A snapshot of foundational attitudes toward quantum mechanics

By Maximilian Schlosshauer, Johannes Kofler, Anton Zeilinger. 2013

245 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Foundational investigations in quantum mechanics, both experimental and theoretical, gave birth to the field of quantum information science. Nevertheless, the foundations of quantum mechanics themselves remain hotly debated in the scientific community, and no consensus on essential questions has been reached. Here, we present the results of a poll carried out among 33 participants of a conference on the foundations of quantum mechanics. The participants completed a questionnaire containing 16 multiple-choice questions probing opinions on quantum-foundational issues. Participants included physicists, philosophers, and mathematicians. We describe our findings, identify commonly held views, and determine strong, medium, and weak correlations between the answers. Our study provides a unique snapshot of current views in the field of quantum foundations, as well as an analysis of the relationships between these views.

Subfields: Artificial Intelligence, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, History and Philosophy of Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/245e45b17463b34d01051d1a3805c73bde95d1fe

How researchers see this paper

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1. K. Krijtenburg-Lewerissa
2. Henk J. Pol
3. Wouter R. van Joolingen
4. A. Brinkman

Citations in the corpus

• Insights into teaching quantum mechanics in secondary and lower undergraduate education (2017, background): “Today’s quantum experts do not support one single interpretation, although the Copenhagen interpretation is often considered to be the standard interpretation [90].”