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From the press release:
The laws of classical mechanics are independent of the direction of time, but whether the same is true in quantum mechanics has been a subject of debate. While it is agreed that the laws that govern isolated quantum systems are time-symmetric, measurement changes the state of a system according to rules that only appear to hold forward in time, and there is difference in opinion about the interpretation of this effect.
Now theoretical physicists at the Université libre de Bruxelles have developed a fully time-symmetric formulation of quantum theory which establishes an exact link between this asymmetry and the fact that we can remember the past but not the future – a phenomenon that physicist Stephen Hawking has named the "psychological" arrow of time.
The study offers new insights into the concepts of free choice and causality, and suggests that causality need not be considered a fundamental principle of physics. It also extends a cornerstone theorem in quantum mechanics due to Eugene Paul Wigner, pointing to new directions for search of physics beyond the known models. The findings by Ognyan Oreshkov and Nicolas Cerf have been published this week in the journal Nature Physics.
The paper is pay-walled, but the preprint is free.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday August 12 2015, @08:06PM
Umnh... It's probably impossible to come up with an idea that doesn't have a vaguely stated precursor. Note that I didn't limit this to correct ideas.
Most philosophy is impossible to test because the statements are so vague that very little could possibly be a real contradiction. This is almost inherent in natural languages, and is the reason that math is so important to the sciences. Using math doesn't mean you'll be able to test the idea, but at least you can define what would be a test if you could to it.
An example of this are the interpretations of Quantum Physics. You cannot (or nobody has yet been able to) define a test that will distinguish between the Wheeler multiverse interpretation and the Copenhagen interpretation, though the descriptions in ordinary language sound so different that you'd think it would be like distinguishing between a fish and several tigers.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.