It seems to me Tipler used the same "poll" in POI, but I can't
lay my hands on my copy of it right now. I kind of doubt that
Tipler would just quote Price without checking up on the validity
of this.
"Jacques M. Mallah" wrote:
>
> On Sun, 28 Nov 1999, Doug Jones wrote:
> > Jacques wrote:
> > > If "various polls of leading physicists have concluded that, when
> > > pressed for an answer, more believe MWI than anything else", I would like
> > > to see the results of those polls myself. Reference, please.
> >
> > Michael Clive Price refers to such polls in his Many-Worlds FAQ
> > [...]
> > Amongst the "Yes, I think MWI is true" crowd listed are Stephen Hawking
> > and Nobel Laureates Murray Gell-Mann and Richard Feynman. Gell-Mann and
> > Hawking recorded reservations with the name "many-worlds", but not with
> > the theory's content. Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg is also mentioned
> > as a many-worlder, although the suggestion is not when the poll was
> > conducted, presumably before 1988 (when Feynman died). The only "No, I
> > don't accept MWI" named is Penrose.
>
> > Anybody know anything about Price's sources for this?
>
> I knew about Price's claim. I don't trust it, and several of
> those mentioned have either changed their views and now reject MWI (as I
> think Hawking did), or never endorsed it (as if the poll was faked). The
> reason I'm skeptical is that there is nothing in the writings of either
> Feynmann or Gell-Mann showing acceptance of the MWI.
> If Feynmann was ever a MWIer, it must have been late in life. In
> his 'QED', he was not.
> G-M has written a lot about 'consistent histories'. It is
> possible to interpret his writings on this to indicate that he is a MWIer,
> but it is also possible to draw the opposite conclusion. The 'consistent
> histories interpretation' claims both Copenhagen and Everett as sources of
> inspiration.
> He is either unable, or unwilling, to give a straight answer on
> the MWI. My opinion is that if he wants to play games to avoid "coming
> out of the closet as an MWIer", as some MWIers think, and leave the
> burden of the fight for equality to young grad students like me who are
> willing to take the risk for TRUTH despite the hardship on my career, he
> ought to go stick his head where the sun don't shine.
>
> - - - - - - -
> Jacques Mallah (jqm1584.domain.name.hidden)
> Graduate Student / Many Worlder / Devil's Advocate
> "I know what no one else knows" - 'Runaway Train', Soul Asylum
> My URL: http://pages.nyu.edu/~jqm1584/
--
Chris Maloney
http://www.chrismaloney.com
"Donuts are so sweet and tasty."
-- Homer Simpson
Received on Mon Nov 29 1999 - 19:45:11 PST