Gribbin (1990: 175-6):
Bohr suggested that the very idea of a unique "world" may be misleading, and offered another interpretation of the experiment with two holes. Even in that simple experiment, of course, there are many paths that an electron can choose through each of the two holes. But for simplicity, let's pretend there are just two possibilities, that the particle goes through hole A or through hole B. Bohr suggested that we might think of each possibility as representing a different world. In one world, the particle goes through hole A; in the other, it goes through hole B. The real world, the world that we experience, is neither of these simple worlds, however. Our world is a hybrid combination of the two possible worlds corresponding to the two routes for the particle, and each world interferes with the other. When we look to see which hole the particle goes through, there is now only one world because we have eliminated the other possibility, and in that case there is no interference. It isn't just ghost electrons that Bohr conjures out of the quantum equations, but ghost realities, ghost worlds that only exist when we are not looking at them. … Combine that with the puzzle that an electron at A knows whether hole B is open or closed, and that in principle it knows the quantum state of the entire universe …
Blogger Comment:
From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, each path "choice" of an electron is the construal of an instance of potential meaning, with instance frequencies in line with potential probabilities.
The two possible paths do not represent different worlds, but are construals of different potential meanings. Each path is a construed instance of that potential.
The "world that we experience" corresponds to the instantial meanings construed of experience. It is not a hybrid combination of possibilities (potential), but the instantiation of potential meaning.
The interference patterns are not the result of "possible worlds" interfering with each other. They are the accumulation of instances whose frequencies correspond to the probability values of the system potential, as represented by the wave equations.
When we look to see which hole an electron goes through, that experience is construed as an instance of meaning, in line with the different probabilities of a different system potential.
The "ghost worlds" that Bohr conjures out of quantum equations are construals of potential meanings, instances of which only "exist" when experience is construed.
Electrons don't "know" anything. Our construal of them as meaning depends on the system potential of which each is an instance.
The two possible paths do not represent different worlds, but are construals of different potential meanings. Each path is a construed instance of that potential.
The "world that we experience" corresponds to the instantial meanings construed of experience. It is not a hybrid combination of possibilities (potential), but the instantiation of potential meaning.
The interference patterns are not the result of "possible worlds" interfering with each other. They are the accumulation of instances whose frequencies correspond to the probability values of the system potential, as represented by the wave equations.
When we look to see which hole an electron goes through, that experience is construed as an instance of meaning, in line with the different probabilities of a different system potential.
The "ghost worlds" that Bohr conjures out of quantum equations are construals of potential meanings, instances of which only "exist" when experience is construed.
Electrons don't "know" anything. Our construal of them as meaning depends on the system potential of which each is an instance.
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