Preface ........................................................ ix
Acknowledgments .............................................. xiii
List of Figures ................................................ xv
List of Boxes ................................................ xvii
1 Overview: A New Kind of Science .............................. 1
Part I. Quantum Theory
2 Superposition ............................................... 15
2.1 Beams .................................................. 15
2.2 Some Interference Phenomena ............................ 18
2.3 Polarization ........................................... 21
2.4 More Interference Phenomena ............................ 24
2.5 Modeling Interference .................................. 28
2.6 Measurement ............................................ 34
2.7 What's Really Happening? ............................... 36
2.8 Summary ................................................ 38
3 Entanglement ................................................ 40
3.1 What is Entanglement? .................................. 40
3.2 Entanglement and Incompleteness ........................ 45
3.3 Entanglement Exhibited ................................. 47
4 "Non-locality" .............................................. 53
4.1 Spooky Action at a Distance? ........................... 53
4.2 Mermin's Demonstration ................................. 56
4.3 A Simplified Bell Argument ............................. 59
4.4 Two Views of a Quantum State ........................... 65
4.5 Quantum States Offer Prescriptions ..................... 68
4.6 Exorcising the Spook ................................... 72
5 Assigning Values and States ................................. 75
5.1 Making Quantum State Assignments ....................... 75
5.2 Measurement-free Quantum Probabilities ................. 79
5.3 The Grounds of Quantum State Assignments ............... 86
6 Measurement ................................................. 90
6.1 The Measurement Problem ................................ 90
6.2 The EPR Argument Revisited ............................ 100
7 Interlude: Some Alternative Interpretations ................ 102
7.1 Bohmian Mechanics ..................................... 103
7.2 Non-linear Theories ................................... 109
7.3 Many-outcomes Theories ................................ 110
Part II. Philosophical Revelations
8 Theories, Models, and Representation ....................... 121
8.1 Representation and Theories ........................... 121
8.2 Applying Quantum Models ............................... 126
8.3 Truth, Content, and Objectivity ....................... 132
9 Probability and Explanation ................................ 138
9.1 ProbabUity ............................................ 143
9.2 Explanation ........................................... 148
10 Causation and Locality ..................................... 165
10.1 Introduction .......................................... 165
10.2 Relativistic Spatiotemporal Relations ................. 166
10.3 Relativistic Chance ................................... 168
10.4 Chances from Quantum Probabilities .................... 170
10.5 Chance, Causation, and Intervention ................... 172
10.6 Locality and Local Causality .......................... 179
11 Observation and Objectivity ................................ 184
11.1 Introduction .......................................... 184
11.2 Objectivity ........................................... 186
11.3 Wigner's Friend ....................................... 188
11.4 Paradox Resolved ...................................... 190
11.5 Objective Content Secured ............................. 193
11.6 Independent Verifiability ............................. 196
11.7 Conclusion: A Limit to Transcendental Objectivity ..... 198
12 Meaning .................................................... 202
12.1 Introduction .......................................... 202
12.2 Some Novel Quantum Concepts ........................... 204
12.3 The Content of Magnitude Claims ....................... 210
12.4 Some Conceptual Mutations ............................. 218
12.5 The Content of Denoting Terms ......................... 223
13 Fundamentality ............................................. 228
13.1 Philosophy and Fundamental Physics .................... 229
13.2 Entities .............................................. 230
13.3 Properties ............................................ 234
13.4 Laws .................................................. 238
13.5 How Quantum Theory is Fundamental ..................... 242
14 Conclusion ................................................. 246
Appendix A. Operators and the Born Rule ....................... 259
A.l Vectors and Inner Products ............................. 259
A.2 Operators and the Simple Born Rule ..................... 261
A.3 More About Operators ................................... 265
A.4 Commutation, Compatibility, and the Compound Born
Rule ................................................... 266
A.5 Density Operators and Mixed States ..................... 266
A.6 Interacting Systems .................................... 267
Appendix B. Two Arguments Against Naive Realism ............... 270
B.l First Argument ......................................... 270
B.2 Second Argument ........................................ 272
Appendix C. A Simple Model of Decoherence ..................... 275
Bibliography .................................................. 277
Index ......................................................... 285
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