Jim Baggott, Beyond Measure (2004), Ch. 13 : I think, therefore ...
“

As stated repeatedly in this book, John von Neumann's Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics was an extraordinarily influential work. It is important to recall that the language most commonly used to describe and discuss the measurement process in terms of a collapse or projection of the wave function essentially originates with this classic work. It was von Neumann who so clearly distinguished (in the mathematical sense) between the continuous time-symmetric quantum mechanical equations of motion and the discontinuous, time-asymmetric measurement process. Although much of his contribution to the development of the theory was made broadly within the boundaries of the Copenhagen view, he stepped beyond those boundaries in his interpretation of quantum measurement.

— Jim Baggott on Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "As stated repeatedly in this book, John von Neumann's Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics was an extraordinarily influential work. It is important to recall that the language most commonly used to describe and discuss the measurement process in terms of a collapse or projection of the wave function essentially originates with this classic work. It was von Neumann who so clearly distinguished (in the mathematical sense) between the continuous time-symmetric quantum mechanical equations of motion and the discontinuous, time-asymmetric measurement process. Although much of his contribution to the development of the theory was made broadly within the boundaries of the Copenhagen view, he stepped beyond those boundaries in his interpretation of quantum measurement." in the context of "Jim Baggott, Beyond Measure (2004), Ch. 13 : I think, therefore ..." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics" (Quotes about Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jim Baggott

About Jim Baggott

James Edward (Jim) Baggott (born 2 March 1957 in Southampton) is a British science writer.