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Foundations of QM Seminar (Jan. 13)
by Dardashti, Radin Jan. 12, 2014

Jan. 12, 2014

Dear all, our "Foundations of Quantum Mechanics" seminar continues tomorrow with Brian Padden on "Geometric Phases in Quantum Mechanics". Papers can be found in the dropbox link below: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mgm5y8inywk5cp2/gpxUX1_5Nq (relevant: ch.1-4 in Durstberger and Anandan text) Location: Ludwigstr.31, Room 021. Time: Monday Jan. 13, 18:00 (s.t.) Best wishes, Radin

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Talk by Roman Frigg at CAS (10th Jan)
by Dardashti, Radin Jan. 6, 2014

Jan. 6, 2014

Speaker: Roman Frigg (LSE) Friday 10th Jan 2014 Location: Auditorium of Center for Advanced Studies, Seestraße 13, 80802 Munich Time: 18:15 - 19:45 Title: Chaos beyond the Butterfly Effect: The Poison Pill of Structural Model Error Abstract: The sensitive dependence on initial condition associated with chaotic models, the so-called "Butterfly Effect", imposes limitations on the models’ predictive power. These limitations have been widely recognized and extensively discussed. In this lecture, Roman Frigg will draw attention to an additional so far under-appreciated problem, namely structural model error (SME). If a nonlinear model has only the slightest SME, then its ability to generate useful prediction is lost. This puts us in a worse epistemic situation: while we can mitigate against the butterfly effect by making probabilistic predictions, this route is foreclosed in the case of SME. Roman Frigg will discuss in what way the description of problems affects actual modeling projects, in particular in the context of making predictions about the local effects of climate change. Registration required. If you are interested in participating please contact: info(a)cas.lmu.de

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last CfP: Quantum-Classical Divide
by Wolfgang Pietsch Jan. 1, 2014

Jan. 1, 2014

The Working Group "Philosophy of Physics" (AG Phil) of the German Physical Society (DPG) invites submissions for its Annual Meeting, which will take place at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin from March 19 to 21, 2014. Other sections of the DPG, e.g. on gravitation, quantum optics, or mathematical foundations of physics, will also convene in Berlin (http://berlin14.dpg-tagungen.de/index.html?lang=en <http://berlin14.dpg-tagungen.de/index.html?lang=en&> &). As part of the AG Phil meeting, there will be a colloquium on "The Quantum-Classical Divide". Confirmed speakers so far are Alisa Bokulich (Boston), Klaas Landsman (Nijmegen), Tim Maudlin (New York), Wayne Myrvold (Western Ontario), Antigone Nounou (Athens), and Jos Uffink (Minneapolis). Although submissions on any topic in the philosophy of physics are possible, contributions addressing the quantum-classical divide are especially welcome. If you would like to present a paper, please submit an abstract of about 200 words by January 6, 2014, using the online-form on http://berlin14.dpg-tagungen.de/anmeldung/abstract.html?lang=en (please ignore submission deadline given on this page) We look forward to seeing you in Berlin! Best regards, Meinard Kuhlmann, Dennis Lehmkuhl, and Wolfgang Pietsch -------------- Dr. Wolfgang Pietsch Munich Center for Technology in Society Technische Universität München Arcisstr. 21 D-80333 München, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)89 . 289 25366

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Workshop on Paradigms of Modern Physics
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 19, 2013

Dec. 19, 2013

This might be of interest to some of you. Begin forwarded message: From: Leonhard Horstmeyer <horstmey(a)mis.mpg.de> Subject: Workshop on Paradigms of Modern Physics Date: 18. Dezember 2013 16:53:48 MEZ To: S.Hartmann(a)lmu.de Dear all, We invite you to a workshop 'paradigms of modern theoretical physics' in a mountain cabin from the 22nd till 29th of March 2014. We are going to discuss and elaborate the paradigms of theoretical physics in an informal and creative atmosphere. Please find attached a more explicit invitation with details on the workshop and the registration. The administration of the self catering hut needs to know the number of participants by the 20th of December, so please email us no later than that. Best regards, Leo, Johannes, Jan-Hendrik

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PHIL-PHYS-RDG-GRP: meeting today postponed; next meetings
by Erik Curiel Dec. 18, 2013

Dec. 18, 2013

Because of a conflict with a physics seminar on the Higgs and SUSY, the München-area philosophy of physics reading group will not meet today. We will resume on Jan. 15, discussing what we had intended to today, "Hawking radiation and black hole thermodynamics" by Don Page (not including section 5). To make up for missed sessions, we will thereafter meet on Jan. 22 and Jan. 29. I will send out a reminder email in earlyish January. Hope everyone has a great new year! Yours, E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwigsstrasse 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

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Foundations of QM Seminar (Dec. 16)
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 16, 2013

Dec. 16, 2013

Dear all, our "Foundations of Quantum Mechanics" seminar continues today with Lennart Piro (LMU) on "Zurek's Derivation of the Born Rule". Papers can be found in the dropbox link below: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jtfwt8gy5jj85al/fgOTszDGFq Location: Ludwigstr.31, Room 021. Time: Monday Dec. 16, 18:00 (s.t.) Best wishes, Radin

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Talk by Erik Curiel at MCMP (18th Dec)
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 13, 2013

Dec. 13, 2013

Speaker: Erik Curiel (MCMP/LMU) Wednesday 18th Dec 2013 Location: Ludwigstr. 31 room 021 Time: 16:15 - 17:45 Title: Are Classical Black Holes Hot or Cold? Abstract: In the early 1970s it was realized that there is a striking formal analogy between the so-called laws of black-hole mechanics and the laws of classical thermodynamics. Before the discovery of Hawking radiation, however, it was generally thought that the analogy was only formal, and did not reflect a deep connection between gravitational and thermodynamical phenomena. In particular, it is still commonly held that the surface gravity of a stationary black hole can be construed as a true physical temperature only when quantum effects are taken into account; in the context of classical general relativity alone, one cannot cogently construe it so. Does the use of quantum field theory in curved spacetime offer the only hope for taking the analogy seriously? I think the answer is 'no'. To attempt to justify that answer, I shall begin by arguing that the standard argument to the contrary is not physically well founded, and in any event begs the question. Looking at the various ways that the idea of "temperature" enters classical thermodynamics then will suggest arguments that, I claim, show the analogy between classical black-hole mechanics and classical thermodynamics should be taken more seriously, at least so far as temperature goes, without the need to rely on or invoke quantum mechanics. If this is correct, then there may be a deep connection between classical general relativity and classical thermodynamics on their own, independent of quantum mechanics.

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PHIL-PHYS-RDG-GRP: next meeting
by Erik Curiel Dec. 12, 2013

Dec. 12, 2013

The next meeting of the München-area philosophy of physics reading group will take place next Wednesday, Dec. 19, 14:15-15:45, in Ludwigstr. 25, room D4c. We will read "Hawking radiation and black hole thermodynamics" by Don Page, a breezy and pleasant introductory overview of the subject. (It has equations and arguments, but no formal proofs, and a lot of fun history.) There is no need to read section 5, "Logarithmic corrections to black hole entropy", as that deals entirely with issues in various quantum gravity programs, which we are not yet studying. I attach a copy to this email (and also I have uploaded it to the dropbox account for the reading group). Hope to see you there! Yours, E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwigstrasse 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

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Fwd: CFP: Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Physics Graduate Conference
by Michael Cuffaro Dec. 10, 2013

Dec. 10, 2013

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: CFP: Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Physics Graduate Conference Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2013 15:04:19 -0500 From: Melissa Jacquart <melissajacquart(a)GMAIL.COM> Reply-To: A Forum for Discussion of the History of the Philosophy of Science <HOPOS-L(a)listserv.vt.edu> To: HOPOS-L(a)LISTSERV.VT.EDU The 14th annual Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Physics Graduate Conference will take place on Thursday-Friday, June 5-6, 2014, at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. We are pleased to announce that Doreen Fraser (University of Waterloo) will be giving the keynote address. Call for Papers Graduate students who have not yet defended their PhD thesis are invited to submit papers on any topic in philosophy of logic, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of physics. Papers in philosophy of physics will be considered for the 11th Annual Clifton Memorial book prize. The contest will be adjudicated by philosophy of physics faculty members at Western. Submission Guidelines The maximum paper length 5,000 words, including footnotes and appendices (but not references). If the paper includes tables, figures, or equations, an appropriate number of words should be subtracted from the limit. Papers are to be prepared for anonymous review, and should be accompanied by an abstract (no longer than 300 words). Co-authored papers are not eligible for submission. Deadline: Papers should be submitted via EasyChair by February 24th, 2014. Authors of accepted papers will be limited to 30-35 minutes for presentation, followed by a 20-minute period of discussion. We will endeavor to make accommodations available to all visiting graduate students. This year, the 2014 LMP Conference will precede the 18th annual Philosophy of Physics Conference, Metaphysics Within and Without Physics, taking place June 7-8. Additional information can be found on our website: http://logicmathphysics.ca Please send questions to the LMP Conference Committee: uwolmp(a)gmail.com We look forward to receiving your submission, Melissa Jacquart, Olivia Komorowski, Josh Luczak, Nathan Moore, Jared Richards, and Jessey Wright (2014 LMP Conference Committee) ----------- Melissa Jacquart PhD Student Resident Member Rotman Institute of Philosophy Department of Philosophy Western University Stevenson Hall 2150 www.melissajacquart.com

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PHIL-PHYS-RDG-GRP: more reading
by Erik Curiel Dec. 6, 2013

Dec. 6, 2013

I added a file to the dropbox repository, "Comment on entropy bounds and the generalized second law" by Wald and Pelath (a very talented grad student---at the time---of Wald), which is a direct response to Bekenstein's "Non-Archimedean character..." paper. The 1983 Unruh-Wald paper on dropbox is a response to earlier papers by Bekenstein that are not in dropbox. I also renamed the files in the dropbox repository, to make it easier to get what you want and only what you want (which, being American, I feel is important). E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwigsstrasse 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

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