What We Are Reading Today: Philosophy of Physics by Tim Maudlin

Updated 24 February 2019

What We Are Reading Today: Philosophy of Physics by Tim Maudlin

In this book, Tim Maudlin, one of the world’s leading philosophers of physics, offers a sophisticated, original introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics. The briefest, clearest, and most refined account of his influential approach to the subject, the book will be invaluable to all students of philosophy and physics.

Quantum mechanics holds a unique place in the history of physics. It has produced the most accurate predictions of any scientific theory, but, more astonishing, there has never been any agreement about what the theory implies about physical reality. Maudlin argues that the very term “quantum theory” is a misnomer. A proper physical theory should clearly describe what is there and what it does— yet standard textbooks present quantum mechanics as a predictive recipe in search of a physical theory.

In contrast, Maudlin explores three proper theories that recover the quantum predictions: The indeterministic wavefunction collapse theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber; the deterministic particle theory of deBroglie and Bohm; and the conceptually challenging Many Worlds theory of Everett. 

Each offers a radically different proposal for the nature of physical reality, but Maudlin shows that none of them are what they are generally taken to be.


Hijab-wearing model Ikram Abdi Omar stars in new campaign

Ikram Abdi Omar has been selected to star in the advertorial for the new The Outnet x Diane Von Furstenberg (DVF) collaboration. Supplied
Updated 58 min 7 sec ago

Hijab-wearing model Ikram Abdi Omar stars in new campaign

DUBAI: Shortly after fronting a Burberry campaign in December, Somali-British model Ikram Abdi Omar has been selected to star in the advertorial for the new The Outnet x Diane Von Furstenberg (DVF) collaboration. It’s the first time that the e-tailer has cast a hijab-wearing model in one of its campaigns.

Abdi Omar, who made history as the first veiled model to be cast in a Burberry campaign, stuns in The Outnet x DVF campaign images wearing the renowned American label’s iconic wrap dresses and signature prints, which she accessorizes with a neatly-tied head scarf.

The model made her catwalk debut during London Modest Fashion Week two-years-ago, where she got to walk alongside fellow Somali model Halima Aden, who became the first hijab-wearing high-fashion model on runways in New York and Milan. Shortly after, Abdi Omar would go on to make her London Fashion Week debut when she stepped out on the Molly Goddard Fall 2018 runway.

She would go on to walk for the likes of Iceberg and Charles Jeffrey, as well as front campaigns for major international brands, including Nike, and feature in a number of publications such as Wonderland magazine, Vogue Arabia and Tatler, to name a few.