vanhees71 said:
What is for sure wrong is the assumption that what a measurement device measures is always a q-expectation value.
The theory talks about q-expectation values, so what needs to be compared with available (or future) observations are "things" that can be derived from those (space and time dependent) q-expectation values. Those "things" are functions of the q-expectation values, where "function" can include averaging over space and time, to take the limited resolution of measurement devices into account. It could also include nonlinear functions of many different (averaged) q-expectation values. So far, so good.
Where it might become objectionable is when A. Neumaier wants to compute statistics of the available observations before the comparison, in case those observations are mostly random like individual silver spots on the screen for a Stern-Gerlach experiment. His argument is that the individual spot is not reproducible, only the statistics of those spots is. And at this point you object and say that you no longer see a difference to the minimal statistical interpretation.
The argument that he would accept something reproducible like a temperature, an electric current, or other macroscopic variables without requiring statistics seems not convincing, because after all a silver spot is also a macroscopic observable, and repeated measurements of properties of an individual silver spot would probably be reproducible. But that doesn't count, because ...
I won't try to convince you. You already stated that you find that whole business confusing and unsatisfactory. Also, I should not try to talk for A. Neumaier, because that would only propagate my own misunderstandings. And if I talk for myself, detailed properties of the q-expectations interest me more than whether measuring silver spots is reproducible or not. What interests me for example is how much gauge-freedom is still left in the q-expectations, whether taking functions of the q-expectations is sufficient for removing all remaining gauge-freedom, how specific q-correlations can be observed, whether certain q-correlations are similar to evanescent modes in being not really directly observable, and stuff like that. And I am interested in interpretations of probabilities, and resolution of the corresponding paradoxes and circularity issues. And I am interested in randomness, because there is no such thing as perfect randomness (or objective randomness), at least that is my guess.
(Sorry for the long reply, and thanks for answering me. I should not overstretch your friendliness too much by going on and on and on in circles.)