Thank you for reading, and for your very kind words! I agree that these limitations are not cause for pessimism---it's amazing that we can understand so much about the universe, given all these obstacles in our way. The next best thing to knowing everything really isn't so bad.

Dear Mr. Vastola,

This is a very deep and well-written essay on connections between thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. I admire that it does not just rehash familiar tropes about quantum measurement, interference and the like. One issue I noted when reading on the subject: curiously, the principles of optics "conspire" to prevent violation of the Second Law, by preventing a system from focusing to a surface brightness more than the source (IOW, through a minimum allowed f/ratio. Otherwise, image brightness could be increased without limit. I leave the consequences "as an exercise for the reader."

You and others might find my essay interesting, and it could use more votes on this last day. I discuss the limitations on realistic models of "superluminal signalling" to explain the correlations of entanglement. Pardon inactive link.

https://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/3548

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