About the Book
Hugh Everett III was an American physicist best known for his many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, which formed the basis of his PhD thesis at Princeton University in 1957. Although counterintuitive, Everett's revolutionary formulation of quantum mechanics offers the most direct solution to the infamous quantum measurement problem--that is, how and why the singular world of our experience emerges from the multiplicities of alternatives available in the quantum world. The many-worlds interpretation postulates the existence of multiple universes. Whenever a measurement-like interaction occurs, the universe branches into relative states, one for each possible outcome of the measurement, and the world in which we find ourselves is but one of these many, but equally real, possibilities. Everett's challenge to the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics was met with scorn from Niels Bohr and other leading physicists, and Everett subsequently abandoned academia to conduct military operations research. Today, however, Everett's formulation of quantum mechanics is widely recognized as one of the most controversial but promising physical theories of the last century.
In this book, Jeffrey Barrett and Peter Byrne present the long and short versions of Everett's thesis along with a collection of his explanatory writings and correspondence. These primary source documents, many of them newly discovered and most unpublished until now, reveal how Everett's thinking evolved from his days as a graduate student to his untimely death in 1982. This definitive volume also features Barrett and Byrne's introductory essays, notes, and commentary that put Everett's extraordinary theory into historical and scientific perspective and discuss the puzzles that still remain.
Table of Contents:
PREFACE xi PART I INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: General Introduction 3 Everett and His Project 3 Everett's Target: The Measurement Problem 5 CHAPTER 2: Biographical Introduction 9 Basement Treasure 9 Life of Everett: The Short Story 10 Origins of the Theory 11 To Split or Not To Split 17 Operations Research 19 The Theory Matures 21 CHAPTER 3: Conceptual Introduction 26 The Quantum Measurement Problem 27 Everett's Proposed Resolution 34 Interpretations of Everett 37 On the Faithful Interpretation of Everett 50 PART II THE EVOLUTION OF THE THESIS 55 CHAPTER 4: Minipaper: Objective versus Subjective Probability (1955) 57 CHAPTER 5: Minipaper: Quantitative Measure of Correlation (1955) 61 CHAPTER 6: Minipaper: Probability in Wave Mechanics (1955) 64 CHAPTER 7: Correspondence: Wheeler to Everett (1955) 71 CHAPTER 8: Long Thesis: Theory of the Universal Wave Function (1956) 72 Introduction 72 Probability, Information, and Correlation 80 Quantum Mechanics 95 Observation 117 Supplementary Topics 133 Discussion 151 Appendix I 159 Appendix II: Remarks on the Role of Theoretical Physics 168 CHAPTER 9: Short Thesis: "Relative State" Formulation of Quantum Mechanics (1957) 173 Introduction 175 Realm of Applicability of the Conventional or "External Observation" Formulation of Quantum Mechanics 175 Quantum Mechanics Internal to an Isolated System 178 Concept of Relative State 179 Observation 183 Discussion 196 CHAPTER 10: Wheeler Article: Assessment of Everett's "Relative State" Formulation of Quantum Theory (1957) 197 PART III THE COPENHAGEN DEBATE 203 CHAPTER 11: Correspondence: Wheeler and Everett (1956) 205 Wheeler to Everett, May 22, 1956 205 Wheeler Notes on Conversation with Petersen, May 3, 1956 207 Wheeler to Everett, May 26, 1956 211 Wheeler to Everett, September 17, 1956 212 CHAPTER 12: Correspondence: Wheeler, Everett, and Stern (1956) 214 Stern to Wheeler, May 20, 1956 215 Wheeler to Stern, May 25, 1956 219 Wheeler to Everett, May 25, 1956 223 CHAPTER 13: Correspondence: Groenewold to Everett (1957) 225 Groenewold to Everett and Wheeler, April 11, 1957 226 CHAPTER 14: Correspondence: Everett and Wiener (1957) 231 Wiener to Wheeler, April 9, 1957 231 Everett to Wiener, May 31, 1957 234 CHAPTER 15: Correspondence: Everett and Petersen (1957) 236 Petersen to Everett, April 24, 1957 236 Everett to Petersen, May 31, 1957 238 CHAPTER 16: Correspondence: Everett and DeWitt (1957) 241 DeWitt to Wheeler, May 7, 1957 242 Everett to DeWitt, May 31, 1957 252 CHAPTER 17: Correspondence: Everett and Frank (1957) 257 Everett to Frank, May 31, 1957 257 Frank to Everett, August 3, 1957 259 CHAPTER 18 Correspondence: Everett and Jaynes (1957) 261 Everett to Jaynes, June 11, 1957 262 PART IV POST-THESIS CORRESPONDENCE AND NOTES 265 CHAPTER 19: Transcript: Conference at Xavier University (1959) 267 CHAPTER 20: Notes: Everett on DeWitt (1970) 280 CHAPTER 21: Notes: Everett on Bell (1971) 283 CHAPTER 22: Correspondence: Jammer, Wheeler, and Everett (1972) 291 Jammer to Wheeler, January 11, 1972 291 Wheeler to Jammer, March 19, 1972 292 Jammer to Everett, August 28, 1973 293 Everett to Jammer, September 19, 1973 294 CHAPTER 23: Transcript: Everett and Misner (1977) 299 CHAPTER 24: Correspondence: Everett and Levy-Leblond (1977) 311 Levy-Leblond to Everett, August 17, 1977 311 Everett to Levy-Leblond, November 15, 1977 313 CHAPTER 25: Correspondence: Everett and Raub (1980) 315 Everett to Raub, April 7, 1980 315 PART V APPENDIXES 317 Appendix A: Everett's Notes on Possible Thesis Titles 319 Appendix B: Early Draft Outline for Long Thesis 321 Appendix C: Universal Wave Function Note 324 Appendix D: Handwritten Draft Introduction to the Long Thesis 326 Appendix E: Handwritten Draft Conclusion to the Long Thesis 348 Appendix F: Handwritten Revisions to the Long Thesis for Inclusion in DeWitt and Graham (1973) 355 Appendix G: Handwritten Notes on Everett's Copy of DeWitt and Graham (1973) 364 CONCLUDING NOTES 367 BIBLIOGRAPHY 369 INDEX 375
About the Author :
Jeffrey A. Barrett is professor of logic and philosophy of science at the University of California, Irvine. Peter Byrne is an award-winning investigative reporter and science writer.
Review :
"What can be said without dispute is that the present editors have done an excellent job in presenting the available material. Their book can be highly recommended to physicists in each of the two parallel branches of the mental universe!"--Peter J. Bussey, Contemporary Physics "This book will be very useful for historians as well any philosophers working on the development of interpretations of quantum theory."--K.-E. Hellwig, Zentralblatt MATH "[T]he book is a mandatory read for anyone interested in the history of the philosophy of quantum mechanics. The editors have skillfully grouped the material according to both chronological order and topical concern, and have added a fair amount of useful annotation, assisting the reader without being overly intrusive. Short but expertly written introductions provide necessary context on the biographical and conceptual dimensions. The book is also a fascinating and rewarding read."--Tilman Sauer, British Journal for the History of Science "In sum: Spinoza's metaphysics has returned in the work of Hugh Everett as physics--as a complete and consistent interpretation of QM that resolves the traditional puzzles of the standard interpretation."--Sheldon Richmond, Philosophy in Review
