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The Emergent Multiverse
Quantum Theory according to the Everett Interpretation
David Wallace
560 pages
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216x138mm
978-0-19-954696-1
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Hardback
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24 May 2012
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- A challenging account of the nature of the universe
- Powerful philosophical treatment of the biggest problem in modern physics
- Eagerly awaited book from a leading scholar in the field
- Clear, concise, and elegant
- Written equally for philosophers and physicists
The Emergent Multiverse presents a striking new account of the 'many worlds' approach to quantum theory. The point of science, it is generally accepted, is to tell us how the world works and what it is like. But quantum theory seems to fail to do this: taken literally as a theory of the world, it seems to make crazy claims: particles are in two places at once; cats are alive and dead at the same time. So physicists and philosophers have often been led either to give up on the idea that quantum theory describes reality, or to modify or augment the theory.
The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics takes the apparent craziness seriously, and asks, 'what would it be like if particles really were in two places at once, if cats really were
alive and dead at the same time'? The answer, it turns out, is that if the world were like that—if it were as quantum theory claims—it would be a world that, at the macroscopic level, was constantly branching into copies—hence the more sensationalist name for the Everett interpretation, the 'many worlds theory'. But really, the interpretation is not sensationalist at all: it simply takes quantum theory seriously, literally, as a description of the world. Once dismissed as absurd, it is now accepted by many physicists as the best way to make coherent sense of quantum theory.
David Wallace offers a clear and up-to-date survey of work on the Everett interpretation in physics and in philosophy of science, and at the same time provides a self-contained and thoroughly modern
account of it—an account which is accessible to readers who have previously studied quantum theory at undergraduate level, and which will shape the future direction of research by leading experts in the field.Readership: Quantum physicists and philosophers.
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David Wallace, Oxford University David Wallace was born in San Rafael, California, in 1976, but has been resident in the UK since 1977. He studied theoretical physics at Oxford University from 1994-2002, but upon realising his research interests lay mostly in conceptual and foundational aspects of physics, he moved across into philosophy of physics. For the last six years he has been Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy of Science at Balliol College, Oxford. He holds PhDs in physics and in philosophy, and his research interests span a wide range of issues on the boundary between philosophy and physics: symmetry and the gauge principle, the direction of time, the structure of quantum field theory, and of course
the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
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"Nobody has done more to defend, clarify and advance the Everett interpretation over the past dozen years than Wallace, and this book is the culmination of his work on this area. As those who have read Wallace's articles will expect, it is an excellent book, and should be required reading for anyone interested in the foundations of quantum mechanics." - Peter J. Lewis, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
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Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I: The Plurality of Worlds
1: The Paradox of Measurement
2: The emergence of multiplicity
3: Chaos, decoherence, and branching
First Interlude
Part II: Probability in a Branching Universe
4: The Probability Puzzle
5: Symmetry, rationality, and the Born Rule
6: Everettian statistical inference
Second Interlude
Part III: Quantum Mechanics, Everett style
7: Uncertainty, Possibility, and Identity
8: Spacetime and the Quantum State
9: The Direction of Branching and the Direction of Time
10: A Cornucopia of Everettian Consequences
Conclusion
Epilogue
Appendices
A: Proof of the Branching-Decoherence Theorem
B: Classical decision theory
C: Formal proofs of decision-theoretic results
D: Proof of the Utility Equivalence Lemma
Bibliography
Index
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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