Site modified: 2008-01-10. W@M v0.5.
Bell's theorem refuted, hidden-variables revealed: Common-sense local realism interprets quantum mechanics.
Gordon Watson
www.watsonics.com
1989 © 2008
Synopsis.
Consistent with Bell's (1982: 997) hope for a simple constructive model, quantum mechanics (QM) is shown to be compatible with the philosophy of common-sense local realism. Apparent no-go theorems associated with Bell's work are eliminated via the following new results: (i) Truth-tables reveal the hidden-variables in any Bellian experiment. (ii) Bellian-inequalities are shown to fail elementary classical tests. (iii) Bell (1964) is reverse-engineered to refute Bell's own impossibility-proof, Bell's manipulation of non-commuting observables being invalid, his theorem silly. (iv) The ''best Bell-theorem'' (Hardy's paradox, Mermin 2005) is quashed and refuted.
Bell's theorem is silly because Bell's realism is silly.
Bell's proof, ''... if you actually come to grips with it, falls apart in your hands! There is nothing to it. It's not just flawed, it's silly. If you look at the assumptions made [about reality], it does not hold up for a moment. It's the work of a mathematician, and he makes assumptions that have mathematical symmetry to them. When you translate them into terms of physical disposition, they're nonsense. ... not merely false but foolish!''
With appreciative acknowledgment to John Bell's own (1988: 88) commentary on Von Neumann's famous impossibility-proof; [about reality] added.
Welcome to Watsonics, aka W@M or WM (Watsonian Mechanics).
Accepting the results of QM as a boundary condition on our studies, common-sense local realism is shown to underpin QM. Thus the often-neglected ''anti-Bellian'' views of John Bell are here supported and advanced, recalling that:
None of the no-hidden-variables theorems persuaded John Bell that hidden variables were impossible (Mermin 1993: 814). Indeed, from Bell (1982: 997), we have: ''Let us hope these analyses also may one day be illuminated, perhaps harshly, by some simple constructive model. However that may be, long may Louis de Broglie continue to inspire those who suspect that what is proved by impossibility proofs is lack of imagination''.
And so it is that Bell's own impossibility proofs are refuted (cf BOM) while common-sense analysis (WAM) at the level of high-school maths and logic reveals hidden-variables in every Bell-type experiment.
''Everything important is, at bottom, utterly simple'' (Wheeler 1999). ''I think it is because nature has a simplicity and therefore a great beauty'' (Feynman 1992: 173). "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking" (Einstein 1936: 349).
It follows that Bell's theorem is of limited validity: True for things like dirty socks (Bell 1981a) or downhill skiers (Meystre 1984) and generally false otherwise.
Now it's well-known that Bell's theorem famously fails the EPRB case-study from which it grew. But the reason for this failure seems not to be known at all. So BAM reveals Bell's invalid use of non-commuting observables (no experiment can confirm his manipulation of such), while WAM reveals a related generalisation of Malus' law. Thus:
With Bellian inequalities (eg, CHSH 1969) failing simple classically-correlated tests; with ''inextricably quantum-entangled'' experiments (eg, Mermin 1988, 2005) revealing separable components when reverse-engineered; the compatibility of QM and common-sense is established along lines which (it seems to me), would appeal to Einstein, Bell, and other engineering types.
In sum, since 1989: Common-sense local realism refutes all non-local interpretations of quantum theory and experiment. For Nature is local; QM itself being an abstract local theory just one step removed from the local realism sought by Einstein and Bell.
So my studies here continue, with email correspondence most welcome and me keen to learn from my mistakes.
NB: 1- The foot of each page is a site map. 2- Most links open as new pages. 3- Email correspondence is welcomed. 4- This site is a work-in-progress.
Please: Read this. WAM: Watsonic's anti-Bellian maths. BAM: Bell's amazing mistake. BOM: Bell's other mistake. WAC: Watsonic's anti-Bellian cannon. BIF: Bellian inequalities fail. BIR: Bell's inequality refuted. CHSHIR: CHSH's inequality refuted. DEIR: D'Espagnat's inequality refuted. HAIR: Harrison's inequality refuted. HEIR: Herbert's inequality refuted. SIR: Schneider's inequality refuted. BTR: Bell's theorem refuted. HPQ: Hardy's paradox quashed. HPF: Hardy's paradox factored. HPR: Hardy's paradox refuted.
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