Probability as typicality

Probability as typicality

The concept of typicality refers to properties holding for the “vast majority” of cases and is a fundamental idea of the qualitative approach to dynamical problems. We argue that measure-theoretical typicality would be the adequate viewpoint of the role of probability in classical statistical mechanics, particularly in understanding the micro to macroscopic change of levels

Typicality and Notions of Probability in Physics∗

Probability and Typicality in Deterministic Physics

Recently it has been argued that typicality considerations play a crucial explanatory role in deterministic theories in physics (e.g. classical statistical mechanics and Bohmian mechanics). In this approach a sharp distinction is made between typicality and probability. We analyze in this paper the relation between the notion of typicality and probability, the question of the choice of measure ...

Canonical typicality.

It is well known that a system weakly coupled to a heat bath is described by the canonical ensemble when the composite S + B is described by the microcanonical ensemble corresponding to a suitable energy shell. This is true for both classical distributions on the phase space and quantum density matrices. Here we show that a much stronger statement holds for quantum systems. Even if the state of...

Probability As

The well known difficulties in plausibly identifying objective probabilities with relative frequencies in a simple-minded way have led to several proposed alternative accounts. Subjectivists as tough-minded as de Finetti simply deny the very sense of the notion of objective probabilities, reserving probability as a measure of partial belief. Dispositional theorists, each in his own idiosyncrati...