Can future events affect the past?

[harrylin]

In the Schrodinger's cat experiment, decoherence suppresses quantum effects long before you open the box.

Ah yes, good point, nobody believes anymore that it depends on a human observer. Thanks

 

[DrChinese]

So retrocausality or time travel to the past is still impossible?

As already said, it is a matter of interpretation. It would be safe to say: the experimental results are compatible with a form of retrocausality, without absolutely demonstrating such.

Keep in mind that if there were retrocausality, the form of it would not be compatible with deterministically affecting the past. You could only affect the past in a random manner and could not send a signal. Consistent in some ways with how you can affect the future at the quantum level, for that matter.

 

[Jmeagle]

Is a interpretation of retrocsusality a common view?

 

[zonde]

So an event in the future did not affect an event in the present or past in reality?

In science we simply assume that past affects future and only that way.
If you want to include possibility that future affects past you would have to develop completely new philosophical framework with some sort of metatime (think how past affects future then future changes the past so it leads to new future and so on and on as metatime goes on). But this obviously is not science.

 

[Xertese]

Observation is what affects the future as all possibilities exist until one is observed.

Quantum 101

 

[Nugatory]

Observation is what affects the future as all possibilities exist until one is observed.

This statement is true, but only if by "observation" you mean something very different than what the word means in ordinary English usage. In particular, it does not mean that some observer makes an observation and becomes aware of the event.

 

[Nugatory]

E.bar.goum has already provided a pointer to the previous discussion of the experiment.
Jmeagle we've already suggested several times that you will have to learn more about quantum mechanics; your initial question has been answered about as well as it can be before you learn some more about QM, so this thread is closed.

 

[jerromyjon]

so this thread is closed.

Antiretrocausality at work?