Quantum Entanglement

Abstract

Quantum entanglement is a rigorous mystery, although Einstein disparaged it as “spooky action at a distance.” We need only logic and arithmetic to prove an astonishing fact: our everyday assumptions are contradicted by measurements of entangled particles. Our everyday assumption is this: objects have properties that exist regardless of whether anyone is observing them, and the measurement of one object can’t affect a distant object. We will carefully study the evidence and the reasoning that compel us to abandon this everyday assumption. The mysterious implications are a subject of perennial debate among physicists and philosophers. This course is an evidence-focused seminar, which is part of Emory’s initiative to elucidate “The Nature of Evidence: How Do You Know?”