Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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AGPhil: Arbeitsgruppe Philosophie der Physik

AGPhil 15: Alternative Approaches III

AGPhil 15.1: Talk

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 09:30–10:00, A 060

How space-time can emerge as a secondary construct — •Ewoud Halewijn — Voorburg; Netherlands

Can space-time emerge as a secondary construct from a deeper level of reality? I defend that it can, even if space-time already looks real enough in itself. I propose an ontology wherein space and time emerge from minuscule triplets. Each triplet consists of one quantum-mechanical measurement result, one Planck time scale duration parameter and a property-less quantum-mechanical observer to behold the first two components.

Firstly, I show that scientific representation gaps can be treated in relativity theory just like in Relational Quantum Mechanics. Secondly, I show that classical observers can be constructed from discrete quantum-mechanical observers in series of triplets. Thirdly, I show that continuous time emerges from discrete series of durations, and space from series of position measurement results. Fourthly, I discuss the relationship between observer-specific information and what looks like "real" space-time to both human beings and measurement devices.

I just defend that in this ontology - in which our universe consists of these triplets - time dilation and space contraction do not entail conceptual problems. The measurement "problem" in quantum mechanics does not look "weird" in it either. The ontology provides an interpretation, but it does not enhance existing theories. Yet it contradicts conventional Western convictions about reality, at least in between measurements.