do not, between two ways of interpreting the formalism. On the first, conservative, interpretation, no benefits with respect to locality accrue that are not already available on either an Everettian or a statistical interpretation; and the conclusions regarding information flow are equivocal. The second, ontological, interpretation, offers a framework with the novel feature that global properties of quantum systems are reduced to local ones; but no conclusions follow concerning information flow in more standard quantum mechanics
Symmetry and the Metaphysics of Physics
No full textThe widely held picture of dynamical symmetry as surplus structure in a physical theory has many metaphysical applications. Here I focus on its relevance to the question of which quantities in a theory represent fundamental natural properties
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