"Space is blue and birds fly through it"

Abstract

Quantum mechanics is not about 'quantum states': it is about values of physical variables. I give a short fresh presentation and update on the $relational$ perspective on the theory, and a comment on its philosophical implications.

Presented to meeting "Foundations of quantum mechanics and their impact on contemporary society", at The Royal Society, London, 11-12 December 2017; To appear in Philosophical Transactions A

References in corpus (1)

• Is the quantum state real? An extended review of $\psi$-ontology theorems

Cited by in corpus (26)

• A change of perspective: switching quantum reference frames via a perspective-neutral framework
• A quintet of quandaries: five no-go theorems for Relational Quantum Mechanics
• Switching internal times and a new perspective on the 'wave function of the universe'
• Relational Quantum Mechanics is about Facts, not States: A reply to Pienaar and Brukner
• Contextual Wavefunction Collapse: An integrated theory of quantum measurement
• Stable Facts, Relative Facts
• QBism and Relational Quantum Mechanics compared
• The arrow of time in operational formulations of quantum theory
• The Bundle Theory Approach to Relational Quantum Mechanics
• Switching Quantum Reference Frames for Quantum Measurement
• Indeterminism, causality and information: Has physics ever been deterministic?
• Relational Quantum Mechanics and Probability
• Foundations of quantum mechanics and their impact on contemporary society
• Relational Quantum Mechanics and the PBR Theorem: A Peaceful Coexistence
• On the consistency of relative facts
• Epistemic-Pragmatist Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics: A Comparative Assessment
• An Introduction to Influence Theory: Kinematics and Dynamics
• Law of Total Probability in Quantum Theory and Its Application in Wigner's Friend Scenario
• Consistent Descriptions of Quantum Measurement
• The Quantum Measurement Problem: A Review of Recent Trends
• Ozawa's Intersubjectivity Theorem as justification of RQM's postulate on internally consistent descriptions
• The Relational Dissolution of the Quantum Measurement Problems
• An attempt to understand relational quantum mechanics
• A Quantum Gödelian Hunch
• Relational space-time and de Broglie waves
• Generalising Aumann's Agreement Theorem