Infinite Universe analogy for MWI

From: Gale <wmgale.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Sun, 02 May 1999 16:01:50 -0400

Jacques M Mallah wrote (in Re: Recent paper on MWI)

> The predictions of the MWI
> are very clearly no different from the predictions of a one world
> interpretation in an infinite universe.

I’ve taken this out of context, but you have made similar
statements before, Jacques. I’m not sure if you mean this
literally, or as an analogy that makes a convenient way to
think for most purposes. It is certainly a convenient
analogy. However, I see one way in which the
predictions of the MWI of a closed universe would be
different from the predictions of a one world interpretation
in an infinite universe.

Basically, when the observers within the closed universe
became able to observe the closed nature of their universe,
they would have a difference between the MWI of their
own universe and a one world interpretation of some part
of an infinite universe, because the topologies must differ.
Now, as is frequently argued here, nothing is impossible
for a QM universe, so there would actually be some
incredibly tiny measure of universe segments in
an infinite universe where just by chance,
over billions of years, the universe segments
acted in a manner probable for a closed topology. But what is
left of the simple statement above is that the measure
of a closed appearing universe would be *very* much
smaller in an infinite universe than in a closed universe.

Gale
Received on Sun May 02 1999 - 13:05:28 PDT