Quantum Mechanics as a Mathematical Model: Why the Interpretation Debate Misses the Point
By
danieltanfh95
If you only eat one bagel today, this is the bagel.
Summary
The article argues that quantum mechanics (QM) is not a physical theory but a mathematical model—a probability calculus on a wave-mechanical system. It contends that the 95-year-long debate over QM interpretations (Copenhagen, Everett, Bohm, etc.) persists precisely because QM is a mathematical model describing measurements, not what is being measured. The author draws on Einstein's "God does not play dice" complaint to illustrate that treating a probability calculus as a physical theory is the root of the confusion. The persistence of disagreement itself is presented as evidence that QM functions as a mathematical model rather than a physical theory in the field's working posture.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledIf QM were a physical theory, the persistence of the disagreement would be intolerable. If QM is a mathematical model (a probability calculus on a wave-mechanical system), the situation is unremarkable.
Einstein's 'God does not play dice' was a complaint of exactly this shape: not that the calculus failed, but that a probability calculus was being treated as physical theory when it described measurements rather than what was being measured.
The persistence of the disagreement is itself evidence of which kind of object QM is in the field's working posture.
The puzzle is much smaller once you separate two questions about it: a mathematical model reproduces measurements, while a physical theory says what in the world makes them come out that way.
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