Room P4.35, Mathematics Building Instituto Superior Técnicohttps://tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Lorenzo Catani
, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory

No-go theorems (Bell, Kochen–Specker, …) formally show the departure of quantum theory from the classical worldview. These are formulated in the framework of ontological models and, if one accepts such framework, entail that quantum theory involves problematic (“fine-tuned”) properties. I will argue that the lesson to take from the no-go theorems is to abandon the framework of ontological models as the way to model reality. I will analyze what I believe to be the unnatural assumptions of such framework and I will propose a way to change it. The basic principle of the new notion of reality I propose is that for something to exist is for something to be recorded. I will motivate the principle and explore its consequences. In order to implement such proposal into a precise theory-independent mathematical framework I will make use of point-free topological spaces (locales). I will discuss why this new proposal should be promising for circumventing the conclusions of Bell’s theorem and understanding quantum theory. I will conclude by presenting several open questions.