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Birds, Frogs, and the Measurement Problem

Physicists and philosophers alike have pondered the measurement problem in quantum mechanics since the beginning of the theory nearly a century ago. Marcel Reginatto and I (2013) have made the case as have many others, Niels Bohr among them, that the problem is artificial and needs no resolution. The purpose of my present essay is not to elaborate on this conclusion but rather to shed light on the reasons why the problem arose in the first place and why it persists today, a more sociological than physical reflection. I am indebted to Freeman Dyson for his support of my forays into the foundations of quantum mechanics and, as a tribute to him, make use of his "birds and frogs" metaphor as explained below. I am not suggesting that he would have agreed with my ruminations nor approved of my use of his metaphor. On the other hand, from his writings and my conversations with him, it is clear that Dyson was as dismissive of the measurement problem as Bohr.