1108.4865 (Chris Fields)

If physics is an information science, what is an observer?    [PDF]

Chris Fields

Interpretations of quantum theory have traditionally assumed a "Galilean"
observer, a bare "point of view" implemented physically by a quantum system.
This paper investigates the consequences of replacing such an
informationally-impoverished observer with an observer that satisfies the
requirements of classical automata theory, i.e. an observer that encodes
sufficient prior information to identify the system being observed and
recognize its acceptable states. It shows that with reasonable assumptions
about the physical dynamics of information channels, the observations recorded
by such an observer will display the typical characteristics predicted by
quantum theory, without requiring any specific assumptions about the observer's
physical implementation.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.4865