The Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

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The measurement problem of quantum mechanics. The Copenhagen interpretation claims to have a solution to this. But at the Solvei Conference, the solution that was proposed was it's not right. It's not good scientific practice to talk about what is going on when you're not looking. Albert Einstein was very unhappy with this and so he starts getting into it with Niels Bohr in particular.

There are many mysteries surrounding quantum mechanics. To me, the biggest mysteries are why physicists haven’t yet agreed on a complete understanding of the theory, and even more why they mostly seem content not to try. This puzzling attitude has historical roots that go back to the Bohr-Einstein debates. Adam Becker, in his book What Is Real?, looks at this history, and discusses how physicists have shied away from the foundations of quantum mechanics in the subsequent years. We discuss why this has been the case, and talk about some of the stubborn iconoclasts who insisted on thinking about it anyway.

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Adam Becker received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan. He is currently a science writer and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine & Society at UC Berkeley. His book What Is Real? The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics comes out in paperback on Sept. 3, 2019.

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