[Physics] Books about alternative interpretations of quantum mechanics

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Recently I've heard that there exist alternative interpretations of quantum mechanics which, while not as widespread as the Copenhagen intepretation (or so it would seem), are equally valid in the sense that they describe all the observable effects. Wikipedia mentions a few ones, the more popular of which seems to be the many worlds interpretation.

What are some books, suitable for someone with an undergraduate level knowledge of QM, that describe these alternatives? Something not too mathematical might be best for an introduction to the subject, but I'm not looking for a popular book either, of course.

Best Answer

At first a big warning: Do not rely on stuff that you find on the Internet without further reference, there are many, many people, even recognized physics professors, who dont have a clue what they are talking about. Also, I would not recommend Deutsch's writings about MWI until you have a good understanding of the basics, until then, they are rather confusing.

For an elementary Introduction I would recommend the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/index.html), it contains good introductions to the various Interpretations such as MWI or CI.

Furthermore, a classic on this topic is "Jammer - The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics", a very detailed description of the historical development and the different interpretations. If you want a detailed and precise overview over the relevant Interpretations, this book is for you, although its partially not too easy to read.

Apart from handpicked books, I would mainly recommend reading the original papers, especially the one by Everett, who is often cited very, very wrong. "The Theory of the Universal Wave Function" is even available online, i guess (must-read for everyone who is interested in Interpretation stuff). Apart from that, the most comprehensive collection of the original articles can be found in "Wheeler, Zureck(ed.) - Quantum theory and measurement". It contains most of the historically relevant articles. Surprisingly, they are mostly quite easy to read, the math does not exceed the level from elementary Quantum Mechanics.

Good luck, we need more people who know what they are talking about when it comes to interpretation!

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