Quantum mechanics is a statistically based science because we have yet to discover the constants that would unify it with general relativity, making this entire thought experiment irrelevant.
Imagine if you are watching 10 parallel strings ripple up and down at various frequencies. Viewed from the side, it would at first glance appear chaotic, but by observing the behavior long enough and recording where the activity occurred over time, you could statistically predict where the strings would be at any given time.
However, if you were aware of the number of strings you were viewing and the frequencies at which they were moving, you could formulate a precise theory of exactly what you were viewing and what you would view at every point in the future.
That is the current state of physics. Quantum mechanics is seeing without understanding the rules governing the system, so predictions and observations are made using statistics instead of constants. Once we discover the constants, the current theories will be entirely obsolete and articles like this will become relics.
yeah. I remember some ~7 years ago reading about a research team that stated that they had rewritten many of the fundamental equations of (some branch of) quantum physics to show that they could be written in a completely deterministic manner. They said that while such equations weren't likely to be useful (due to the limitations of our testing technology), it was an important result, particularly when it comes to understanding the underlying science. And they were very upset that basically no one paid their result any real attention.
Quantum mechanics is a statistically based science because we have yet to discover the constants that would unify it with general relativity, making this entire thought experiment irrelevant.
Imagine if you are watching 10 parallel strings ripple up and down at various frequencies. Viewed from the side, it would at first glance appear chaotic, but by observing the behavior long enough and recording where the activity occurred over time, you could statistically predict where the strings would be at any given time.
However, if you were aware of the number of strings you were viewing and the frequencies at which they were moving, you could formulate a precise theory of exactly what you were viewing and what you would view at every point in the future.
That is the current state of physics. Quantum mechanics is seeing without understanding the rules governing the system, so predictions and observations are made using statistics instead of constants. Once we discover the constants, the current theories will be entirely obsolete and articles like this will become relics.