David Albert

David Z. Albert (born 1954) is an American philosopher specializing in the philosophy of physics. He is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the MA Program in The Philosophical Foundations of Physics at Columbia University in New York. Albert received his bachelor's degree in physics from Columbia College (1976) and his PhD in theoretical physics from The Rockefeller University (1981). He worked with Yakir Aharonov and has spent most of his career at Columbia University, also visiting Rutgers University. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2015. Albert has published four books: *Quantum Mechanics and Experience* (1992), *Time and Chance* (2000), *After Physics* (2015), and *A Guess at the Riddle* (2023). His work focuses on interpretations of quantum mechanics, the direction of time, and related topics. *Quantum Mechanics and Experience* is noted for setting a research agenda in finding a realist interpretation of quantum mechanics, discussing the measurement problem and interpretations like GRW theory, De Broglie-Bohm theory, and the many-worlds interpretation. He argues for wave function realism. *Time and Chance* explains time-asymmetries in the macroscopic world through a "past hypothesis" (the universe being in a low-entropy state) and a statistical postulate. This work, along with collaborator Barry Loewer, has been developed into the "Mentaculus" vision. Albert has also been involved in public philosophy, appearing in the film *What the Bleep Do We Know!?* and engaging in a notable public debate with Lawrence Krauss regarding science and philosophy.