What is it about?
The idea that quantum objects are real and have the tendency to have specific property values in the future when measured has been characterized as a potentiality, which is a Heisenberg's name for it as a reference to ideas of Aristotle in this theory of causation.
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Why is it important?
This is important because a number of renowned physicists, such as Heisenberg, Born, Shimony, and Wheeler have found this notion very useful in dealing with quantum measurement.
Perspectives
I have shown in this paper how to more precisely characterize this notion in both physical and philosophical context. A follow-up paper will also appear in 2026 in this journal
Prof. Gregg S Jaeger
Boston University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Quantum potentiality revisited, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences, October 2017, Royal Society Publishing,
DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2016.0390.
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