Do we live in a universe in which future coin tosses will invariably result
in heads, or one in which a mixture of results will occur?
Of course, we live in both, but the latter constitutes a numerically much
larger class of universes; one would imagine it would be the same with
physical laws, including those governing wave-function collapse: That some
laws would have a much larger measure, and would always be the ones we
discover.
-Chris C
- Original Message -
From: Hal Finney [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: spooky action at a distance
This list is dedicated to exploring the implications of the prospect
that all universes exist. According to this principle, universes
exist with all possible laws of physics. It follows that universes
exist which follow the MWI; and universes exist where only one branch
is real and where the other branches are eliminated. Universes exist
where the transactional interpretation is true, and where Penrose's
objective reduction happens. I'm tempted to even say that universes
exist where the Copenhagen interpretation is true, but that seems to be
more a refusal to ask questions than a genuine interpretation.
Therefore it is somewhat pointless to argue about whether we are in one
or another of these universes. In fact, I would claim that we are
in all of these, at least all that are not logically inconsistent or
incompatible with the data. That is, our conscious experience spans
multiple universes; we are instantiated equally and equivalently in
universes which have different laws of physics, but where the differences
are so subtle that they have no effect on our observations.
It may be that at some future time, we can perform an experiment which
will provide evidence to eliminate or confirm some of these possible QM
interpretations. At that time, our consciousness will differentiate,
and we will go on in each of the separate universes, with separate
consciousness.
It is still useful to discuss whether the various interpretations work
at all, and whether they are in fact compatible with our experimental
results. But to go beyond that and to try to determine which one is
true is, according to the multiverse philosophy, an empty exercise.
All are true; all are instantiated in the multiverse, and we live in
all of them.
Hal
