Schrödinger Equation Determinism Vs Quantum Uncertainty Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Penrose (2004: 530):

One thing that we note is that [the Schrödinger equation] is a deterministic equation (the time evolution being completely fixed once the state is known at any one time). This may come as a surprise to some people, who may well have heard of ‘quantum uncertainty’, and of the fact that quantum systems behave in nondeterministic ways. This lack of determinism comes about in the application of the R-process only. It is not to be found in the (U) time-evolution of the quantum state, as described by the Schrödinger equation.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, the Schrödinger equation models a quantum system as potential, and it this that is deterministic. Quantum uncertainty, on the other hand, in this view, describes the probabilistic nature of the instantiation of quantum potential as actual particles. The distinction is between the deterministic nature of potential and the probabilistic nature of the instantiation of that potential.