Bruce, The claim follows from basic probability reasoning applied to MWI. Decoherence ensures that branches evolve independently, preventing interference. This means that observer instances in different branches cannot interact. If you accept that observer experiences are determined by where they find themselves in the wavefunction, then the relative frequency of experiences should follow the distribution of amplitudes squared.
The justification is straightforward: if there are exponentially more observers in high-amplitude branches than in low-amplitude ones, then a randomly selected observer will overwhelmingly find themselves in a high-measure branch. This is not an additional assumption—it follows directly from the structure of unitary evolution. Your argument assumes that every sequence contributes equally to probability estimation, but that assumption is precisely what is in question. You are treating "branches" as discrete, countable objects, rather than as partitions of a continuously evolving wavefunction. The fact that decoherence prevents recombination does not mean each branch carries equal measure in terms of observer experience. If you believe otherwise, then you need to justify why amplitudes, which govern all other quantum phenomena, should suddenly become irrelevant in determining observer distribution. Quentin Le ven. 21 févr. 2025, 07:15, Bruce Kellett <bhkellet...@gmail.com> a écrit : > On Fri, Feb 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM Quentin Anciaux <allco...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Bruce, >> >> You claim there's "no mechanism" for assigning observer instances >> according to amplitude, but that’s just asserting ignorance as proof. The >> wavefunction already assigns amplitude-based structure to branches via >> unitary evolution and decoherence. The real question is whether measure >> naturally corresponds to observer frequencies—which is exactly what the >> Born rule states and what attempts at derivation (e.g., decision theory, >> self-locating uncertainty) try to formalize. >> >> Also, the idea that a "branch encompasses the whole world" is a rough >> classical approximation, not a fundamental quantum principle. If the >> wavefunction remains a continuous superposition, then what we call a branch >> is just a macroscopic partition of underlying structure, not a single >> discrete entity. Observer instances scale with measure because the >> amplitudes evolve deterministically, and decoherence prevents low-measure >> branches from contributing significantly to experience. >> >> Dismissing this as a "pipe dream" isn’t an argument—it's just an >> unwillingness to engage with the actual problem. If you want to claim MWI >> can't produce the Born rule, you need more than just repeating that you >> don't see how it happens. Again please publish and get the glory with your >> refutation. >> > > I am still waiting for your mathematical derivation of the claims you make > above. "decoherence prevents low-measure branches from contributing > significantly to experience". I think a claim like this needs to be > justified. As it stands it just demonstrates that you do not have any > remote understanding of decoherence. > > Bruce > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAFxXSLSE%3DvcxS%3Dfr4K1HvCouLbt%2BLmashfBLWHt-0dDNY2Z5eA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAFxXSLSE%3DvcxS%3Dfr4K1HvCouLbt%2BLmashfBLWHt-0dDNY2Z5eA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAMW2kAqpsckm07H-0vgOK9%3DrGPJUDgMpjnrSKbTE4bnMeJ00bw%40mail.gmail.com.
