Quantum Information Dynamics and Open World Science
Dominic Widdows, Peter Bruza · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · 2007
One of the fundamental insights of quantummechanics is that complete knowledge of the state of a quantum system is not possible. Such incomplete knowledge of a physical system is the norm rather than the exception. This is becoming increas-ingly apparent as we apply scientific methods to increasingly complex situations. Empirically intensive disciplines in the biological, human, and geosciences all operate in situations where valid conclusions must be drawn, but deductive com-pleteness is impossible. This paper argues that such situations are emerging exam-ples of Open World Science. In this paradigm, scientific models are known to be acting with incomplete information. Open World models acknowledge their incompleteness, and respond positively when new information becomes available. Many methods for creating Open World models have been explored analytically in quantitative disciplines such as statis-tics, and the increasingly mature area of machine learning. This paper examines the role of quantum theory and quan-tum logic in the underpinnings of Open World models, ex-amining the importance of structural features of such as non-commutativity, degrees of similarity, induction, and the im-pact of observation. Quantum mechanics is not a problem around the edges of classical theory, but is rather a secure bridgehead in the world of science to come.