QBism: The Future of Quantum Physics

by Hans Christian von Baeyer, Lili von Baeyer (Illustrator)

Overview

Short for Quantum Bayesianism, QBism adapts conventional features of quantum mechanics in light of a revised understanding of probability. Using commonsense language, without the equations or weirdness of conventional quantum theory, Hans Christian von Baeyer clarifies the meaning of quantum mechanics and suggests a new approach to general physics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674504646
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	10/03/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	842,924
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Hans Christian von Baeyer is Chancellor Professor of Physics, Emeritus, at the College of William and Mary.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

I Quantum Mechanics 7

1 How the Quantum Was Born 9

2 Particles of Light 21

3 Wave/Particle Duality 31

4 The Wavefunction 41

5 "The Most Beautiful Experiment in Physics" 52

6 Then a Miracle Occurs 63

7 Quantum Uncertainty 73

8 The Simplest Wavefunction 82

II Probability 95

9 Troubles with Probability 97

10 Probability according to the Reverend Bayes 113

III Quantum Bayesianism 129

11 QBism Made Explicit 131

12 QBism Saves Schrödinger's Cat 138

13 The Roots of QBism 144

14 Quantum Weirdness in the Laboratory 156

15 All Physics Is Local 170

16 Belief and Certainty 177

IV The QBist Worldview 185

17 Physics and Human Experience 187

18 Nature's Laws 196

19 The Rock Kicks Back 202

20 The Problem of the Now 211

21 A Perfect Map? 219

22 The Road Ahead 223

Appendix: Four Older Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics 235

Notes 241

Acknowledgments 247

Index 249

Editorial Reviews

Hans Christian von Baeyer has done a wonderful job with this book. I’ve been fortunate enough to learn QBism twice in my life. The first time, it was the hard way, as colleagues and I battled out every nuance of the forming theory, always testing and retesting, tearing down and reconstructing—we had to turn our world upside down to get there. But the second time was pure pleasure as I learned the subject afresh from Professor von Baeyer’s masterful articulation of it. So many of his turns of phrase are insightful gems I never could have formulated myself. Now for the first time I believe I know how to teach the subject, and there is no better understanding one can have than that!
-- Christopher A. Fuchs, Professor of Physics, University of Massachusetts Boston, and key architect of QBism

Physicists all agree on how to do calculations using quantum mechanics and disagree markedly on what those calculations really mean. With his customary humor and elegance, Professor von Baeyer walks us through one of the more recent attempts to understand the mysterious world inside the atom.
-- James Trefil, Professor of Physics, George Mason University, and the author of Science in World History

QBism remains controversial, but scientifically inclined readers will share von Baeyer’s enthusiasm and come away with a feeling, if not a deep understanding, of quantum phenomena that doesn’t require suspension of disbelief.
-- Kirkus Reviews

Von Baeyer offers a sensible approach to this seemingly esoteric world…He has an enthusiastic presentation and style that sweeps the reader along into the world of quantum physics and makes sense of it.
-- Ralph Peterson Manhattan Book Review

QBism should be applauded as a breeding ground of ideas for multiple disciplines including physics, philosophy, and mathematics, and von Baeyer’s book offers an account accessible to all…[It] provide[s] an outstanding introduction to two of the key components of QBism (quantum theory and subjective Bayesianism), and places the reader into the mind of the QBist in a way that will aid the ongoing debate over its merit. It is a worthwhile read.
-- Kelvin J. McQueen Quantum Times

From the Publisher

QBism should be applauded as a breeding ground of ideas for multiple disciplines including physics, philosophy, and mathematics, and von Baeyer’s book offers an account accessible to all…[It] provide[s] an outstanding introduction to two of the key components of QBism (quantum theory and subjective Bayesianism), and places the reader into the mind of the QBist in a way that will aid the ongoing debate over its merit. It is a worthwhile read.

Quantum Times - Kelvin J. McQueen

Von Baeyer offers a sensible approach to this seemingly esoteric world…He has an enthusiastic presentation and style that sweeps the reader along into the world of quantum physics and makes sense of it.

Manhattan Book Review - Ralph Peterson

Physicists all agree on how to do calculations using quantum mechanics and disagree markedly on what those calculations really mean. With his customary humor and elegance, Professor von Baeyer walks us through one of the more recent attempts to understand the mysterious world inside the atom.

James Trefil

Hans Christian von Baeyer has done a wonderful job with this book. I’ve been fortunate enough to learn QBism twice in my life. The first time, it was the hard way, as colleagues and I battled out every nuance of the forming theory, always testing and retesting, tearing down and reconstructing—we had to turn our world upside down to get there. But the second time was pure pleasure as I learned the subject afresh from Professor von Baeyer’s masterful articulation of it. So many of his turns of phrase are insightful gems I never could have formulated myself. Now for the first time I believe I know how to teach the subject, and there is no better understanding one can have than that!

Christopher A. Fuchs

2016-08-09
“There is a strangeness about quantum mechanics that is rooted not in its mathematical complexity but in the paradoxes and enigmas that have bedeviled it from birth.” Since that birth 90 years ago, scientists regularly explain quantum physics, in all its weirdness, to the general public. Here’s the latest.As “a quantum mechanic in retirement,” von Baeyer (Emeritus, Physics/Coll. of William and Mary; Information: The New Language of Science, 2004, etc.), who has spent 50 years “teaching the subject in universities, operating its mathematical machinery in my research, and struggling to bring its message to the general public,” describes an ingenious new approach, QBism, that eliminates the paradoxes. Readers may have to take this on faith, but they will not regret the effort. Traditionally, quantum phenomena are measured by statistics. One can’t locate an electron; one can only determine the probability of finding it somewhere—anywhere in the universe. This oddity isn’t helped by the fact that traditional statistics says nothing about single events. Bayesian statistics (the “B” in QBism) include an observer who estimates the probability that data such as the precise location of the electron is true and then updates the probability when new information arrives. Using comprehensible analogies (none from physics), the author demonstrates how QBism eliminates quantum weirdness. Schrödinger’s famous cat is no longer both dead and alive as long as it remains unseen; the observer can calculate the odds that it’s one or the other. “QBism implies a radical change in perspective,” writes von Baeyer. “It turns the traditional top-down view upside down by offering a bottom-up depiction of the universe…[and] seeks to find the universal in particular personal experiences.” QBism remains controversial, but scientifically inclined readers will share von Baeyer’s enthusiasm and come away with a feeling, if not a deep understanding, of quantum phenomena that doesn’t require suspension of disbelief.

Kirkus Review