Recently some photon models of a Wigner’s friend experiment have led investigators to suggest that objective reality does not exist, and to publish articles with such claims. The public is not equipped to evaluate th...Recently some photon models of a Wigner’s friend experiment have led investigators to suggest that objective reality does not exist, and to publish articles with such claims. The public is not equipped to evaluate the severe limitations of these experiments. The separation of Wigner from the experiment and use of only reversible coherent processes for the friend allow operations that are not possible in ordinary reality according to the latest quantum research. We suggest directly testing the implied claim that objective reality, including incoherent objects with irreversible non-destructive memory, can be held in superposition. We suspect that it will fail, but provide for a graduated approach that may discover something about the conditions for superposition collapse. To this end, we design a thought experiment to model the objective world, investigating under what conditions experimenters in the same world (ensemble member) will be able to record a result and find it does not appear to change. This is not an investigation of hidden variables. To model the objective world, incoherent and irreversible processes must be included. To test for superposition, coherence has to be established. These seem to present a contradiction. The thought experiment suggests new places to look other than size for the origin of objective reality, casts doubt on the Many-Worlds interpretation, and provides a method of testing it.展开更多
<strong>Background:</strong> A large percentage of deaths in an epidemic or pandemic can be due to overshoot of population (herd) immunity, either from the initial peak or from planned or unplanned exit fr...<strong>Background:</strong> A large percentage of deaths in an epidemic or pandemic can be due to overshoot of population (herd) immunity, either from the initial peak or from planned or unplanned exit from lockdown or social distancing conditions. <strong>Objectives:</strong> We study partial unlock or reopening interaction with seasonal effects in a managed epidemic to quantify overshoot effects on small and large unlock steps and discover robust strategies for reducing overshoot. <strong>Methods:</strong> We simulate partial unlock of social distancing for epidemics over a range of replication factor, immunity duration and seasonality factor for strategies targeting immunity thresholds using overshoot optimization. <strong>Results:</strong> Seasonality change must be taken into account as one of the steps in an easing sequence, and a two-step unlock, including seasonal effects, minimizes overshoot and deaths. It may cause undershoot, which causes rebounds and assists survival of the pathogen. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Partial easing levels, even low levels for economic relief while waiting on a vaccine, have population immunity thresholds based on the reduced replication rates and may experience overshoot as well. We further find a two-step strategy remains highly sensitive to variations in case ratio, replication factor, seasonality and timing. We demonstrate a three or more step strategy is more robust, and conclude that the best possible approach minimizes deaths under a range of likely actual conditions which include public response.展开更多
文摘Recently some photon models of a Wigner’s friend experiment have led investigators to suggest that objective reality does not exist, and to publish articles with such claims. The public is not equipped to evaluate the severe limitations of these experiments. The separation of Wigner from the experiment and use of only reversible coherent processes for the friend allow operations that are not possible in ordinary reality according to the latest quantum research. We suggest directly testing the implied claim that objective reality, including incoherent objects with irreversible non-destructive memory, can be held in superposition. We suspect that it will fail, but provide for a graduated approach that may discover something about the conditions for superposition collapse. To this end, we design a thought experiment to model the objective world, investigating under what conditions experimenters in the same world (ensemble member) will be able to record a result and find it does not appear to change. This is not an investigation of hidden variables. To model the objective world, incoherent and irreversible processes must be included. To test for superposition, coherence has to be established. These seem to present a contradiction. The thought experiment suggests new places to look other than size for the origin of objective reality, casts doubt on the Many-Worlds interpretation, and provides a method of testing it.
文摘<strong>Background:</strong> A large percentage of deaths in an epidemic or pandemic can be due to overshoot of population (herd) immunity, either from the initial peak or from planned or unplanned exit from lockdown or social distancing conditions. <strong>Objectives:</strong> We study partial unlock or reopening interaction with seasonal effects in a managed epidemic to quantify overshoot effects on small and large unlock steps and discover robust strategies for reducing overshoot. <strong>Methods:</strong> We simulate partial unlock of social distancing for epidemics over a range of replication factor, immunity duration and seasonality factor for strategies targeting immunity thresholds using overshoot optimization. <strong>Results:</strong> Seasonality change must be taken into account as one of the steps in an easing sequence, and a two-step unlock, including seasonal effects, minimizes overshoot and deaths. It may cause undershoot, which causes rebounds and assists survival of the pathogen. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Partial easing levels, even low levels for economic relief while waiting on a vaccine, have population immunity thresholds based on the reduced replication rates and may experience overshoot as well. We further find a two-step strategy remains highly sensitive to variations in case ratio, replication factor, seasonality and timing. We demonstrate a three or more step strategy is more robust, and conclude that the best possible approach minimizes deaths under a range of likely actual conditions which include public response.
