Where is the arrow of time if every decision is essentially instant?

Ryan_M

In John Gribbin's book 'Schrödinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality', Gribbins describes a quantum interpretation that claims to solve the so called,'spooky action at a distance'. From what I've gathered, perhaps naively, is that quantum entities spontaneously communicate through the act of retarded waves (traveling forward in time) and advanced waves (traveling backward in time) travelling along the same path, which then results in a cancellation and an ultimate overall time of zero. The whole process is completely atemporal and every particle's decision, everywhere in the universe, is instant.

So, in the hope that my over simplified perception is at least not complete rubbish, I ask, how can there be any arrow of time at all? How can entropy even have a chance in doing its job? Should the net result not be in favor of the retarded waves? Am I missing something technical or something more philosophical?

Thanks.

Ryan_M

I know its in breach of forum rules to try and bump up my own post, but can somebody please shed some light or at least shoot me down if this is complete crap?

arkajad

There are many "quantum interpretations" on the market. Some of them include microscopic irreversibility from the very start (as Prigogine was advocating for), some have to relegate it to causes that need to be invented later on.

That is a general answer, I know. I do not know how the observed irreversibility is dealt with in one particular scheme that Gribbin is talking about.