Tim Palmer: Non-Locality, Universe on a Fractal, Quantum Mechanics

The Nugget

Quantum mechanics and general relativity have not been unified due to unresolved conceptual difficulties, such as non-locality, indeterminism, and the holistic nature of quantum physics. Palmer believes these conceptual issues must be tackled head-on to make real progress, by recognizing that local laws of physics may be determined by the large-scale structure of the universe.

Make it stick

🌌 Local laws of physics are likely determined by the totality of the universe, similar to Mach's principle in gravity
❓ Bell's theorem relies on the flawed assumption of counterfactual definiteness
🔁 The universe may be deterministic but not predestined, evolving on a cyclical cosmological invariant set

Physics has made great progress overall, but some foundational problems from the 1970s remain unresolved, especially unifying quantum mechanics with general relativity
These involve interpreting measurements, entanglement, non-locality, and the holistic nature of quantum physics

Mach's principle states that local inertial frames are determined by the distant mass in the universe
Palmer believes an analogous principle is needed for quantum physics - local laws are determined by the large-scale structure of the cosmos
The universe should be treated as an undivided whole; isolating local systems leads to paradoxes

Bell's theorem assumes counterfactual definiteness - properties of quantum systems exist regardless of measurement
Palmer argues certain counterfactual states would be inconsistent with global laws of physics, negating the need for non-locality or indeterminism
The key false assumption in Bell's theorem is measurement independence - that measurement settings can vary while keeping hidden variables fixed

Palmer proposes the universe evolves deterministically on a fractal invariant set geometry
This provides a model of quantum physics without non-locality or true randomness
It is holistic - the invariant set describes the entire universe; local systems cannot be isolated
The model is deterministic but not predestined - like the sensitivity of chaos to initial conditions

Palmer and Penrose believe the universe may have a deeper purpose beyond pure chance or a creator God
A scientifically-grounded "fourth option" could exist based on principles like the cosmological invariant set
Cyclical cosmological models may better align with this than an accelerating universe doomed to heat death

"I think we've got to get back to basics a bit more and start asking the deep questions rather than just plowing through calculations."
"If the world is non-local, the result that I get can depend on whether a colleague of mine, who could be on the other side of the world, or in principle on the other side of the galaxy, or indeed on the other side of the universe, how he set up his measurement."
"These fractal invariant sets, these are deterministic structures. There's nothing random. Everything is deterministic, but the way the peodic picture is that the more information you specify in the peodic number, the sharper the whole structure becomes, but you're always seeing the whole structure."

This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.