Space is dead: A challenge to the standard model of quantum mechanics | Lee Smolin

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Since the idea of locality is dead, space itself may not be an aloof vacuum: Something welds things together, even at great distances.

- Realists believe that there is an exactly understandable way the world is — one that describes processes independent of our intervention. Anti-realists, however, believe realism is too ambitious — too hard. They believe we pragmatically describe our interactions with nature — not truths that are independent of us.

- In nature, properties of Particle B may be depend on what we choose to measure or manipulate with Particle A, even at great distances.

- In quantum mechanics, there is no explanation for this. "It just comes out that way," says Smolin. Realists struggle with this because it would imply certain things can travel faster than light, which still seems improbable.

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