Incomplete Measurements
What does the TIM tell us?
Monday, November 20, 2006
Most theories these days are built by postulating what is called a “Lagrangian”, or equivalently, an “action”, and testing the predictions that result. The reason is that these mathematical
Measuring is Knowing
Sunday, November 19, 2006
There are many possible definitions of measurement. Depending on who answers the question, the above picture might qualify as a measurement or not.
Is Space-Time Curved or Not?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Thinking more about the basket ball example, one might think that there is an easy way out. After all, the basket ball is curved, the floor is not, so maybe there was nothing really deep there.
The Ants and The Basket Ball
Saturday, November 18, 2006
It’s now time to get back to the original question, “does the way we perform the measurement matter?”
Presumably, the theories established by teams C, Q and R will not always predict the same thing,
The Ants and The Honey
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Before we discuss why the choice of measurement matters, let us imagine that you are tasked with the complicated problem of writing the laws of movement for ants on the floor in the presence of a
Asking the right question
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Asking the right question is a key to getting the right answer. So here is a question: when a physicist writes an equation like “F=ma”, does it matter how F, m or a were measured? And if not, why
The Quantum Measurement Problem
Saturday, November 18, 2006
There are just so many interpretations of quantum mechanics that attempting to understand it these days seems like a road leading to nowhere. “Shut up and calculate” appears to be the best we can
The theory of incomplete measurements explains that physics is as much about measurements as it is about mathematics. Mathematics are a powerful tool to manipulate the symbolic results of physical measurements. But what can we tell about the process of measurement itself? Are there multiple ways to count the same bottles? And if so, do they tell us the same physics?
