The Measurement Problem Is the "Measurement" Problem

Arne Hansen, Stefan Wolf

Published 2018-10-10Version 1

Physics builds on two tenets: On the one hand, statements are expressed in formal languages. On the other, these statements are to be tested against experience. Observers are the nexus between experience and the account thereof. Whether this very account can be formalized - that is, exhaustively represented in a formal language - can be doubted, as we argue. Such an incommensurability of accounts of experience and formal languages has repercussions on how to approach the measurement problem and issues regarding self-reference in quantum mechanics: If there is no privileged language of experience, the possibility of closing the theory to the end of the observer is in doubt. It also means that physics cannot be reduced to mere data compression or statistical learning within some given language - instead, physics plays an active role in establishing language (and meaning).