Stable Facts, Relative Facts

Abstract

Facts happen at every interaction, but they are not absolute: they are relative to the systems involved in the interaction. Stable facts are those whose relativity can effectively be ignored. In this work, we describe how stable facts emerge in a world of relative facts and discuss their respective roles in connecting quantum theory and the world. The distinction between relative and stable facts resolves the difficulties pointed out by the no-go theorems of Frauchiger and Renner, Brukner, Bong et. al.. Basing the ontology of the theory on relative facts clarifies the role of decoherence in bringing about the classical world and solves the apparent incompatibility between the `linear evolution' and `projection' postulates.

arXiv comment6 pages; minor improvements, published version

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Cited by in corpus (28)

• A quintet of quandaries: five no-go theorems for Relational Quantum Mechanics
• Relational Quantum Mechanics is about Facts, not States: A reply to Pienaar and Brukner
• QBism and Relational Quantum Mechanics compared
• The arrow of time in operational formulations of quantum theory
• No-go theorem based on incomplete information of Wigner about his friend
• A "thoughtful" Local Friendliness no-go theorem: a prospective experiment with new assumptions to suit
• On the consistency of relative facts
• Epistemic-Pragmatist Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics: A Comparative Assessment
• Relational Quantum Mechanics and Contextuality
• Is the Statistical Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics $\psi$-Ontic or $\psi$-Epistemic?
• Relating Wigner's Friend Scenarios to Nonclassical Causal Compatibility, Monogamy Relations, and Fine Tuning
• Collective patterns and stable misunderstandings in networks striving for consensus without a common value system
• Law of Total Probability in Quantum Theory and Its Application in Wigner's Friend Scenario
• Extended Wigner's friend paradoxes do not require nonlocal correlations
• Wave-particle duality and the objectiveness of "true" and "false"
• Local Friendliness Polytopes In Multipartite Scenarios
• Fact-nets: towards a mathematical framework for relational quantum mechanics
• The Relational Dissolution of the Quantum Measurement Problems
• From observer-dependent facts to frame-dependent measurement records in Wigner friend scenarios
• The metaphysics of decoherence
• Can a Bohmian be a Rovellian for all practical purposes?
• A critical analysis of `Relative facts do not exist. Relational quantum mechanics is incompatible with quantum mechanics' by Jay Lawrence, Marcin Markiewicz and Marek Źukowski
• On the significance of Wigner's Friend in contexts beyond quantum foundations
• The Informational Observer in Relational Quantum Mechanics
• Is quantum mechanics merely a theory for us?
• Securing the Objectivity of Relative Facts in the Quantum World
• Differential Geometry of Contextuality
• Bohm - de Broglie Cycles