Quantum Measurement and the Paulian Idea

TL;DR

This paper discusses the QBist interpretation of quantum measurement as the creation of new experience, emphasizing the role of observer-participancy and exploring its ontological implications.

Contribution

It proposes that experience itself is the fundamental 'material' of the universe within the QBist framework, offering a novel ontological perspective.

Findings

Quantum measurement creates new experiences rather than revealing pre-existing properties.

Experience is proposed as the fundamental substance of the universe in QBism.

The concept of observer-participancy is central to understanding quantum ontology.

Abstract

In the quantum Bayesian (or QBist) conception of quantum theory, "quantum measurement" is understood not as a comparison of something pre-existent with a standard, but instead indicative of the creation of something new in the universe: Namely, the fresh experience any agent receives upon taking an action on the world. We explore the implications of this for any would-be ontology underlying QBism. The concept that presently stands out as a candidate "material for our universe's composition" is "experience" itself, or what John Wheeler called "observer-participancy".