A Basic Duality in the Exact Sciences: Application to QM

This approach to interpreting quantum mechanics is not another jury-rigged or ad-hoc attempt at the interpretation of quantum mechanics but is a natural application of the fundamental duality running throughout the exact sciences.

A Pedagogical Model of Quantum Mechanics Over Sets

The new approach to quantum mechanics (QM) is that the mathematics of QM is the linearization of the mathematics of partitions (or equivalence relations) on a set. This paper develops those ideas using vector spaces over the field Z2 = {0.1} as a pedagogical or toy model of (finite-dimensional, non-relativistic) QM.

New Logic & New Approach to QM

The new logic of partitions is dual to the usual Boolean logic of subsets (usually presented only in the special case of the logic of propositions) in the sense that partitions and subsets are category-theoretic duals. The new information measure of logical entropy is the normalized quantitative version of partitions. The new approach to interpreting quantum mechanics (QM) is showing that the mathematics (not the physics) of QM is the linearized Hilbert space version of the mathematics of partitions. Or, putting it the other way around, the math of partitions is a skeletal version of the math of QM.

The Born Rule is a feature of Superposition

The Born Rule arises naturally out of the mathematics of probability theory enriched by superposition events. It does not need any more-exotic or physics-based explanation. No physics was used in the making of this paper. The Born Rule is just a feature of the mathematics of superposition.

The new partitional approach to (literally) interpreting quantum mechanics

This paper presents a new `partitional’ approach to understanding or interpreting standard quantum mechanics (QM). The thesis is that the mathematics (not the physics) of QM is the Hilbert space version of the math of partitions on a set and, conversely, the math of partitions is a skeletonized set level version of the math of QM.

Partitions, Objective Indefiniteness, and Quantum Reality

  This paper, published in the International Journal for Quantum Foundations, is a shorter introductory paper following up on my recent “Follow the Math!” paper in the Foundations of Physics. The point is to show that the mathematics of QM is the vector (Hilbert) space version of the mathematics of partitions at the set level. […]

New Light on the Objective Indefiniteness or Literal Interpretation of QM

This paper shows how the mathematics of QM is the math of indefiniteness and thus, literally and realistically interpreted, it describes an objectively indefinite reality at the quantum level. In particular, the mathematics of wave propagation is shown to also be the math of the evolution of indefinite states that does not change the degree of indistinctness between states. This corrects the historical wrong turn of seeing QM as “wave mechanics” rather than the mechanics of particles with indefinite/definite properties.

Talk: Hamming distance in classical and quantum logical information theory

This is a set of slides from a talk on introducing the Hamming distance into classical logical information theory and then developing the quantum logical notion of Hamming distance–which turns out to equal a standard notion of distance in quantum information theory, the Hilbert-Schmidt distance.

Talk: New Foundations for Quantum Information Theory

These are the slides for a talk given at the 6th International Conference on New Frontiers in Physics on Crete in August 2017.

Logical Entropy: Introduction to Classical and Quantum Logical Information Theory

Logical information theory is the quantitative version of the logic of partitions just as logical probability theory is the quantitative version of the dual Boolean logic of subsets. The resulting notion of information is about distinctions, differences, and distinguishability, and is formalized as the distinctions of a partition (a pair of points distinguished by the partition). This paper is an introduction to the quantum version of logical information theory.