Interpretations of QP: How Can Consciousness Be Eliminated from Any System?

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The discussion centers on the interpretations of quantum physics (QP) and the role of consciousness in quantum mechanics (QM). Participants debate whether consciousness is essential for the collapse of the wave function or if it can be eliminated from the system, with some arguing that all observations are interactions that do not require a conscious observer. The Copenhagen interpretation, often thought to necessitate a conscious observer, is clarified to not require one, as all interpretations yield the same experimental results. The conversation also touches on the historical context of these interpretations and critiques the misunderstanding of concepts like Schrödinger's cat. Ultimately, the consensus leans towards the idea that consciousness, while significant to the observer, does not fundamentally alter the mechanics of quantum phenomena.
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Pete Hammand said:
Hello everybody, I am new to these forums, and am curious to hear from people who know QP what in their opinion, is the best interpretation?
The best "interpretation" is to just view quantum mechanics as a generalization of probability theory. Classical probability theories assign sizes to elements of a sigma algebra. Sigma algebras are lattices. Quantum theories assign sizes to elements of a lattice that isn't a sigma algebra. Because of this, QM isn't probability theory in the classical sense, but a generalization of it.

I put "interpretation" in quotes, because this isn't an interpretation in the usual sense. It's not an attempt to explain "what's really happening". It's just the realization that we don't need to do that, and that even if there is such an explanation, there's no reason to think that it's present inside QM.

Pete Hammand said:
For example, is it a possibility that the conscious observer is indeed crucial to reality, and is the missing link in QP??
Consciousness isn't crucial to reality, but is crucial to science. A statement about the real world must be falsifiable to be considered a theory. To be falsifiable, it must make predictions about results of experiments. A result is one of several possible final states (of an indicator component of a measuring device) that can be easily distinguished by a conscious human. This is why you can't completely eliminate consciousness from discussions of QM. It's not because consciousness requires special physics. It's because QM is science, and science involves consciousness.
 
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