Re: Infinite computing

From: George Levy <GLevy.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 22:23:38 -0800

Stephen,

Amazingly, I had kind-of the same thought. From the point of view of
information flow, there seems to be an analogy between
1) falling down into a black hole and
2) "dying."

Both events results in the cessation of information flow between two
observers. In both cases one of the observers appears to "die" from a
third person point of view, but stays alive from a first person point of
view. In the first case the cessation of information flow is due to a
relativistic effect. In the second case, the continuing of the
information flow is due to a quantum effect. The following must be assumed:

1) that the black hole is large enough that the tidal forces do not rip
apart the observer falling into it
2) death occurs in one branch of the multiverse but not in another.

There is definitely a relationship between entropy and black holes as
Hawkings has shown and there is a relationship between entropy and
information.

This topic is ripe for a nice thought experiment.

George

Stephen Paul King wrote:

>Dear Jean-Michel and Hal,
>
> All good humor aside, Hal makes a good point! The conditions that would
>exist as one approaches the event horizon seem to be such that any signal
>would be randomized such that the end result would be that Nature prevents
>infinite information (or conclusions requiring infinite computational power)
>from reaching any finite part of itself.
> Interestingly this seems to be the same situation as what forms an event
>horizon (around a space-time singularity) in the first place. Could it be
>that this is an active example of the so-called anthropic principle? It also
>reminds me of a solution to the Quantum Suicide problem!
>
>Kindest regards,
>
>Stephen
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Hal Finney" <hal.domain.name.hidden>
>To: <everything-list.domain.name.hidden>; <veuillen.domain.name.hidden>
>Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 12:19 PM
>Subject: Re: Infinite computing: A paper
>
>
>
>
>>Jean-Michel Veuillen writes:
>>
>>
>>>There are other possibilities to obtain hypercomputers or Infinite Time
>>>Turing Machines:
>>>
>>>For instance, from general relativity: put a computer in orbit around a
>>>black hole,
>>>start an infinite computation on it, arrange that the results are sent
>>>
>>>
>to
>
>
>>>you by radio,
>>>and jump into the black hole:
>>>when you reach the horizon, you get the result of the infinite
>>>
>>>
>computation
>
>
>>>(and witness the end of the rest of the universe).
>>>
>>>For a survey: arxiv.org/pdf/math.LO/0209332
>>>
>>>
>>...and burn to death as infinite amounts of radiation fall on you in a
>>finite time?
>>
>>Maybe the universe is like a character from a spy novel: it could tell
>>us what it knows (solving the halting problem, etc.), but then it has
>>to kill us.
>>
>>Hal F.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Tue Feb 11 2003 - 02:50:42 PST