Rules of probability in quantum mechanics

We show that the quantum mechanical rules for manipulating probabilities follow naturally from standard probability theory. We do this by generalizing a result of Khinchin regarding characteristic functions. From standard probability theory we obtain the methods usually associated with quantum theory; that is, the operator method, eigenvalues, the Born rule, and the fact that only the eigenvalues of the operator have nonzero probability. We discuss the general question as to why quantum mechanics seemingly necessitates different methods than standard probability theory and argue that the quantum mechanical method is much richer in its ability to generate a wide variety of probability distributions which are inaccessibe by way of standard probability theory.It is a pleasure to dedicate this paper to David Bohm in honor of his 70th birthday.This work is supported in part by The City University Research Award Program.