Re: Nonlocality and aperiodic tilings

Fri, 14 Mar 1997 13:37:13 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian Josephson <bdj10@cam.ac.uk>
To: quantum-d@teleport.com
Subject: Re: Nonlocality and aperiodic tilings

Mitchell Porter wrote: 
 
> [Penrose] then describes some materials called quasicrystals, which
> seem to exhibit properties (10-fold rotational symmetry)
> resembling some of the aperiodic tilling patterns, and
> speculates that some nonlocal quantum process is behind
> the assembly of quasicrystals.
>
> I wonder if we could turn this around, and seek to explain
> quantum nonlocality as the nonlocal product of local
> constraints, as in the aperiodic tilings.

Quite an attractive idea: Schrodinger's characterisation of life as a
crystal advancing to 'aperiodic (disorderly) long-range order'.  It
perhaps puts additional flesh on complementarity ideas I have been 
involved with
(Josephson and Conrad at
http://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/urbino.txt); and
Josephson and Pallikari-Viras at
http://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/mm/articles/Bell.psi) on how such
complementarity might be related to the paranormal (also this long-range
order might be the long-range order that we invoked in our Tucson II
talk).

Roughly speaking we have these interpretations.

quantum physics description  <--> statistical interpretation ignoring
                                  local details

cognitive description        <--> description including knowledge of 
                                  specific significant facts about the
                                  current structure

Again, this all fits with LeShan's "clairvoyant reality", i.e. the
different views the physicist and the mystic have of the world and its
relationships.

The essence of the situation is that aperiodic order can account for psi
phenomena in principle just as well as it might account for the puzzles
of quantum-nonlocality.  And it is perhaps more aesthetically pleasing 
than Bohm's causal model.

Brian



 * * * * * * *      Prof. Brian D. Josephson :::::::::: bdj10@cam.ac.uk
* Mind-Matter * Cavendish Laboratory, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
* Unification * voice: +44(0) 1223 337260/337200   fax: +44(0) 1223 337356
*   Project   *           WWW: http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~bdj10
 * * * * * * *