Saturday, January 18, 2020

How ‘spooky’ is quantum physics? The answer could be incalculable

Proof at the nexus of pure mathematics and algorithms puts ‘quantum weirdness’ on a whole new level.




I'm not sure if they will ever fully work out what the universe is, and perhaps it will always be a mystery to some degree. It probably has infinite complexity, like a fractal, and you can go on learning about it forever, and all the while it's getting spookier. 

In a 1976 paper3, using the language of operators, Connes asked whether quantum systems with infinitely many measurable variables could be approximated by simpler systems that have a finite number.

But the paper by Vidick and collaborators shows that the answer is no: there are, in principle, quantum systems that cannot be approximated by ‘finite’ ones. According to work by physicist Boris Tsirelson4, who reformulated the problem, this also means that it is impossible to calculate the amount of correlation that two such systems can display across space when entangled.

Nature





9 comments:

hoonose said...

Spooky, but sometimes fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GY4m022tgo

Joe said...

"I'm not sure if they will ever fully work out what the universe is, and perhaps it will always be a mystery to some degree. It probably has infinite complexity, like a fractal, and you can go on learning about it forever, and all the while it's getting spookier. "

Also, there's no reason to expect that the human mind would even be capable of understanding the universe entirely. The fact we can understand any of it all is already pretty surprising, as it seems (imo anyways) our capacities already surpass the abilities needed for survival in a primitive context.

Matt Franko said...

“ our capacities already surpass the abilities needed for survival in a primitive context.”

And yet you morons still think your grandparents were chimpanzees...

Joe said...

"And yet you morons still think your grandparents were chimpanzees..."

Actually no. Chimpanzees and humans have a common ancestor about 7 million years ago.

What's your theory?

Kaivey said...

I agree, it's absolutely incredible.

S400 said...

Matt ascribing his own brain poop to others again, believing he’s delivering a top notch argument.
Whining instead of winning.

Matt Franko said...

Hey this guy says it’s 12 million:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/europe/apes-walking-study-scn-intl/index.html

Hey why don’t you get with him you can take your 7 and his 12 and average it into a new thesis at 9.5 ...

win-win!!!!

Joe said...

That's a cool article Matt, but I still don't get your point.

Are you saying human's and modern apes last common ancestor was much further back the than commonly thought 7 million years?

Peter Pan said...

I'm telling you, Trumps great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was an orangutan.